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"Is Sammy a heroic character?" I was asked this question and I'm here to argue it. Sammy isn't heroic because he makes abominable choices. No, Sammy isn't a very heroic character. His actions were foolish, immature, and judgmental. He doesn't think maturely and he has a teenager's mind. Sammy is selfish because he only cares about what he thinks. However, he disagrees with his boss, and Sammy ends up quitting his job which was not very smart. Sammy upholds the three girls and their negative actions. In addition, Sammy does not even get any of the girls. Sammy doesn't make felicitous choices. The three girls should be able to act and array appropriately. After Sammy quits his job walks outside, only to find that the girls
One character that seemed heroic to me was Boobie Miles Uncle. When Boobie was little he went in and out of foster homes, until his Uncle, L.V. Miles, took him in.Thus, L.V. Miles is a hero for Boobie by saving him from foster homes, and setting a good example by teaching him useful things.
Sammy tells us he is nineteen years old. He is a check-out clerk in the local A&P, where the boss, Lengel, is a friend of Sammy's parents. Sammy does not seem to like his job very much. He calls one of his customers a "witch" and says the other customers are "houseslaves" and "sheep." He himself comes from a middle-class family. When they have a party, he says, they serve "lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stencilled on" (15). In addition, Sammy is sexist. He gives long, loving descriptions of the girls who cause all the trouble, and he thinks at first that girls may not even have minds, asking, "do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?" (13) However, he does change as the plot goes on.
In the final analysis, it would seem that the most obvious explanation for why Sammy quits his job--the one that he implies--is actually the least plausible. While Sammy would like to portray himself as the fearless defender of the delicate sensibilities of innocent girls, the reality is that Sammy's motives in quitting have far more to do with his own sensibilities than with those of the three girls.
Sammy’s point of view of conformity changes from passive to active which shows the growth of his character. Updike chooses a 19-year-old teenager as the first narrator. As a teenager, Sammy’s personal value is still developing and he is not fully shaped by the conformity, which suggests his quitting later in the story. Although Sammy’s perspective is unreliable since his thoughts are limited by his age, he gives readers a naiver perspective of the society. He simply considers the customers as “sheep” or followers when he works in A&P, such as: “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (748). However, before he saw the girls, he was part of the conformity. He silently mocks the people being conservative, but does not show any rebuke against
So Sammy quits his job to prove to himself, maybe to others, that he belongs in this "place." Quitting his job is his first step in achieving this goal. Sammy was obviously enthralled by the girls from the moment they walked in the A & P. He was not keen on the other two girls, but Queenie overwhelmed him. He may have even taken a liking to Queenie, but any average, nineteen-year old male would do the same after witnessing such striking beauty as is described. On the other hand, the average male would not quit a job and create such turmoil if first impression was the only cause. How interested could he actually be? In trying to figure out Queenie’s persona, he asks, "do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?
Sammy observes their movements and gestures, up until the time of checkout. At which point, they are confronted by the store manager and chastised for their unacceptable appearance. He believes their attire is indecent. Sammy, feeling that the managerial display was unnecessary and unduly embarrassing for the girls, decides to quit his position as checker. Though he knows that his decision may be hasty, he knows that he has to follow through and he can never go back.
Sammy is clearly intelligent, although still uneducated at nineteen, and capable of creating striking images, such as calling a girl’s hair “oaky” and describing the sunlight as “skating around” the parking lot. He is opinionated, sarcastic, disaffected teenager with a healthy interest in the opposite sex and a keen observational sense. Sammy thought of his community boring with nothing to do. He sees most adults as "sheep" or followers “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle”, all indistinguishable from one another, and symbolizes every costumer. Sammy shows no interest in his job what so ever, he demonstrates that when he says he made up a song with the cash register sounds “hello (bing) there, you (gung)hap-py pee-pul (splat)”(Updike) Since he doesn't enjoy his job he looks for something to do, he is the kind of teenager who notices everything around him. One day at the store three girls walk in with nothing but their bathing suits he didn't hesitate to start analyzing them. He drinks
At the beginning of A&P, Sammy notices that three girls have walked into the store with only there bathing suits on. At first, poor Sammy cannot see the girls because he was at register 3 with his back toward the door. When they finally get into his sight, he immediately size the girls up. "The one that caught my eye first was the one in the placid 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." He also gives a description of the other two girls. He says one has "a chubby berry-faces, her lips all bunched together under her nose and the tall one, with black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes and a chin that was too long--you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very "striking" and "attractive" but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much." This comments illustrate his immaturity. Sammy refers to one of the girls as queen. He calls her queen because she seems to be the leader. ...
