A & P by John Updike

1259 Words3 Pages

A & P

John Updike, one of the most forward-thinking and socially provocative writers of the 50s and 60s, is known for his “incisive presentation of the quandaries of contemporary personal and social life.” (Lawn 529) Updike graduated from Harvard University and wrote for one of the more cutting edge publications like The New Yorker- both are notoriously ahead of their time and harbor controversial ideas. In his short story “A&P”, Updike reveals a young man named Sammy in a society on the brink of a social revolution- one in which a group of girls and an innocent cashier will unknowingly lead. Updike, through symbolism and syntax, shows how the girls are leading the revolution, how Sammy is feeling the wrath of this revolution, and which part each of the characters represent.

There exists a resort five miles outside of a town that is, without a doubt, where many of the townspeople work and make their living. The residents of this lower-middle class town most likely are the housekeepers and general blue collar workers for the resort. Within this perspective there lies an inherent distaste for the visitors to the resort. They are the servants to these upper-class vacationers. Most likely from New York or Boston, these trendy and privileged visitors overrun the area in the summers.

“In walks these three girls”; the story begins innocently enough. However, Updike does not leave it at that. He continues, “… in nothing but bathing suits.” (Lawn 399) The author has given us a wealth of underlying information with this simple description. Upon further reading, the readers realize that these three girls are walking into a conservative small town grocery store in 1961. Not only are they wearing bathing suits, but they ar...

... middle of paper ...

...ieved a release from a mental or social prison.

John Updike has given the reader a sense of passage. A sense of a greater meaning to the story exists as well. The three main characters or groups in this story all revolve around the time period in which “A&P” was written. Lengel is the old ways of the world. The young girls represent the new ages, the times to come. Sammy, while still a youth, is the awkward transition period: the see-saw and the tug-of-war going on between the two. Eventually Sammy chooses to move into the future. Although he has no one to follow (the girls left the parking lot and disappeared) and no guiding force, he is willing to give up what he comfortably had for an uncertain, but certainly more difficult, way of life.

Works Cited

Lawn, Beverly., ed. 40 Short Stories; A Portable Anthology. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.

Show More
Related

  • A&P by John Updike and Gryphon by Charles Baxter

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout “A&P” and “Gryphon” the two characters found themselves facing a challenge that they had never had to face before. Reading both of the stories has shown that although different adversities were represented in the books they both had challenges and reactions that were similar to each other as well as very different. Sammy’s was about a store called “A&P” where the manager confronted three girls in bathing suits and Sammy had to stand up for them. Tommy’s was about a unique substitute teacher who he quite enjoyed and his journey with her, and his defending her to the other kids when one of the children gets her fired. Together and separately these two dynamic characters make up these unique stories that ensnared their reader with their thoughts, adversity and heroic actions throughout the story.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of John Updike's A&P

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    This Story takes place in 1961, in a small New England town's A&P grocery store.  Sammy, the narrator, is introduced as a grocery checker and an observer of the store's patrons.  He finds himself fascinated by a particular group of girls.  Just in from the beach and still in their bathing suits, they are a stark contrast, to the otherwise plain store interior.  As they go about their errands, Sammy observes the reactions, of the other customers, to this trio of young women.  He uses the word "Sheep" to describe the store regulars, as they seem to follow one and other, in their actions and reactions.  The girls, however, appear to be unique in all aspects of their beings: walking, down the isles, against the grain: going barefoot and in swim suits, amongst the properly attired clientele. They are different and this is what catches and holds Sammy's attention.  He sees them in such detail, that he can even see the queen of the bunch.  Sammy observes their movements and gestures, up until the time of their checkout.  At which point, they are confronted by the store manager and chastised for their unacceptable appearance.  He believes their attire to be indecent.  Sammy, feeling that the managerial display was unnecessary and unduly embarrassing for the girls, decides to quit his position as checker.  Thought he knows that his decision may be hasty, he knows that he has to follow through and he can never go back.  He leaves, with a clean conscious, but the burden of not knowing what the future has in store.

    Read More

  • A&P by John Updike

    1207 Words  | 3 Pages

    As people age, maturity and wisdom is gained through every experiences. From the time a child turns eighteen and becomes an adult, they are required to deal with the realities of the real world and learn how to handle its responsibilities. In John Updike's short story, "A&P", the protagonist Sammy, a young boy of nineteen, makes a drastic change to his life fueled by nothing more than his immaturity and desire to do what he wants and because of that, he has do deal with the consequences.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of John Updike's A&P

    745 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his short story "A & P" John Updike utilizes a 19-year-old adolescent to show us how a boy gets one step closer to adulthood. Sammy, an A & P checkout clerk, talks to the reader with blunt first person observations setting the tone of the story from the outset. The setting of the story shows us Sammy's position in life and where he really wants to be. Through the characterization of Sammy, Updike employs a simple heroic gesture to teach us that actions have consequences and we are responsible for our own actions.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In John Updike's A & P

    439 Words  | 1 Pages

    “A&P” is a short story by John Updike about a nineteen-year-old male named Sammy. Sammy lives in a small town five miles from the beach and works at a grocery store called A&P. Throughout the story Sammy reveals signs of agitation at his job. Things begin to change as he gazed his eyes on three girls that walk into the store. The A&P and the girls are important symbols in “A&P” that help reveal the conflict in the story.

    Read More

  • A & P, by John Updike

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    The short story “A & P” by John Updike is about a young man’s decision to stand up for others or, in the other characters’ opinions, make a foolish decision by abandoning his responsibility. At first he believes his decision is the right thing, quitting his job for how the girls were being treated. Then when he gets outside of the store, he realizes the world he just left behind, regrets his decision, and begins to question his actions. He starts to overthink what the world has to offer him, making his worldview change from underrating to overrating. His “unsure of the world’s dangers” worldview in the beginning changes to overrating the dangers of the future ahead at the end of the story causing Sammy to change throughout “A & P”.

