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The Enlightenment of Sammy in Updike’s A & P
In John Updike's short story, "A & P," the main character, Sammy, is a cashier at a small grocery store. He is seen by many to be a sexist pig, describing in detail how he sees the three girls that walk in to the store. Sammy is in fact a sexist pig by what he says about them. With evidence and quotes from the story, Sammy can be determined to be a sexist pig. He describes the first girl he sees walking in the store as "a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it..." (421). Although the comment was kept to himself, in mind it is a sexist comment. Though the girl was in a bathing suit and there was no beach around, she probably wasn't trying to get the attention of young guys. She was just there to "pick up a jar of herring snacks" (423). Describing the girl's "can" (421), meaning her backside, gives Sammy some credit of being a sexist pig. Sammy slowly begins to see the other two girls follow the first. He notices not only what they're wearing, but what the little clothing that they have on covers up. "This clean bare plane of the top of her chest down from the shoulder bones like a dented sheet of metal tilted in the light" (421). With this quote, he is describing how the bathing suit was slipping off the girl, but in a more demeaning manner. "With the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of the suit and top of her head except just her..." (421). Sammy describes that he just sees the girl, a one-nighter type. He doesn't see that she's a human, but just a plaything. One other quote/thought that Sammy has while these girls (whom remain nameless throughout the story), is when the one he calls Queeny takes her money from "the hollow at the center of her nubbled pink top" (423). He begins to get excited as he uncreases the bill as "it just having come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla [he] had ever known there were" (424). Sammy seems to be more of a sexist pig, as the reader proceeds through the story.
Character can be defined as the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another. Authors usually embrace a distinct choice of personality on a character to make them stand out in a story. In "A & P" by John Updike, Sammy starts off as a young man discontent with his ordinary adult surroundings and moves to his need to change it. Throughout the story, Sammy describes and interprets the scenes around him, consequently revealing his own character, by which can be related through the use of Thomas Chou's Ennegram, to distinguish his personality type.
John Updike's short story "A&P" is about a teenager who has to make a serious decision. The story is set in an A&P supermarket in a town north of Boston, probably about the year 1960. As the plot unfolds, Sammy changes from being a thoughtless and sexist boy to being a young man who can make a decision, even though it might hurt him.
William Peden once called John Updike’s “A&P” “deftly narrated nonsense...which contains nothing more significant than a checking clerk's interest in three girls in bathing suits” (Peden). While Peden’s criticism may be harsher than necessary, it is hard to find fault with his analysis. Sammy’s tale offers little more than insight into an egocentric and self-motivated mind, and while Updike may disagree with that conclusion, a close reading of the text offers significant evidence to support this theory. In “An Interview with John Updike”, Updike describes how Sammy quit as a “feminist protest” (153). However, I would argue that Sammy’s act of defiance was selfishly motivated and represents his inner struggle with his social class as demonstrated through his contempt for those around him and his self-motivated actions.
This Story takes place in 1961, in a small New England town's A&P grocery store. Sammy, the narrator, is introduced as a grocery checker and an observer of the store's patrons. He finds himself fascinated by a particular group of girls. Just in from the beach and still in their bathing suits, they are a stark contrast, to the otherwise plain store interior. As they go about their errands, Sammy observes the reactions, of the other customers, to this trio of young women. He uses the word "Sheep" to describe the store regulars, as they seem to follow one and other, in their actions and reactions. The girls, however, appear to be unique in all aspects of their beings: walking, down the isles, against the grain: going barefoot and in swim suits, amongst the properly attired clientele. They are different and this is what catches and holds Sammy's attention. He sees them in such detail, that he can even see the queen of the bunch. Sammy observes their movements and gestures, up until the time of their checkout. At which point, they are confronted by the store manager and chastised for their unacceptable appearance. He believes their attire to be indecent. Sammy, feeling that the managerial display was unnecessary and unduly embarrassing for the girls, decides to quit his position as checker. Thought he knows that his decision may be hasty, he knows that he has to follow through and he can never go back. He leaves, with a clean conscious, but the burden of not knowing what the future has in store.
The short story by John Updike called “A&P” is a very interesting little story. The way that it is written is quite amusing. It seems as though the story takes place around the seventies maybe, but the reader never really knows because it is not specified. One might think this is the time frame because of how Sammy, the narrator of the story, writes as if this is the time period in which he is living.
In his short story "A & P" John Updike utilizes a 19-year-old adolescent to show us how a boy gets one step closer to adulthood. Sammy, an A & P checkout clerk, talks to the reader with blunt first person observations setting the tone of the story from the outset. The setting of the story shows us Sammy's position in life and where he really wants to be. Through the characterization of Sammy, Updike employs a simple heroic gesture to teach us that actions have consequences and we are responsible for our own actions.
