Immatura In A & P

666 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of personal reflection

Sometimes men will go to great lengths to try to impress women. In the story “A&P” Sammy, a 19 year old cashier who is the narrator of this story. The story of how he attempted to look good in front of the girl he happened to have a crush on. In the story the reader is able to understand Sammy’s emotions. Sammy is seen as a typical immature teenage male attempting to find himself in society by experiencing a slow shift towards maturity by taking a stand. Right from the start of the story, the reader is able to comprehend that Sammy is still somewhat immature by reading on how he observes every detail of what the girls going inside the store are wearing. In the first part of the story Sammy notices the girls, "…and a sweet broad looking can …show more content…

In the story he mentions them as being like “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (156). Comparing people as animals can be seen as childish and slightly disrespectful. Although Sammy behaves immaturely for half of the story, during the climax he begins to act more mature. Associating himself to Stokesie, which is the other cashier, a 22 year old adult with a wife and two kids, is the first hint of Sammy’s slow shift to adulthood. Sammy tells the reader about Stokesie, “Stokesie's married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that's the only difference”(157).When Sammy describes Stokesie in the story shows how him and Stokesie are pretty equal and that the family can be seen as the main difference between …show more content…

After seeing how the girls were, in his eyes, embarrassed, Sammy has empathy towards the girls and his final decision is to stand up for what he thinks is right. Sammy did not really think consciously that he was slowly turning away from his teenage self to a more mature person. Taking a stand and following through his plan of impressing someone is something that takes courage. ““You'll feel this for the rest of your life,”” Lengel says, and I know that's true, too, but remembering how he made that pretty girl blush makes me so scrunchy inside” (159) Sammy knows that he will have to face the consequences later but at the same time knows that it had to be done. When Sammy finally steps out of A&P he finds his crush to be gone, not waiting for him and all that is left is just him and a couple outside arguing. Sammy experiences rejection from his crush maybe for the first time in his life. Sammy’s final words in the story are “my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter”. **Sammy was able to reflect that day how life can be harsh thus making him more mature**. The reader is able to understand based on Sammy’s incident that he will be a different person from that point

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast A & P And Greasy Lake

    446 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the stories, both characters are showing strong scents of refusing their present status. Sammy is a nineteen years-old boy working at a grocery store who stands up against the manager to impress the girl he has fallen to. The mystery narrator from “Greasy Lake” is also nineteen years youth. He is playing as a bad character whom any teen thought was cool at that time – the bad boy. But what he experiences is not a prank but what a real bad guy would do. Luckily, Sammy and the narrator realize the dark cloud that covering them all this time after the conflict with others. “Wisdom comes alone through suffering”. (qtd Aeschylus)

    Read More

  • Sammy Makes a Decision in John Updike's A&P

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy tells us he is nineteen years old.  He is a check-out clerk in the local A&P, where the boss, Lengel, is a friend of Sammy's parents.  Sammy does not seem to like his job very much.  He calls one of his customers a "witch" and says the other customers are "houseslaves" and "sheep."  He himself comes from a middle-class family.  When they have a party, he says, they serve "lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stencilled on" (15).  In addition, Sammy is sexist.  He gives long, loving descriptions of the girls who cause all the trouble, and he thinks at first that girls may not even have minds, asking, "do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?" (13) However, he does change as the plot goes on.

    Read More

  • Truth about Sammy in John Updike's A&P

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    While it's true that Sammy finds the three scantily-clad girls who enter the supermarket attractive, as would any normal nineteen-year-old male, what is most notable about his descriptions of the girls, and particularly of the "leader" of the group, is that Sammy holds them in contempt. Once we get beyond the descriptions of their bodies, we see nothing but derogatory comments directed at them, including the derisive nicknames that Sammy assigns to them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Sammy's description of the leader, "Queenie." The nickname assigned to her by Sammy points out the stereotypical snap judgment that Sammy makes about her personality and social status initially, and to which Sammy rigidly adheres despite no real evidence of its accuracy. From the description of her "prima donna" legs, to his imagining of ...