    Read More

  • Sammy in Updike's A&P

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main character in John Updike's short story “A&P” is Sammy. The story's first-person context gives the reader a unique insight toward the main character's own feelings and choices, as well as the reasons for the choices. The reader is allowed to closely observe Sammy's observations and first impressions of the three girls who come to the grocery store on a summer afternoon in the early 1960s. In order to understand this short story, one must first recognize the social climate of the era, the age of the main character, and the temptation this individual faces.

    Read More

  • Colloquial Language In John Updike's A & P

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    In, “A&P,” Updike depicts an unusual day for Sammy working in the A&P store. Sammy’s days are usually mundane but his day is changed when a group of scantily dressed girls walk into the store and they leave an everlasting influence on his life. Updike’s demonstrates these events through colloquial language and symbolism, allowing the reader to connect with Sammy and see his growth as a character.

    Read More

  • Dynamic Character In John Updike's A & P

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy, the protagonist in John Updike’s “A&P,” is a dynamic character because he reveals himself as an immature, teenage boy at the beginning of the story and changes into a mature man at the end. The way Sammy describes his place of work, the customers in the store, and his ultimate choice in the end, prove his change from an immature boy to a chivalrous man. In the beginning, he is unhappy in his place of work, rude in his description of the customers and objectification of the three girls, all of which prove his immaturity. His heroic lifestyle change in the end shows how his change of heart and attitude transform him into mature young man.

    Read More

  • John Updike's A&P

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Updike’s “A&P” is a short story about a nineteen year old boy during the 1960’s that has a summer job at the local A&P grocery. The main character in the story, Sammy, realizes that life isn’t always fair and that sometimes a person makes decisions that he will regret. Sammy sees that life doesn’t always go as planned when three young girls in bathing suits walk in and his manager Lengel gives them a hard time, and he comes to term with that sometimes you make bad decisions.

    Read More

  • Gender And Gender Roles In A & P, By John Updike

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    Going against the norm almost always brings trouble. Much more so when the norms relate to gender in our society. From our formative years straight up to adulthood, society upholds certain distinct expectations of behaviors both male and females. Young men and woman are thus expected to follow and fit into these gender roles that are meant to guide and govern their behavior. The theme of gender and gender roles can be examined in the short story, “A & P”, written by John Updike. Through examination it can be seen that various characters go against the expected gender roles of that time period. Specifically the main character and narrator of Sammy. It is through the analysis of Sammy’s behavior that we discover what happens when you go against

    Read More

  • John Updike's A&P

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    As the story continues, Sammy curiously watches the provocative young ladies as they stroll through the store looking for groceries. In this fictional story, Sammy describes all three noticeable ladies, the main girl, "Queenie" he describes her as the leader of the two other girls. The second young lady he described was the chunky one; he fully described the chunky girl from head to toe, because Sammy had more descriptive words regarding her appearance. The third girl was the taller of the two. She was not as striking as the other two young ladies. The girls were barefoot and wore bathing suits, which is why they caught Sammy's attention. The reason being not because of the bathing suits they were wearing, but the way they strolled down the isles with confidence as they walked through the store. These young ladies were, "The kind of girls that other girls think are "Striking" and "Attractive." (48) Updike wants to let the reader know these girls wanted attention and only attention; by the way he described what they were wearing and how they flaunted themselves.

    Read More

  • John Updike's "A&P"

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    In John Updike’s short story, A&P the writer takes you on a youths memory that involves the choices and consequences that life can deal to anyone who has not had time to test a rash decision. The narrator is an immature nineteen-year-old cashier who is about to make a giant leap from adolescence to manhood. Sammy narrates with opinions of not only his life, but also the people in the town. Sammy opposes with the way these people live their lives, and is determined to set a different course for his future. The author uses characterization, symbolism, and setting to explain Sammy's life issues such as decision-making, result of action, and responsibility. The story illustrates that part of growing up is about making choices and a willingness to accept consequences of one’s own choices.

    Read More

  • Sammy in A & P, by John Updike

    1902 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sammy in “A & P” by John Updike is a developed typical teenage boy, who goes through many changes throughout the duration of the story. It all started when he saw three girls walk in the store about his own age wearing only their bathing suites, it flattered him. It caused Sammy do a lot of thinking throughout the event. He did not like his job and he expressed his opinions throughout the story. As Sammy was seeing the three girls, he analyzed everything around him, from the girls, his town, and to the customer and employees in the store. When he watched the girls walk around the store with their heads held high. Sammy the round and dynamic character he is, started to face many challenges in which he had to decide how he wanted his life turn out, rather by staying or moving on to bigger and better things.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of John Updike's A&P

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Updike's A&P provides numerous perspectives for critical interpretation. His descriptive metaphors and underlying sexual tones are just the tip of the iceberg. A gender analysis could be drawn from the initial outline of the story and Sammy's chauvinism towards the female. Further reading opens up a formalist and biographical perspective to the critic. After several readings I began seeing the Marxist perspective on the surreal environment of A&P. The economic and social differences are evident through Sammy's storytelling techniques and even further open up a biographical look at Updike's own view's and opinions. According to an essay posted on the internet Updike was a womanizer in his own era and displayed boyish immaturity into his adulthood. A second analysis of this story roots more from a reader-response/formalist view. Although Sammy centered his dramatization around three young females, more specifically the Queen of the trio, it was a poignant detailed head to toe description of scene. I'll touch on that later.

    Read More

More about A & P by John Updike

Open Document