In John Updikes’ A&P, a 19 year old man named Sammy was working as a cashier for the store. Three girls, wearing only bathing suits, walked into the store. He was so captivated by the girls once he noticed them. Distracted by their beauty, he started describing them, detail by detail. The question asked was whether Sammy’s act of quitting was selfish or was it a sacrifice and if he cared about the girls’ dignity.
Earlier in the book, she attempted to talk to Candy, Crooks, and Lennie, but all of them wanted her out of the room. “She looked from one face to another, and they were all closed against her. And she looked longest at Lennie, until he dropped his eyes in embarrassment”(78). Curley’s wife felt the most alienated at this point, because even the lowliest on the farm were rising up against her. Candy makes a stand, telling Curley’s wife that they have a place to go to, even if they are canned.
Their front yard was packed with junk. “The neighbors complained, so my parents were forced to put up a fence to hide all our crap,” Hope laughs. “My mom didn’t like thinking the neighbors had won some kind of victory, so she painted that garish yellow happy face as tall and as wide as the fence would allow.” She admits, however, “The smiley face wasn’t a reflection of internal happiness.” (Solo and Killion 7-8). Gerry Solo, her troubled father, had a criminal past and a suspicious present. Charges of embezzlement, affairs with a minister’s wife, and calling in fabricated bomb threats were just a few of his latest stunts, all of which made Hope’s eyes roll.
In the short story “A & P” author John Updike introduces Sammy, a young cashier at the supermarket A & P, who becomes mesmerized by three girls who walk in to the grocery store wearing nothing but bathing suits. The story follows Sammy’s thoughts while he traces the girls’ path around the store, daydreaming about who they are and why they are in the store. While checking out, the three girls are reprimanded for their lack of clothing by the store’s manager and in a display of presumptuous chivalry, Sammy quits his job. However, when one assumes perceptions to be reality the mystery of another’s mind can prove to be disappointingly different, and therefore one should make decisions carefully before jumping to conclusions. The story opens when one day girls in bathing suits walk in to the store to buy snacks.
George used the ... ... middle of paper ... ... was dragged away from her dream, and could never fulfill it after being killed by Lennie. Curley’s wife only dreamed of being noticed by people, however marrying Curley and the lack of her family’s support ultimately resulted in her broken American dream. Several Symbols in Of Mice and Men help to illustrate that dreams can be broken just as easily as they were created. Lennie’s state of mind reminds us that George and Lennie’s dream of the farm could never happen. Also, the failure of Candy to stand up and kill his dog represents the end of Candy’s dream of the farm.
Sammy's decision to quit his job at the grocery store shows his development from an immature teenager to a person who will take a position for what he believes in no matter the consequences. Sammy's immaturity is seen right from beginning of the story when he says, "In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits"( Updike 596). At first Sammy could not watch them stroll around the store because his back was at the door, but once they were in his sight he instantaneously begins to illustrate them and notice every physical detail of each of the girls, from their skin tone to the color of the suits. He and his other friends that work i... ... middle of paper ... ...arts off being immature, gazing at the girls as they meander around the store. But, as time goes on he begins to grow up and realizes that he does not have to be like everyone else and begins to make his own decisions.
There were multiple instances where he would interrupt Biff when he was trying to tell him something important, yet, he scolded his wife, Linda, several times for simply talking and it didn’t even appear as though she was interrupting anyone. This makes him a hypocrite, if not worse. He also cheated on his wife, which makes him pretty pathetic in my book. And not only did he cheat on his wife, Biff found out and Willy knows that this is the reason Biff never went to summer school to graduate. Even knowing it’s his own fault, Willy acts like Biff has all of the blame and Willy gives him such a hard time about not graduating.
The short story “A & P” by John Updike is about a young man’s decision to stand up for others or, in the other characters’ opinions, make a foolish decision by abandoning his responsibility. At first he believes his decision is the right thing, quitting his job for how the girls were being treated. Then when he gets outside of the store, he realizes the world he just left behind, regrets his decision, and begins to question his actions. He starts to overthink what the world has to offer him, making his worldview change from underrating to overrating. His “unsure of the world’s dangers” worldview in the beginning changes to overrating the dangers of the future ahead at the end of the story causing Sammy to change throughout “A & P”.
In “A & P”, John Updike conveys the reaction of bystanders to three young women when they enter a grocery store, dressed in swim wear during a day at the beach. The ladies begin touring the store in search of Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks for Queeie’s mother. Lengel, the store manager, takes notice of the girl’s attire as they navigate to the cashier to pay for their snack and disapprovingly confronts them. During Lengel’s conversation at the checkout, Queenie understandably becomes uncomfortable and defensive. She attempts to defend herself but the store manager relentlessly reiterates his opinion.
He refers to them as sheep. He gets distracted by three teenaged females that enter his job, wearing nothing but swimsuits. Sammy and his male coworker lust after the girls, as they shop. He labels one of the girls as Queenie, because the other girls seem to just follow in her steps. The entire store watches as the girls move about in the store and the onlookers seem to be curious