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Recommended: analyzing a&p by john updike

As the title suggests, John Updike’s “A&P” takes place in an A&P store. A cashier named Sammy is working the day when three girls walk inside to shop wearing only bathing suits and he becomes instantly interested, watching them as they browse the aisles of the store, and a fellow cashier named Stokesie admires them with him. All the while, Sammy has a running dialogue in his mind which consists of his comments on the three girls’ physical appearances, and he gives each a nickname based on the way he sees them. The one who seems to be the leader of the group and also the one he finds most attractive, he nicknames Queenie. The two others, who he is considerably less impressed by, are dubbed Plaid and Big Tall Goony Goony. When the girls choose his checkout line to make their purchase, Sammy becomes excited, but Lengel, the store manager, scolds them for entering the store inappropriately dressed. Sammy, feeling as if Lengel had embarrassed and mistreated the girls, makes the hasty decision to quit his job. He leaves the building and looks around for the girls, hoping that they are impr...

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  • A & P, by John Updike

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    The beginning of “A & P” starts with the main character, Sammy, at work when three girls in nothing but bathing suits walks in. According to Lawrence Dessner, the A & P check out counter showed Sammy a sample of insult and indignity of ordinary people (317). He may not have liked the people that shopped there, but he received insight of the real world. A woman that was currently at Sammy's counter was middle aged and brought Sammy no sympathy to the shoppers; he sometimes mention them as sheep. His names of the shoppers also include insight of Sammy's view of the ordinary shoppers; Sammy did not care much for others.

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  • Comparing Girl by Jamaica Kincaid and A&P by John Updike

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    In each short story the character(s) the author highlights are young girls. This is first evident in the title alone in “Girl” where the title already gives the impression of a universally known stereotype as being young, and naïve. Although the title “A&P” does not suggest the same implication, within the story the reader learns quickly that the girls described in the story are in fact young, and innocent and lacking instruction just as the character in “Girl.” Understanding the characters is important because it sheds light on the reasons why they do what they do, and give reason to the plot. In which case, the characters even become the plot, such as the two short stories referenced. The girls described by Sammy in “A&P,” consume much of the story just by description, making it unmistakable their character. “...And then the third one, that wasn’t quite so tall. She was the queen. She kind of led them...” (Updike). Momentarily the reader is able to develop an image of these girls because everybody, young or old, most probably has been witness to this type of entourage throughout middle/high school. The girl being referred to by Sammy, Queenie, is oblivious to the fact she is stirring up the scene in the store, showing her naivety. Similarly, in “Girl” the fact that the young girl is being given instructions on how to behave as an adolescent girl by her mother, is reason to believe she is so inexperienced that her mother felt the instructions were necessary. The girls both have not realized the expectations society has upon the female population, nor the conseque...

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