Teenage Desire and Immature Decision

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Recommended: Protagonist sammy in updike's a&p criticism

John Updike, in his short story “A & P” written in 1961 telling his young age experiences through narrator Sammy. Sammy is a 19 years old small town man who works in a local store called A & P as a cashier. Like any other grown adult, he is also a person with healthy sexual desire for girl. Additionally, he is bored because of his monotonous job, and looking for some excitement in life. Updike presented Sammy is a strong character in A & P because his each deeds is prominent in the story. In general, Sammy is a small town teenage with passion for girls, immature in nature, and has desire for change. To begin, Sammy is like all other teenage male with healthy interest in pretty girl. It is not surprising that when a man sees girl in her teenage with only bath suit on, bare foot, walking like butterfly with breath taking smile on her face, he can easily melt, so did Sammy once he saw Queenie walking inside the store. As one can see he is in need for some attraction to make his day, he easily lost in Queenie in the first sight. Moreover, he notices every possible things of her such as color and texture of her bath suit, physical appearance, and even micro tan lines on her body (131). Additionally, his extreme sexual desire forcing him to dream even more; as a result, he starts feeling the physical touch of the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. Every single entity that touches her is cherished to him. For example, a dollar bill that came from the gap between her fresh, young, and perhaps untouched treasure of her body was the most precious thing in the world for him. Consequently, his decision to quit his job in the hope of impressing a girl whom he never talk or seen before demonstrates his sexual interest, and dedication towar... ... middle of paper ... ...engel, just because she comes to the store in her bath suit on. Therefore, one can see that he is certainly dedicated for positive change in himself and his society. Finally, Updike presents his teenage feelings through narrator Sammy in very simple, but meaningful way. One can see that Sammy is a small town immature teen from poor family, who works in the local A & P store as cashier. Any other normal young man, he also has healthy interest in girl and teenage sexual passion, and he is trying to find his way in society through change in society and fighting against conservative social norms. Works Cited Updike, John. “A & P.” LIT. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Wadsworth, 2012. 115-17. Updike, John. “A & P.” Films On Demand. Films Media Group, 1996. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=1407&xtid=9137.

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