Social Acceptance In John Updike's A & P

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In the short story A & P, John Updike shows how social acceptance can lead to a negative outcome, which we have seen many times before. Updike tells a story about a grocery store in a small town in New England called A & P. Sammy, being one of the main characters in the story, who is also the narrator, is shown discussing about his day to day life at the store. He mainly discusses one day in particular. A group of 3 girls walks into the store and Sammy is infatuated with them. Sammy is shown flaunting/talking about the girls while trying to depict how the girl’s personalities are. By the end of the story Sammy makes a decision in an act of “chivalry” towards the girls but ends up regretting the decision he decided to make. Sammy actions have …show more content…

As the girls are getting their items checked out by Sammy this is when Lengel comes out and see’s how the girls are dressed. “Girls this isn’t the beach” (241). This line shows that Lengel is more of the authority figure and doesn’t have the same mind set as Sammy does. Lengel then say to the girls “we want you decently dressed when you come in here” (242). Queenie quickly responds to this by saying “we are decent” (242). I believe she said this because by her being quiet meant that she was weak. This also shows that queenie is more of the “head girl” of the group because she was the only one that answered. Sammy then jumps in and say’s “I quit. To Lengel loud enough for the to hear me hoping they will stop and watch me” (242). He wanted the girls to watch him because he wanted to be “One who shows great courage” (“Hero”). “I pull the bow on my apron and start shrugging it off my shoulders” (242). “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course” (242). I think Sammy refers the girls as “My Girls” because he wants to show that he is kind of like them in a way and that he understands them. Sammy also notices that the girls have left, and did not even care notice his attempt to be a “Gallant or distinguished gentlemen” (Britannica

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