Maciej Szwoch
Sandra Beuchamp
Com 102
5/9/2016
title
The environment of the modern day grocery store can be quite stressful. It is here, that people truly show their disposition. Its almost like the act of standing behind people equally as frustrated is a form of torture, and only then does the truth come out. The truth is, most people live boring lives, and this chore puts an emphasis on boredom. Most people tend to forget about one thing during this grueling experience, and that is the employee. When a customer becomes frustrated, they take it out on the employee, but when the employee becomes frustrated with agitated customers the same outlet is not available. The Story of “A & P” by John Updike, and the Film of “Employee of the Month”
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In 'Employee of the Month”, Zack works as a box boy for SuperClub, often regarded as the bottom of the food chain in SuperClub. Zack, though holding no power in management, does maintain influence over the majority of employees. In this respect Zack is seen as the people 's person. This is analogous to the main character in “A & P”, Sammy. Sammy 's personality suggests that he as well is a man of the crowd, particularly how he interacts with Stokesie. Sammy, and Zack also show traits of individualism. Zack shows his individualism subliminally by doing small things such as refusing to dress up for work, and actively avoiding doing anything that the management regards as excellent due to his disdain to authority. Sammy 's individualism is much more prominent, as a critical analysis states, “Sammy asserts his individuality when he quits...by standing up for the girls, Sammy questions those standards“ (Ed. Wilson) The characterization of Zack and Sammy amplifies in the presence of their opposing foes. Zack 's antagonist is Vince, a head cashier at SuperClub, and Sammy 's antagonist is the manager at A & P, Lengel. These antagonists both love their jobs, taking great pride in their work. For instance, when Sammy scolded Lengel for embarrassing the girls, Lengel stated “It was they who were embarrassing us”(36). This correlates with Zack 's antagonist, Vince, who takes great pride in being “The fastest checkout in the South-West”.(Employee of The Month). The similarities between the antagonists, as well as the protagonists shows that “A & P”, and “Employee of The Month” are much more similar than
“‘Who that cracker think he is?’” (LeDuff 355). A quote from the article “At a Slaughterhouse Some Things Never Die,” Charlie LeDuff informs readers of the racial discrimination in the workplace of a slaughterhouse. In another article, “Working at Bazooms,” Meika Loe uncovers the power struggle and inequality between men and women in a workplace she dubs “bazooms.” The disrespect and unfairness is prevalent in these two qualitative studies. Findings from the studies has supported the split-labor market theory, stemming from Marx’s proletariat and bourgeoisie theory.
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.
Panera Bread’s atmosphere is enjoyable. The employees and the managers keep the restaurant clean at all times. When I walked into the restaurant for the first time there were visible employees wiping off the table and sweeping. Panera Bread has almost no trash visible around the entire restaurant. Looking around, there were no trash cans in sight; they were hidden by doors and cabinets. Panera Bread receives ample amount of customers a day keeping the restaurant clean is important, but the workers keep everything running smoothly as well. While waiting in a moderately long line, the employees immediately noticed the incoming rush and started working as a team to get the customers and myself in and out. Along with the workers helping to make the line move faster, the customers in line around me are keeping conversation. We are entertaining each other making the wait time appear shorter. With the great customers and keeping the restaurant clean, Panera Bread workers and managers keep the restaurant well managed. The noise level is separated by the location of dining. In front of me a group a friends decided to have lunch at a table laughing and enjoying themselves and a woman behind me chose to eat alone while reading a book, sitting in a quiet corner. More importantly the manager was always walking around making sure tables were clean, and trash was not i...
...usly shamed, embarrassed, and demeaned their employees. I think this kind of behavior is a way of separating employers from employees. It helps keep employees in line and also adds the benefit of making employers feel good about themselves at the expense of their employees. Demeaning actions prevent employees from organizing or protesting for higher wages or better conditions. It keeps them “in their place” and does not allow them to hope or strive for anything better. In spite of the dehumanization of employees by employers, there are silent rebellions committed by lower class employees such as jokes, gossip, doing other's work, and just in general helping each other out. These are silent protests, they do not change the status quo in any way, that would be too risky for these employees. It is survival and caring in a corporate world that does not care about them.
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.
Early in American history during colonial times and into the middle of the 19th centry, relations between employers and those whom they employed were many times hostile and adversarial. Sometimes these disagreements between employee and employer would explode into violent confrontations. Workers wether skilled or not would fight with management over improved/safer working conditions, fair pay, long exhausting hours by uniting and form...
