John Updike A & P Analysis

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John Updike’s “A&P” is a short story, taking place in 1961. Throughout the story, Sammy, the protagonist, is a nine-teen year old boy working as a store clerk at a grocery store named A&P. Sammy constantly throughout analyzes how the adults and the young people go among their daily lives. His viewpoint magnifies the diversity between the two generations. His perspective on the situation and negative attitude towards how the manager handled the three young ladies clearly shows his immaturity and ignorance. This negative perspective gives the impression that growing up is a very undesirable aspect of life in Sammy’s eyes. Initially, the young people in this story seem to all be extremely immature in their own ways. In the first paragraph, …show more content…

Early on, Sammy states, “’Is it done?’ he asks, the responsible married man finding his voice. I forgot to say he thinks he's going to be manager” (John Updike). This statement may seem very unimportant but I believe it shows a deep contrast between Stokesie and Sammy. It shows how the older man is aspiring for a greater position in his career while in the end, the younger man had no appreciation for his job by quitting in the end. Sammy states, “I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not. I ring it up again and the customer starts giving me hell. She's one of these cash-register-watchers” (John Updike). Throughout the story, the adults seem strict and uptight through Sammy’s eyes. “…when the girls touch his eye. Lengel's pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn't miss that much. He comes over and says, ‘Girls, this isn't the beach’” (John Updike). Lengel’s reaction to the young ladies shows his sternness and respect for the public decency. Finally, "’Sammy, you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad,’ he tells me. It's true, I don't. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it… ‘You'll feel this for the rest of your life,’ Lengel says” (Updike). Lengel believed that Sammy was making an astronomical mistake when quitting his job. He thought that Sammy’s job was much more important than Sammy was treating

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