John Updike's A&P

John Updike's A&P

Many of the events that take place in John Updike's "A&P" would not

have happened had the town lived under a Marxist society. Marxism is a

socio-economic ideal where all people work for the good of the

community and is characterized by not having any social class

distinctions. The division of Classes in "A&P" is very apparent,

especially between Sammy, the protagonist and first person narrator,

and the three girls, one of the three antagonists, who walk into the

store during the exposition. There is also a cast disparity between

Sammy and Lengel, the store manager and another antagonist (along with

society, who complete the three). A distinction is also noticeable

between the three girls and the rest of the shoppers in the

convenience store.

The story is told entirely in flashback and is set in a grocery store

in a town north of Boston, Massachusetts during one Thursday in

summer. During the exposition we learn that Sammy is working one of

the cash registers. Later in the story we are told that he is 19 years

old and by his description of how his parents treat company we can

assume he comes from a middle class family. We are lead to believe

during Sammys narration that the three girls, on the other hand, come

from a rich or high societal background. The way Queenie is described

by Sammy as having prima-donna legs and walking slow while holding

herself straight paints a portrait of a high society woman. The fact

that Sammy calls her prim twice also leads us in that direction. Sammy

looks up to Queenie because she is different and places her on a

higher level than the "sheep" in the store. When Sammy quits his job,

creating a conflict between he and Lengel, his motive is to become the
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...ls us she was

embarrassed by the whole situation-where she felt out of place because

of her high stature in society. These scenes, of course, would never

have taken place in Marxist cultures because the government would have

provided for it's citizens and the girls would have never found

themselves being humiliated in front of a lesser class of people.

All the conflicts that take place in Updike's "A&P" would have been

avoided in a Marxist society. Lengel and Sammy would have never had a

confrontation because Sammy would not have been trying to impress a

high society girl. Likewise, the three girls would not have found

themselves shopping for a snack in the A&P because the government

would have provided it for them. This leaves us with one question,

however, In a Marxist society, would Sammy have realized his adulthood

or would he have remained a child?