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.
In "A&P" Sammy changes from an immature teenager to a person who takes a stand for what he believes is wrong which is reflected in Sammy's words and actions. This paper is composed of three paragraphs. The first paragraph deals with the immature Sammy, the second concentrates on Sammy's beginning his maturing process, and the last focuses on his decision to take a stand no matter what the consequences are.
On the other hand, a leader is a person who influences a group of people in order to achieve certain goal. According to Oliver, (2006), leader is an individual who has an ability to demonstrate a specific set of role of behaviours in order to influence the others behaviours and attitudes. There three factor or keys that necessary to obtain a goal, which are the person, people, and purpose. Figure 1 below shows the relationship between the three factors needed to achieve the goal.
John Updike’s “A&P” is a short story about a nineteen year old boy during the 1960’s that has a summer job at the local A&P grocery. The main character in the story, Sammy, realizes that life isn’t always fair and that sometimes a person makes decisions that he will regret. Sammy sees that life doesn’t always go as planned when three young girls in bathing suits walk in and his manager Lengel gives them a hard time, and he comes to term with that sometimes you make bad decisions.
The story is a simple conflict followed by definitive action short story. It’s a wonderful portrayal of what a young man thinks and what he will stand for and what he will not. The fascinating part is how Sammy describes the young ladies as they enter the convenience store. Updike states “She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs”. Sammy is only talking about one of the three young ladies in this description. The descriptive words in the story are very thought provoking; Updike refers to the girls derrieres as “cans”. Imagery and symbolism are used frequently through out the story; Sammy describes the shoppers inside the A&P Updike uses this description “sheep pushing their carts down the aisles”.
John Updike's "A&P" is about a boy named Sammy, who lives a simple life while working in a supermarket he seems to despise. As he is following his daily routine, three girls in bathing suits enter the store. The girls affect everyone's monotonous lives, especially Sammy's. Because the girls disrupt the routines of the store, Sammy becomes aware of his life and decides to change himself.
During the Great Depression, there was a massive migration from rural areas to more populated areas. During this era the Joad family decided to migrate from Oklahoma to California in search of work. As the Joad family traveled to California, the Grandfather dies. During this rough time, Ma helps comfort Grandma over her husband’s death. Ma knew that if Grandma was understanding and accepting of Grandpa’s death, the family would use that courage and her example to get through the mourning period faster. “She seemed to know, to accept, to welcome her position, the citadel of the family, the strong place that could not be taken. And since Tom and the children could not know hurt or fear unless she acknowledged hurt and fear, she has practiced denying them in herself. And since, when a joyful thing happened, they looked to see whether joy was on her, it was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials” ( Steinbeck 48). The mourning period went by quickly because Ma showed strength in herself and in the family.
John Updike's A&P provides numerous perspectives for critical interpretation. His descriptive metaphors and underlying sexual tones are just the tip of the iceberg. A gender analysis could be drawn from the initial outline of the story and Sammy's chauvinism towards the female. Further reading opens up a formalist and biographical perspective to the critic. After several readings I began seeing the Marxist perspective on the surreal environment of A&P. The economic and social differences are evident through Sammy's storytelling techniques and even further open up a biographical look at Updike's own view's and opinions. According to an essay posted on the internet Updike was a womanizer in his own era and displayed boyish immaturity into his adulthood. A second analysis of this story roots more from a reader-response/formalist view. Although Sammy centered his dramatization around three young females, more specifically the Queen of the trio, it was a poignant detailed head to toe description of scene. I'll touch on that later.
Statistics show that teen pregnancy has declined since past years but still continues to be a problem among adolescents. For example from 1990 to 2010 the teen birth rate has declined from 61.8 to 29.4 for every one thousand teen girls (Teen Pregnancy & Childbearing 1). Even with a decrease from the past twenty years, National statistics show that in 2012 there were still 305,388 teen births. On average there were twenty-nine births for every one thousand girls and only fifty-four percent were planned. More pregnancies occur among girls of minority. For example forty-six out of every one thousand girls of Hispanic descent were pregnant in 2012 while African American girls had close to forty-four for every one thousand. Compared to Caucasians they had more than half of the number of teen births in the year of 2012. With a drastically large number of teen births in the year of 2012 alone, 9.4 billion dollars were spent on teen childbearing. New York State alone spent 337 million for 12,592 teen births. The number of teen pregnancies compared to teen births also has a drastic difference. For example the teen pregnancy rate was 41,590 in the year of 2012, compared to 12,592 births. Meaning thirty percent of the girls terminated their pregnancy. With ...