Finding Identity in John Updike´s A&P

Updike’s “A & P” takes place in a grocery store North of Boston. Sammy, the narrator of the story, describes a summer’s day and is first describing three girls that walk into the store. Sammy’s statement in the first sentence already starts to sexualize these girls by describing their body parts, “In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits.[...]The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs. (1)” Around this time during the 1960’s men were deemed to be the heroes and the breadwinners. Women were to be modest and dress as so. As for Sammy a very hormonal teen, visualizing three young girls in bikinis and one of the girl’s he calls Queenie --whom he finds attractive, was enjoying every bit of it except for their manager Lengel, who scolds at the young girls’, informing them on the store policy.“Lengel's pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn't miss that much. He

Sammy notices how all of the customers also act like sheep, which gets on his nerves.The next paragraph shifts to the next character, Sammy's co-worker, Stokesie. Stokesie is twenty-two, married, and has two children. Even though Stokesie plays a small part in the story, I believe that Updike included this character for a reason. This story isn't only based on calling people "sheep", but also has to do with "change." Change plays an important part in our life. We were all once little kids, small and naive. As a kid, we didn't know any better but to do exactly what we were told. We become prone to following "orders" without knowing whether they are good or bad. Gradually, we become knowledgeable about the difference between "right and wrong." Through experience, we develop into a better person. With knowledge and experience, we learn to excel. However, some people are still stuck in the past because they haven't learned anything. Sammy knows what he wants to do and be. He doesn't want to work at A & P for the rest of his life. Sammy isn't the type of person who would simply follow, he has his own ideas and believes in what he stands up for. Sammy doesn't seem like the guy who would praise Stokesie, and Sammy didn't mention anything positive or negative about Stokesie. Since Stokesie is young

A&P is the story of a nineteen-year-old boy, Sammy, who is fighting against the expectation to blindly accept the social norms of society and follow the dull, routine life set before him. Sammy currently works as a cashier at the local A&P supermarket and describes the customers shopping within A&P as sheep, houseslaves and pigs being loaded into a chute. He yearns to be something more than a chain climbing employee like his co-worker, Stokesie, or his boss, Lengel, who haggles over cabbages and hides in the manager’s office all day.

The short story “A&P” written by John Updike, is about three girls who change Sammy’s life. The three girls came from the beach and are not dressed properly to enter a grocery store called A&P. Sammy, the main character, is a check out clerk, and observes every detail about the girls. Sam even gives each of the girls a name. His favorite is “Queenie.” Sammy is obviously the type of guy who doesn’t get a lot of girls. Sam has a conflict of person vs. society. Because of his dead end job, obsession with Queenie, and his noble act to save the girls from embarrassment, Sammy has a conflict between himself and society.

Updike's use of setting helps to contribute to the development of the theme of the story by making the reader understand the conformity of the society in which Sammy is yearning to escape. The story, “A&P”, takes place in the local A&P grocery store in the 1960s, a time in which it was abnormal to break free from the social norms of the

He can let Lengel’s criticism of Queenie and her friends go, therefore conforming to society’s standards, or he can voice his own opinions and become independent. He appears to come to his own conclusion on what to do when he reminds himself of Queenie’s reaction to Lengel. Updike writes, “but remembering how he made that pretty girl blush makes me so scrunchy inside I punch the No Sale tab and the machine whirs ‘pee-pul’ and the drawer splats out” (167). Sammy then realizes the magnitude of what he has done once he has left the store. Updike writes, “… and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (167). Sammy knows that now, since he has gone against the normalities of society, he will not be looked upon fondly by others around him. Although he may not be liked by all, he has become his own person with his own thoughts, marking his coming of age and transition to adulthood. The external conflict experienced by Sammy in “A&P” helped him transition from conformity to

In short stories, sometimes the main character may grow and change into a more mature individual. While In other occasions the characters remain the same. In the short story of "A & P," by In John Updike, the dynamic protagonist is Sammy, a young teenager who has his first job working at a small grocery store in New England. Sammy is transitioning from childhood to adulthood and through his words and actions, we discovered that he does not acquire the best characteristics which include being immature, judgmental, pervert and impulsive.

