A&P

909 Words2 Pages

I chose to write about the short story "A&P." The story takes place in a small town in the late 60's, in a vacation town of sorts with a general store, few residents. What I received from the setting, was a very low maintenance town where "everybody knows everybody" (very tight community) most likely old school beliefs and structures (religion, dress code, ethics, morals, ext…strict) and for a short time tourists come to live for a while, and in a sense shake up the foundation of the town a bit with their outside beliefs and values.

Well Sammy, the main character, is nineteen and has or had, as I should say after reading the story, a job working as a check-out clerk at the local A&P. (Alexadrov and Petrooshki Tea Company) When one day all hell breaks loose as three scantily clad young women strut into the store to buy Fancy Herring in Pure Sour Cream- 49cents, which is another big indication of the time, the prices of goods and also what people were buying. During this time "Stokesie" is introduced to us as the other cashier that is three years older than Sammy. (22) Well Sammy and Stokesie are overwhelmed with emotions as soon as they lay eyes on these ladies. Which I understand what is going being a guy/man and living in sort of a small town myself, where you know all the girls and their either taken or you just are not interested.

Then suddenly one random day a beautiful woman walks into work/school/a party that no one has seen before and your thoughts begin to start racing around your head and your heart rate increases a little bit. All you can think of is "Wow, I have got to talk to her." Sometimes we(men) over think like it states in the story, "Stokesie's married, with two babies chalked up in his head alread...

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...hose this story for the shear fact that I saw a lot of the same emotions and happenings in my life, but also a lot of unfortunate mistakes on the characters part which made me scratch my head and wonder. "How can you be so stupid and in denial of how one event leads to another, and to see how careless your actions are?" The story closes with Sammy coming to the realization of how his life will change, "My stomach fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me here-after." To one reading the story that was Sammy coming to terms with his rash actions awhile fully understanding the consequences.

Let's just hope he doesn't make any of the mistakes he made on that fateful day when three women whose names he did not know, mind you, changed his life, without either of them knowing it, for what I would guess to be quite some time. See what you women do to us!

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