as his girlfriend as we can see from his reaction when the girls head for the exit:"The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say "I quit" to Lengel fast enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero."(69)Other possible reason is that Sammy doesnt want to do the same as his colleagues do in order to avoid ending up where they did.He doesn't like their current situation as they do not seem too happy, so he tries to have as few similarities with them as
He yearns for new opportunities and desires to live as a trailblazer, somebody who can be admired. Sammy quitting was a coming of age for him and a powerful act. Encountering Queenie allowed him to see a chance to transform his wishes into realities, however it is often said that one must “be careful what [they] wish for”. It is clear that Sammy left his job for various reasons-- he listened to his moral compass, and abandoned the job as he did not want to be a cookie cutter cashier, nor did he want to spend the rest of his life at a low class job. In addition, although his attempt wasn’t exactly successful, he aimed to show himself as a competent, brave individual to the girls, a “man. Unfortunately, his actions weren’t thought out, and he acted upon a gut feeling, rather than with reason and logic. “His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” The audience can infer that Sammy feels quite foolish and ashamed of his action. Whether he was standing up for what he believed in or protesting, him quitting really didn’t make a difference in anything. In the end, although Sammy initially feels confident about his bold move, in the end he is smacked with the ramifications of his actions, and realizes that his impulsive decision unfortunately cost him his
Sammy is no longer a child, but much of what he observes he describes as the play that he did as a child. The way he thinks can also be described as childlike play, in terms of his being disrespectful and needing to show off. Updike demonstrates, however, that Sammy desires to be thought of as an adult, and many of his references are to the type of play that adults might engage in. Sammy, like many adults, does not think in what is considered an adult manner, but Updike uses the plot's climax and conclusion to show that Sammy has learned a tough lesson that will speed up his transition into adulthood.
The story begins as if it is any mundane workday at the A&P. Sammy is a typical teen, making sarcastic comparisons of the customers in the grocery store. He calls one of his customers a "witch" and says the other customers are "house slaves" and "sheep." Sammy obviously dislikes the job, but finds ways of passing the day. However, from the moment the three girls enter the A&P to their exit from the store, you can see dramatic changes in Sammy. Sammy lusts for the young girls, and nicknames the most attractive to him as “Queenie”. The young girls dressed in bathing suits fascinate him, and although he is staring at them excessively, he negatively comments on the others for doing the same. As the girls walk past the older employee, McMahon, Sammy notices how he ogled the girls and pats his mouth. Sammy appears disgusted by his gesture and begins to sympathize for the girls. “Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn’t help it" (Upd...
...p and you are not happy with where you are in life, and truly want a change. With Sammy he always wanted to quit but never had the guts to stand-up and go through with it, mostly cause he did not have that free thinking mentality like the girls. Even though when he finally did walk out of the store and the girls were not there, he had no idea what was next in life, but he did know that he was free to make his own decisions. Sammy no longer had to take Mr. Lengel’s nonsense, or stick around and watch Stocksie become manger. This was his time to stop being a push over and pave the path to his own future. His parents may have been upset, but this gave him an opportunity to stand up for his own actions and be confident in his choices he had made, regardless if they were for the right or for the wrong. Sammy was able to press forward and start a new chapter in his life.
Now that Sammy has chosen to become a juvenile delinquent, he realizes "how hard the world was going to be" for him in the future. He has left a life of safety and direction for one of the complete opposite, and he must be willing to accept the responsibilities of his actions, no matter the consequences.
Out of all the short stories, there was a specific reason on why I chose this story and this character. Well, that reason is because I had a true connection with both, but mainly with the character I have chosen. Throughout this story, Sammy shows a lot of characteristics that I had as a teenager. Therefore, I feel that I can relate to him on a level that will help me explain the reasons for his actions. Now, let’s take a look at this whole situation before it even gets to the part where the story begins.