Unlike many of the short stories we read, “A&P” by John Uplike displays the familiar effects of anti-Feminism and unnecessary conformity in both female and male characters. The story is placed in the 1960’s in a grocery store on a sunny afternoon. Three young, beautiful ladies walk in wearing their bathing suits and begin stir up controversy in the quite store. Even though none of the three girls have done anything wrong still everyone working and shopping in the store, with the exception of Sammy and Stokesie, seem in some ways disgusted with the girls attire. Of course this affects me and other young women; knowing that in the 1960’s women were treated with disrespect about their bodies and are still today treated this way. A mixture of bland setting, contrasting characters and a fairly uneventful plot the story unravels into a powerful story that brings out the negative and anti-feminism attitudes in a corrupt society. The story is set in a 1962 A&P grocery store in the middle of a New England town not far from a beach; the setting in this story sets up a contrast between where the girls are and what they are wearing in a judgmental society. The setting plays a huge role in why the people working and shopping in the grocery store are arbitrating the three girls that are just picking up a jar of Herring snacks. The time the story takes place also plays a role in contrast because it is set in the 1960’s during the clash of younger and older generations change in opinions. . People from all walks come to this store for every day things; it is the perfect place for this social experiment to take place. John Uplike used the plain backdrop of a grocery store to express the idea that everyone judges one another, no matter where, wh... ... middle of paper ... ...er Lengel confronts her about it. No longer does she put on the performance of being self-assured and confident she becomes knowledgeable about the shaky situation she has put herself in. Both Sammy and “Queenie” have a hard time seeing what an unstable society we live in, it is both judgmental and unreliable. Sammy is unaware that his social statuses pose a large threat to the decisions he makes over a fondness. “Queenie” pretends she has no interest in what society thinks of her as she graces through the aisle in order to find her snack, but we soon realize she too notices the rickety societal system after she is confronted. A mixture of contrasting setting, and supporting characters set off Sammy’s and “queenies” struggle to find themselves within a rapidly changing society. Works Cited http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-and-p/canalysis.html#Queenie
While it's true that Sammy finds the three scantily-clad girls who enter the supermarket attractive, as would any normal nineteen-year-old male, what is most notable about his descriptions of the girls, and particularly of the "leader" of the group, is that Sammy holds them in contempt. Once we get beyond the descriptions of their bodies, we see nothing but derogatory comments directed at them, including the derisive nicknames that Sammy assigns to them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sammy's description of the leader, "Queenie." The nickname assigned to her by Sammy points out the stereotypical snap judgment that Sammy makes about her personality and social status initially, and to which Sammy rigidly adheres despite no real evidence of its accuracy. From the description of her "prima donna" legs, to his imagining of ...
Sammy's feelings for Queenie changes when he hears her voice. Her voice is normal and he has built this romantic image of her in his mind. Hearing her voice and realizing she is a normal person, (that happens to be wealthy) slightly changes his feelings for her. It brings him back to reality a little. “Her voice kind of startled me, the way voices do when you see the people first, coming out so flat and dumb yet kind of tony, too, the way it ticked over "pick up" and "snacks." All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room.” Sammy feels as if he has no chance to get noticed by her unless he does something out of the ordinary. So after she is done arguing with Lengel, Sammy decides to stand up for her and quit his job in hopes that she will notice him.
This story represents a coming-of-age for Sammy. Though it takes place over the period of a few minutes, it represents a much larger process of maturation. From the time the girls enter the grocery store, to the moment they leave, you can see changes in Sammy. At first, he sees only the physicality of the girls: how they look and what they are wearing, seem to be his only observations. As the story progresses, he notices the interactions between the girls, and he even determines the hierarchy of the small dynamic. He observes their actions and how they affect the other patrons of the business. Rather, how the other people view the girl's actions. His thought process is maturing and he starts to see things as an adult might see them.
In walk three girls into a grocery store in bathing suits. They?re far enough away from the beach that it is customary for them to be wearing more clothes. Their actions are deliberate and exaggerated; they came in the store to buy one item, but that was not their purpose for being there. It?s easy to extract from the story that the girls stood out in many ways, money being an important one. Updike presents Sam the cashier as thinking, ?Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them.? Sam?s impression of the girls was obviously that they came from wealth, something that he could not claim of himself. And although he outwardly admired their bodies, he was really admiring their wealth.
The lives we live today encompass many moral aspects that would not have been socially acceptable fifty or more years ago. John Updike’s short story, A&P, addresses these issues of societal changes through a 1960’s teenager point of view. This teenager, Sammy, spends a great deal of his time working at a local supermarket, observing customers, and imagining where his life adventures will take him. Through symbolism and setting, Updike establishes the characters and conflicts; these, in turn, evolve Sammy from an observational, ignorant teenager, promoting opposition to changing social rules, into an adult who must face reality.