    Read More

  • Motif of Play in John Updike's A&P

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    Along with Sammy, the other characters involved in this story are three girls shopping in the A & P in their bathing suits, whom Sammy names Plaid, Queenie and Big Tall Goony-Goony; Stokesie, Sammy's married co-worker; and Lengel, the A & P manager. The "A & P" is told from Sammy's point of view. Sammy presents himself as a nonchalant and flippant young man. He appears to be somewhat contemptuous of the older people shopping in the store. However, near the end of the story, we see that he does take responsibility for his conscience-driven behavior and decision, revealing his passage out of adolescence into adulthood through the courage of his convictions.

    Read More

  • Hidden Class Struggle in John Updike's A&P

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    So Sammy quits his job to prove to himself, maybe to others, that he belongs in this "place." Quitting his job is his first step in achieving this goal. Sammy was obviously enthralled by the girls from the moment they walked in the A & P. He was not keen on the other two girls, but Queenie overwhelmed him. He may have even taken a liking to Queenie, but any average, nineteen-year old male would do the same after witnessing such striking beauty as is described. On the other hand, the average male would not quit a job and create such turmoil if first impression was the only cause. How interested could he actually be? In trying to figure out Queenie’s persona, he asks, "do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?

    Read More

  • An Analysis of John Updike's A&P

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    This story represents a coming-of-age for Sammy.  Though it takes place over the period of a few minutes, it represents a much larger process of maturation.  From the time the girls enter the grocery store, to the moment they leave, you can see changes in Sammy.  At first, he sees only the physicality of the girls:  how they look and what they are wearing, seem to be his only observations.  As the story progresses, he notices the interactions between the girls, and he even determines the hierarchy of the small dynamic.  He observes their actions and how they affect the other patrons of the business.  Rather, how the other people view the girl's actions.  His thought process is maturing and he starts to see things as an adult might see them.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Perspective of John Updike's A&P

    763 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the story Sammy complains about an older woman, a fifty-year-old "witch" with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows, who is waiting to check out her groceries. She gets annoyed with Sammy because he is too busy drooling over the young flesh which has just walked in the door (Updike 1026). The first half-naked girl who walks into the A&P and catches Sammy’s eye is a chunky girl with a two-piece plaid bathing suit on that showed off her "sweet broad soft-looking can" (Updike l026). As if staring at this girl’s backside wasn’t enough, Sammy also noticed "those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit" (Updike 1026).

    Read More

  • Growth of Sammy in John Updike's A&P

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of A&P, Sammy notices that three girls have walked into the store with only there bathing suits on.  At first, poor Sammy cannot see the girls because he was at register 3 with his back toward the door.  When they finally get into his sight, he immediately size the girls up.  "The one that caught my eye first was the one in the placid green two-piece.  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."  He also gives a description of the other two girls.  He says one has "a chubby berry-faces, her lips all bunched  together under her nose and the tall one, with black hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes and a chin that was too long--you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very "striking" and "attractive" but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much."  This comments illustrate his immaturity.  Sammy refers to one of the girls as queen.  He calls her queen because she seems to be the leader. ...

    Read More

  • John Updike A & P Transition Into Adulthood

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy watches every step the girls take while criticizing and admiring them at the same time. His observations of the leader who he refers to as Queenie and her followers give him an insight of who they are personally. Sammy likes Queenie as she possesses confidence which sets her apart from the group. Sammy, still being a young boy likes that her bathing suit has “slipped on her a little bit” (Updike 158). Updike conveys the obvious that Sammy cannot look away from Queenie when “there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her”. Updike includes these small details and imagery to indulge the reader in the perception that Sammy at this point in his life is a clueless teenage

    Read More

  • John Updike's A&P

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy is astounded by three young girls that walk into his store in their bathing suits. He follows their every move as they peruse over the cookies and other goods. The first thing this typical nineteen boy recognizes is the one girl’s “can”. But then he goes on to say that this girl is one that other girls seems to think has potential but never really makes it with the guys. One girl though especially catches his eye. He starts to call her “Queenie” because of the way she carries herself and that she seems to be the leader of the pack. Sammy does nothing but watch her every move as they parade about the store. He even daydreams about going into her house with her rich family at a cocktail party. He notices everything about her and thinks there was nothing cuter than the way she pulls the money out of her top. His immature infatuation with this girl is one of the reasons Sammy makes the hasty decision to quit in the end.