John Updike presents significant items to represent certain points in the story like the girls bathing suits, the herring snacks, and the sheep. When the girls walk into the A&P, they caused a disruption mainly because of what they were wearing, bathing suits. During that time, women were expected to be fully clothed when entering a store or else they drew attention to their sexuality, which Sammy noticed quickly. As everyone reacted to their bathing suits it later represented a kind of freedom to Sammy. After Lengal body shames them saying, “Girls, I don't want to argue with you. After this come in here with your shoulders covered. It's our policy” (Updike 20), it crushed Sammy’s freedom feeling, so he reacted. Sammy also feels the contrast between the girls and the sheep as they try to purchase

In today’s world, much of society feels the need to be someone that others want them to be and not what they actually want to be, whether it be someone who is having trouble coming out as gay or transgender or someone who feels the need to follow strict family traditions. Also, people will often have difficulty doing the right thing and making the mature decision. People often accept the role into which they are born and grew up in, and then pass that position onto their children. This cycle will continue until someone has enough power to speak out against it. People will often be pressured into doing something that they may not want to do. As shown in A&P by John Updike, the narrator, Sammy, quits his job at the end of the story in order to prove to the girls that he is on their side and has ultimately done the mature thing. In A&P, Updike examines sexism and the need to fulfill a certain role that society places upon women, as well as the social pressures that occur within our lives. Lastly, this story also represents a coming-of-age for Sammy. Although it takes place over the period of a few minutes, it represents a much larger process of maturation.

The girls, despite their obvious fashion faux-pas, carry themselves with a certain confidence and individuality that is rare in this society. Updike has Sammy refer to the other customers as sheep, pigs, house slaves, and even as having a fuselage- revealing how ‘empty’ these citizens are. The references to sheep are clear symbols for the conformity of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The trend (or revolution) towards non-conformity is quickly approaching as the three girls are leaders of this new movement.

John Updike’s ‘A&P’, is about a young man’s struggle with morality, authority, and freedom. Through a series of events Sammy witnessed injustice in his workplace leading him to quit his job. When Sammy quit his job he was taking a stand against authority because he longed for freedom from the A&P and his manager. Sammy made the leap from an adolescent, knowing little about life, into a man facing the consequences from his actions. John Updike’s use of language and actions reveal the internal struggles and relationships of a young man growing into adulthood.

In “A&P”, John Updike uses compelling diction, language, and description to enhance the perspective of Sammy within the story and his final decision to quit his job. The use of imagery within the supermarket develops the environment Sammy worked in to a greater extent and painted diverse pictures of the customers. The derogatory descriptions of Lengel and some customers was also significant in terms of revealing Sammy’s emotions about his job at A&P. The nature of the situation with the girls and descriptive language of the customers and environment were also significant factors.A spontaneous effort to portray Sammy’s power and independence was a significant aspect Updike made more interesting by implementing dialogue, diction, and theme.

Even though Sammy’s mindset is childlike, he still tries to portray himself in an adult manner. The reader can observe throughout the story the way in which Sammy thinks to be immature and quick to judge. Having his concentration only on the girls, he made a mistake while ringing up a customer. Because he is so focused on how the girls are dressed and what they are up to, he has full descriptions of each girl and thinks he has them all figured out. He points out the leader and even names her “Queenie” while not giving the other two as much attention. The reader can see how Sammy sort of mocks some of the customers when he sees Lengel “checking the sheep through” (Updike 435). Sammy’s priority, which should only be ringing up customers, but happens to be seeing what the girls are up

In John Updike's A&P, a grocery store's clerk learns the challenges of the world and what’s to come when quitting his job after his manger yells at a group of beautiful girls in bathing suits. The theme of attraction to appearances in the story shows that beauty does pay a price not only for girls when Sammy's confidence overrules his life. Imagery used to describe the girls in the story impacts it overall because the attraction of looks causes Sammy to lose his job. Such as "the one in the plaid green two-piece," was able to mesmerize Sammy. Appearances symbolizes danger because what’s to come with a person includes endless possibilities. The tone of the story includes humor because Sammy's actions over beautiful strangers causes him to lose

The condescending tone in which Sammy describes the A&P and its shoppers, referring to them as “the sheep” (Updike 17) and “houseslaves” (Updike 18), reflects the superiority and disdain he feels towards them.