Although both A&P and An Ounce of Cure have completely different plots, they do have similar themes that can be explored. Self-destruction is one major argument that can come from both short stories. Of course, John Updike and Alice Munro were not at the same place when they wrote these stories, they both have shared themes of rebellion, obsession, and power. The 1960s was a time of rebellion. The Baby Boomers were stronger than ever because they all had one thing in common: sacrifice. These young adults were not stopping for anybody, they were going to continue on until there was nothing left to sacrifice. In A&P, by John Updike, Sammy is a young adult who is working at a grocery store in order to make some money for him and …show more content…
This obsession eats her apart and erodes everything she has. Power of authority is used on a daily basis to maintain a decent society. If there were no authority figure to keep society together, then chaos would erupt and peace would be lost. Lengel from A&P shows this authority by telling the ladies that they shouldn’t be walking into his store without looking decent first. The time period of this story is important to consider. Without understanding that the story takes place in the 1960’s, it’s harder to comprehend that people were not as lenient to actions like this, unlike today. If nobody is there to tell the young ladies that what they are doing is unacceptable, then that opens the door for more behavior like this from others which is going to cause even more chaos than before. Mr. Berryman along with the narrator’s parents in An Ounce of Cure are considered to be authority figures. Once the narrator does something that goes against the rules, she gets punished. Her reputation is hurt and nobody wants her to babysit for them for a long while. If chaos happens in society, self-destruction is only one of many things that is bound to occur. Phoenix Lopez English
between the two authors, they share similarities towards the message they try to send out.
The similarities are prolific in their presence in certain parts of the novel, the very context of both stories shows similarities, both are dealing with an oppressed factor that is set free by an outsider who teaches and challenges the system in which the oppressed are caught.
Wells, Walter. "John Updike's 'A & P'" Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 30, (1993) : Spring, pp. 127(7).
Interpretation of A & P 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.
...ed the rest of his life. My grandfather told me that the sixties were some of the best years of his life. He married the love of his life at the beginning of the decade and by its’ final few years he had three beautiful children that would all go on to live happy lives. The decade had several near disasters but none of them materialized. Overall the sixties was a great time for America. The people were happy, technology was on the move, and the economy was booming. It was also a time where it finally looked like the U.S. was finally pulling ahead of the Soviet Union. We defused a crisis that forced the Soviets to stand down during the Cuban Missile Crisis. They may have beaten us into putting a man into space, but we won the final battle when we landed on the moon. The sixties no doubt had their lows, but they were outweighed by all the highs they brought with them.
The basic ideas of the two novels are also similar. They have to do with rebellion against the so-called perfect new world and the sanctuary
different. In the 1960's, the war in Vietnam was going on, and there were a lot
“A&P” is a short story by John Updike about a nineteen-year-old male named Sammy. Sammy lives in a small town five miles from the beach and works at a grocery store called A&P. Throughout the story Sammy reveals signs of agitation at his job. Things begin to change as he gazed his eyes on three girls that walk into the store. The A&P and the girls are important symbols in “A&P” that help reveal the conflict in the story.
both stories shared similar ending and moral which is receiving enlightenment in first hand. "The
In the beginning of both of the pieces of literature, the main character(s) have not had the experience that will shape their values yet. Rather, as time moves forward in the stories, the
...ce, although both writings are interesting in their own ways, the most interesting aspect of both writings together is that they both have a similar plot and theme. It is rare that two
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.
...ed what he did for them and wanting their appreciation for his attempt to disassociate himself from the people in the store. He called them "his" girls, trying to bring himself to their level in the social scheme as he saw it (3).
Luscher, Robert M. John Updike: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1993.
C. Wright Mills in his article “ The Structure of Power in American Society” writes that when considering the types of power that exist in modern society there are three main types which are authority, manipulation and coercion. Coercion can be seen as the “last resort” of enforcing power. On the other hand, authority is power that is derived from voluntary action and manipulation is power that is derived unbeknownst to the people who are under that power.