    Read More

  • Trapped by Society in John Updike's A&P

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sammy's thoughts, as told to the reader in his narration, betray a deep understanding of the people he comes in contact with. When the girls walked into the store, he began to describe not only their looks, but also their attitudes and personalities without ever speaking to them. The one who held his attention was also the one he named "Queenie". On page one he says, She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. Sammy understood that she was the one in charge, and by saying that the other two made their shoulders round he showed that he realized their passivity was by choice; they followed her by their own wills.

    Read More

  • Social Class in A & P by John Updike

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From “houseslaves in pin curlers” to “an old party in baggy gray pants” (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in contrast to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would like to explore hers.

    Read More

  • John Updike A & P Analysis

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the beginning of the story Updike "uses Sammy’s youth and unromantic descriptive powers" to show his immaturity and apparent boyish nature (Uphaus 373). We see this in the opening line of the story: "In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits" (Updike 1026). Even the voice of Sammy is very "familiar and colloquial" (Uphaus 373). Much of the information that Sammy relays about the three girls is sexually descriptive in a nineteen-year-old boy’s way: "and a sweet broad looking can [rear] with those two crescents of white under it, where the sun never seems to hit" (Updike 1026). It is apparent that Sammy looks at the three girls who happen to walk into the A&P only as objects of lust or possibly boyish desire. Thus, on the surface it is easy to take this story as that of a boy who would do something like quit his job to "impress" these girls. It is even ...

    Read More

  • Sammy and the Setting in John Updike's "A&P"

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before the girls enter the store, Sammy is unaware that the setting he is so judgmental of reflects his own life. Sammy feels that he is better than the rest of people at the A&P, referring to them as "sheep" and "house-slaves" because they never break from their daily routines. He also condescendingly talks about "whatever it is they[the customers]...mutter." Reinforcing his superiority above the people in the store, Sammy sees himself as a person that can seldom be "trip[ped]...up." Although he sees himself being superior to the store, the reality is that the store closely reflects Sammy's life. He seems to have a long-term commitment to the store since his apron has his name stitched on it, and he has been working at the store long enough to have memorized the entire contents of the "cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft drinks-crackers-and-cookies." His day is also filled with the routine of working at the register, a routine that is so familiar that he has created a cash register song. Sammy also identifies with his co-worker Stokesie, "the responsible married man," and therefore wishes to someday be the manager of the store, like Lengel. Even the "checkerboard" floor represents a game of checkers, a simple one-directional game that closely models Sammy's life. Although Sammy is nineteen ...

    Read More

  • Themes Of Change

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 'A&P'; by John Updike a young cashier named Sammy is very confused about the concept of life. In the beginning of the story Sammy is very passive and ignorant about life. His passiveness and ignorance are brought upon by his mother sheltering him during most of his life. Sammy compares himself to another cashier who works at the A&P, Stokesie. Stokesie is twenty-two and Sammy is nineteen. Sammy sees a reflection of himself when he looks at Stokesie because of his lack of ambition and wanting to become nothing more than a manager of the store. When Queeny comes into the store, showing all of her leadership abilities, he sees the total opposite of himself. Queeny is like a shepherd leading a flock of sheep; she is in control. Sammy recognizes Queeny's headstrong attitude and he admires it very much. Queeny is just how Sammy would like to be, a headstrong person, a leader, and a person with ambition. After the conflict at the register with Queeny and the manager, Sammy decides to take charge of his life and do something for himself. Because of Sammy's huge change, he is no longer passive and ignorant. He is now active and realistic toward the world and its changes.

    Read More

More about Immatura In A & P

Open Document