A & P and Everyday Use Analysis and Comparison In a modern society where good deeds and integrity are taken for granted, it is necessary for people to stand up for what is right. The short story “A & P”, written by John Updike, tells the story of Sammy and how he takes a stand for what he believes is right, only he is not given the gratitude he deserved. “Everyday Use”, written by Alice Walker, is another short story that shows how substantial it is to stand firm for one’s convictions and beliefs, especially in familial matters. Mama, the protagonist in “Everyday Use”, must make the decision of protecting her self-conscious daughter Maggie, or giving in to Dee, her other egocentric daughter who has forgotten the traditional values of their family. These two short stories indicate the importance of protecting people from the harshness of reality because not everyone is secure or aware enough to be able to stand up for themselves. Although one’s good deeds may often not be acknowledged, the inevitable lesson of maturity can be taught through such experiences. In “A&P”, Sammy is a teenage clerk who is not acknowledged for accomplishing what he thinks is a good deed. During a hot day, three teenage girls walks into the A&P grocery store, wearing only their bathing suits. The image of the girl’s revealing attire provides an absolute contrast to both the simple interior of the store and also of the other conservative customers. Sammy describes the customers as “sheeps” because they look mindless as they follow each other around the aisles in continual, constant motion. However, these three girls conflict with the imagery of “sheeps” by breaking the norms of what the A&P grocery store, and society in general, has proclaimed as acce... ... middle of paper ... ...o everyday use, such as Mama and Maggie have rightly done. Both of these short stories express the importance of standing up for what is right, regardless that one’s action may go unnoticed or that one may be faced with the difficult decision of choosing one daughter over the other. A person’s integrity and character develops every time a person stands up for what he or she believes in. Standing up for what is right is a good deed, and people should always stand firm for what is right because despite the possible losses, there is much more to be gained. . Works Cited Updike, John. “A&P” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner., and Stephen R. Mandell New York: Heinle, 2006 Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, Compact. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner., and Stephen R. Mandell New York: Heinle, 2006
Walker, Alice. "Everyday Use." Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 10th ed. New York: Pearson, 2014. 1125-1131. Print.
Updike, John. "A & P." Literature (4th ed). Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.
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Updike, John. “A & P.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly
In John Updike’s story, “A&P”, a young man named Sammy is working the checkout line at the grocery store A&P. Three girls in bathing suits walk throughout the store and he notices key differences in every single one of them. The one girl that sticks out to him the most though, he gives the name “Queenie” based on the way she carries herself and her level of attractiveness. When Sammy’s manager, Lengel, begins embarrassing the girls on the way that they are dressed, Queenie fights back that she had to pick up herring snacks for her mother. Sammy begins to make assumptions about the girl’s life and how her family is probably in a higher social class than his, based on what they drink. A spark ignites in Sammy and he wants to stand up for the girls so he quits his job. In hopes that the girls would hear what he did and become the hero of the situation, he finds that they are gone and also finds a new aspiration for the life that he lives.
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Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” is a short story about an African American family that struggles to make it. Mama tries her best to give Maggie and Dee a better life than what she had. In Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use,” Dee is the older sister and Maggie is younger. Dee is described as selfish and self-centered. Maggie is generous, kind, and cares the family’s history together. She would go out of her way to make sure that her older sister, Dee has everything she needs and wants. Maggie is also willing to share what she has with her sister. Maggie is also shy and vulnerable. Mama is the mother of Maggie and Dee. Mama is fair and always keeps her promises to her children. Hakim-a-barber is the boyfriend
Updike, John “A&P.” Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama and The Essay.4th e. Ed. Frank Madden. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 496-501. Print.
Anderson, Robert, et. al. Elements of Literature: Sixth Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1989. Print.
“I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man-working hands” Mama describes of herself in the short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker. Mama, who additionally takes the role of narrator, is a lady who comes from a wealth of heritage and tough roots. She is never vain, never boastful and most certainly never selfish. She speaks only of her two daughters who she cares deeply for. She analyzes the way she has raised them and how much she has cared too much or too little for them, yet most of all how much they value their family. Mama never speaks of herself, other than one paragraph where she describes what she does. “My fat keeps me hot in zero weather. I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing” (Walker, 60). She does not need to tell readers who she is, for her descriptions of what she does and how her family interacts, denotes all the reader needs to know. Although Mama narrates this story rather bleakly, she gives readers a sense of love and sense of her inner strength to continue heritage through “Everyday Use”.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Eds.Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 4th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 2000. 280-86.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Robert DiYanni, ed. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Schakel, Peter J., and Jack Ridl. The "Everyday Use." Approaching Literature: Writing, Reading, Thinking. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin, J.
The story 'Everyday Use', written by Alice Walker, is a story of heritage, pride, and learning what kind of person you really are. In the exposition, the story opens with background information about Dee and Maggie's life, which is being told by Mama. The reader learns that Dee was the type of child that had received everything that she wanted, while Maggie was the complete opposite. The crisis, which occurs later in the story, happens when Dee all of a sudden comes home a different person than she was when she left. During the Climax, Mama realizes that she has often neglected her other child, Maggie, by always giving Dee what she wants. Therefore, in the resolution, Mama defends Maggie by telling Dee that she cannot have the household items that she wants just to show others, instead of putting them to use like Maggie.
Legget, John et al. “Contemporary Literature.” Elements of Literature: Literature of the United States. 7th ed. New York: Holt Rinehart Winston, 2000. 904-906.