A reader can tell that Sammy likes the main girl that he gives the nickname “Queenie” to. He thinks that she is the leader of the girls and also that she is the prettiest. The way that Sammy thinks about these girls really puts the story into perspective. A person would think that a few girls going into a grocery store to grab some snacks is just a part of life, but to hear it in the words of Sammy, it seems quite fascinating. At one point a reader might think of Sammy as sexist, because in his own words, “You never know for sure how girls’ minds work (do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)[…] (370). All in all, this is just the way that Sammy’s’ mind works; it is how he thinks about people. This is what makes it be known that he a younger man not from the current
In the short story A&P by John Updike, the story is told in a first person narrative of a teenage boy working as a cashier in an A&P grocery store on a hot summer day. The story begins with the teenage boy named Sammy becoming preoccupied by a group of three teenage girls that walk into the grocery store wearing bathing suits. Sammy admires the girl's beauty as most nineteen year old adolescent boys would, in a slightly lewd and immature nature. His grammar is flawed and he is clearly not of an upper-class family, his job appears to be a necessity for a son of a family that is not well off. The name he gives the girl who seems to be the object of his desire, Queenie, portrays a social difference from himself. Sammy further imagines the differences in class and living style when he describes Queenie's voice as "kind of tony, the way it ticked over 'picked up' and 'snacks'." He imagines her with aristocratic home life in describing “her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them."Sammy compares his own parents occasions, where they serve their guests "lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stenciled on."
To understand the lack of freedom in A&P and Harrison Bergeron, the narrators describe specific examples of what it means and what to expect while living in society with limiting standards. In A&P, a trio of girls walk in the grocery store, essentially breaking from the idea of modesty that woman are expected to have by revealing themselves with only their bathing suits. Sammy, the cashier was so intrigued with this idea, especially because this was
The short story A&P written by John Updike takes place in a small town grocery store just north of Boston. The story is being portrayed through the eyes of Sammy. Sammy is a nineteen year old who works there as a checker. One Thursday afternoons the store is empty for the most part. The only people that inter the store are old women or women with six children whom he refers both to as sheep, when three girls walk in dressed with nothing more than bathing suits. This catches his eye and he watches them closely and studies each one of them with great detail. He give the leader of the girls the name "Queenie" for the way she carries herself and the way the others follow. Sammy knows that they are not dressed according to the stores guidelines but makes no effort to say anything until his manager Lengel steps in. Because of this there are consequences at stake. The moral to the story is to stand up for what you think is right even though there are positive and/or negative consequences to consider.
Sammy watches every step the girls take while criticizing and admiring them at the same time. His observations of the leader who he refers to as Queenie and her followers give him an insight of who they are personally. Sammy likes Queenie as she possesses confidence which sets her apart from the group. Sammy, still being a young boy likes that her bathing suit has “slipped on her a little bit” (Updike 158). Updike conveys the obvious that Sammy cannot look away from Queenie when “there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her”. Updike includes these small details and imagery to indulge the reader in the perception that Sammy at this point in his life is a clueless teenage
Sammy is astounded by three young girls that walk into his store in their bathing suits. He follows their every move as they peruse over the cookies and other goods. The first thing this typical nineteen boy recognizes is the one girl’s “can”. But then he goes on to say that this girl is one that other girls seems to think has potential but never really makes it with the guys. One girl though especially catches his eye. He starts to call her “Queenie” because of the way she carries herself and that she seems to be the leader of the pack. Sammy does nothing but watch her every move as they parade about the store. He even daydreams about going into her house with her rich family at a cocktail party. He notices everything about her and thinks there was nothing cuter than the way she pulls the money out of her top. His immature infatuation with this girl is one of the reasons Sammy makes the hasty decision to quit in the end.
Sammy's thoughts, as told to the reader in his narration, betray a deep understanding of the people he comes in contact with. When the girls walked into the store, he began to describe not only their looks, but also their attitudes and personalities without ever speaking to them. The one who held his attention was also the one he named "Queenie". On page one he says, She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills.
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
As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From “houseslaves in pin curlers” to “an old party in baggy gray pants” (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in contrast to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would like to explore hers.
Sammy worked a typical boring job and what seemed to be in a typical small town. The only person in the store he really related to was Stokesie, which is the foil to Sammy, because Stokesie is married, has kids and eventually wanted to be manger one day. Something Sammy did not want to stick around and see. The customers in the store were all pretty much the same, in which Sammy did not show much emotion towards except he referred to them as “the sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (Updike 261). It is easy to tell Sammy did not like his job, but it also seemed he had no other option, as if he was stuck in his small town and there was no way out. Then out of the blue he saw three girls wearing only their bathing suites walk in the store. Sammy noticed something different about them, like they were liberated from the conservative values of those times; they were part of a new generation. Especially Queenie, he referred to...