Analysis Of A & P By John Updike

In this particular essay I chose to write about “A&P” by John Updike. This story to me seems to have an interesting transformation about the main character Sammy. He is able to provide us with his thoughts and actions because it is told in first person point of view. The story “A&P” gave me an outlook that was based on Reality because I was able to understand his reactions to the series of events that occurred throughout the story. We were able to see from the beginning to the end how Sammy was transforming without him possibly knowing of the changes himself.

Sammy starts out to be this innocent young boy that is just having another average day in the supermarket. When first walked in three girls, Sammy didn’t seem to notice too closely. Eventually, he starts veering his eyes in their direction and becomes connected to them. He states: “The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid 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” (18). He began to analyze each of the girls in different ways. He especially was losing focus when doing so because he said: “I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not” (18). You can tell that Sammy is being flustered here because rather than doing his job he is getting choked up by the looks of the three girls. This seems to be when Sammy begins to change since he went from working an ordinary day to not being able to focus while scanning a customer’s item. He is starting to get the customer upset since the customer is worrying about the money they are losing for his poor work. ...

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...arance because I am attracted to men. I wouldn’t throw a fit and quite my job though because they weren’t following the rules of the supermarket. It would be understandable for Sammy to be going through the stages of puberty and is girl crazy but there is a point where losing something over it may not make it worth it. I can’t say it was the right or wrong thing to do because age definitely seems to play a factor it seems. Sammy seemed to transform from being a young boy to a young adult in minutes due to the girls he found attractive at the store. Hopefully once he grows up even more he will understand the boundaries he should or shouldn’t cross. Overall, everyone will make out their own interpretation and put it into their perspective and how it can be related to their life. No matter what we all will have different opinions due to the lives we are living today.