Defining Injustice In John Updike's A & P

There are many ways to define injustice and many examples can be put forth to show what injustice is. John Updike ' short story A & P gives an example of the injustice of the bad treatment of others and general disrespect. It also gives another example of a phenomenon known as "White Knighting" especially with the intent of a reward. Another story that gives some examples of injustice is Laura Blumefield 's story The Apology: Letters from a Terrorist. I 'm the story; we are given the example of an injustice of how an innocent bystander was shot because of a long war between two groups of people. It also shows the injustices of prisons and how people who are incarnated are treated in other countries. Injustice is very prevalent on this planet,

In his essay, Updike 's character Lengel says to the girls "that makes no difference . . . We want you to be decently dressed when you [the three girls] come in here." (90). The girls were called out because of what they were wearing. If that is the store policy then Lengel had every right to tell them they needed to put something more appropriate on. However, Lengel was very uncouth and rude to the girls for no reason. They were doing nothing wrong besides not wearing clothing that was a little revealing. The way he talked to the girls was very cold and condescending in a way that made the young women embarrassed. He made a scene when he could have just said it politely and asked them to put on more appropriate

Overall white knighting is an innocuous act and is basically just sticking up for another person. However, the way Sammy did it in the story, by quitting his job, was completely antithetical to how he should have done it. Instead of just pointing out Lengal 's crude way of handling the girls, he decided that quitting and hoping that the girl would see it would be enough to make them have some sort of adoration for him. The following quote shows Sammy wanting a reward for standing up for someone: "so I [Sammy] say "I quit" to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they 'll [the girls] stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero. (Updike 90). The injustice isn 't Sammy being a white knight; it is him expecting a reward for standing up for them. It isn 't right to expect something in return if you 're standing up for what is right. Sammy quitting was also an injustice in itself, he was fortunate enough to get this job because of his parents, but decided that being a petulant child and unilaterally decided that quitting was the best course of