Walmart is a multi-billion dollar retail industry that hires thousands of employees a year. Over the last decade Walmart, there has been some speculation that Walmart discriminates against women. They employ 815,000 women, which is 57 percent of its U.S. workforce (Reed). Over 2,000 women from each of 48 states have filed legal complaints against Walmart and the company is said to have a history of unfair treatment of these female employees by under paid and how there are so many lawsuits against them given few opportunities for advancement (Hines). I selected this topic because after doing some research I discovered some shocking information about how Walmart supposedly treats their female employees and how there are so many lawsuits filed against them. This relates to my field of study because it shows what goes on internally between a company and its employees and how a company’s decision affects their employees. This also relates to my field of study because it an example of what occurs sometimes within a company and that is legal action from employee to the employer.
The negative way that Sammy describes his place of work and some of the people that he works with
His annotation of the “women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs and nobody, including them, could care less” (Updike 159) and “the sheep” (Updike 162) in the checkout lines are an illustration of his everyday repetitious life working at the A&P. He compares these women to animals showing his undeniable sophomoric juvenile behavior. John Updike depicts Sammy’s character as a typical young boy who thinks he is invisible to the idea that consequences apply to him. However, Sammy is granted the harsh actuality that he will no longer be given slaps on the wrist for radical decisions. His coworker Stokesie is twenty-two, married and has two children. Generally speaking, Sammy may still have childish actions but he understands that he does not want to work at the A&P the rest of his life.
The story unfolds when, “Lengel, the store’s manager” (2191) confronts the girls because they are dressed inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he quits his job. The student suggests that in quitting, “Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is trying to
I walked into the front of the store to see a crowd of people searching for a good grocery cart. One that wouldn’t wobble every second that you pushed it. I took a look at many of the faces as they were beginning or ending their shopping experience. The people walking in looking for a cart seemed unsure or not pleased to be there in the first place. While the people leaving looked happy and eager to get home. I took this as a clear sign that this was not the most enjoyable place to ...
Before the girls enter the store, Sammy is unaware that the setting he is so judgmental of reflects his own life. Sammy feels that he is better than the rest of people at the A&P, referring to them as "sheep" and "house-slaves" because they never break from their daily routines. He also condescendingly talks about "whatever it is they[the customers]...mutter." Reinforcing his superiority above the people in the store, Sammy sees himself as a person that can seldom be "trip[ped]...up." Although he sees himself being superior to the store, the reality is that the store closely reflects Sammy's life. He seems to have a long-term commitment to the store since his apron has his name stitched on it, and he has been working at the store long enough to have memorized the entire contents of the "cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft drinks-crackers-and-cookies." His day is also filled with the routine of working at the register, a routine that is so familiar that he has created a cash register song. Sammy also identifies with his co-worker Stokesie, "the responsible married man," and therefore wishes to someday be the manager of the store, like Lengel. Even the "checkerboard" floor represents a game of checkers, a simple one-directional game that closely models Sammy's life. Although Sammy is nineteen ...
Over time, this dull pain can erode the self-confidence and passion of even the strongest people, which in turn, affects their spouses and children and friends in subtle but profound ways… Though it may be difficult to quantify, the dissatisfaction of employees has a direct impact on productivity, turnover, and morale, all of which eventually hit a company’s bottom line hard,” (p. ix –
It is not hard to comprehend, for instance, that what is considered "client administration" in one nation might be completely wrong or even hostile in another. Along these lines, Wal-Mart 's German rivals merrily watched Wal-Mart outrage its new clients by stowing their buys. These contenders realized that thrifty German customers incline toward this undertaking not be finished by outsiders. While more well-to-do German customers may value this "administration", German rebate customers viewed this as an interruption into their security for which they were paying a concealed work cost. Wal-Mart 's blunder was intensified by its utilization of plastic packs in a general public exceedingly touchy to issues of manageability and matters of nature. Consequently, for reasons of both security and nature, Germans will take their own expansive packs to markets to sack and convey their own buys. This illustration is illustrative of Wal-Mart 's inability to value its clients. The organization 's utilization of greeters and its business of the "ten-foot guideline" whereby representatives would offer backing to customers were counter-beneficial decisions in a markdown market environment. Numerous customers were startled by these practices. Some even felt attacked. For instance, supermarket chain, Coop, which started in Germany, is a decent case of what
Being a good employee is essential in today’s world, especially in these tough economic times when there are many seeking work. Consequently, it is important to keep in mind that no employee is irreplaceable. While hearing many complain these days about his or her job, one just needs to look around and be thankful that they have the means in which to survive and are able to work. There are many who are not only unemployed, but also unable to perform due to illness or a disability. Sometimes when a person is feeling in a mood to complain, they may need to sit back, relax and take a look around in order to appreciate what they have, and learn how to be a good employee.