Coming Of Age In John Updike's A & P

Coming of age is something that everyone will have to experience in order to officially enter into adulthood. In John Updike's story A&P, the main character Sammy experiences a quick, but necessary transition from adolescence into adulthood. Sammy experiences these changes through three different trials; ignorance to knowledge, idealism to realism, and being egocentric to altruistic.
Sammy, along with the rest of A&P (the grocery store where Sammy works), is ignorant to the fact that there are many different beliefs, values, and upbringing in a diverse society. A&P is radically shaken when a group of girls comes in to purchase food while wearing little to no clothes and no footwear. The "sheep", as Sammy refers to the customers of A&P,

act ignorantly to the girls because the way they dress does not meet their standers. The way the "sheep" demonstrate their ignorance is by shutting out the girls and ignoring them hoping they take offense and leave the store. Sammy catches sight of how the "sheep" act towards the girls and states, "the ‘sheep' pushing their carts down the aisle as the girls [are] walking against the usual traffic" (Updike 2). Sammy and the rest of the store are ignorant to the fact that the girls are just like them and should be treated the same. As Sammy is observing the "sheep" act this way towards the girls, he figures out the people who shop there only care about their own business and their own problems. Sammy comes the conclusion that the "sheep" do not like change. He watches how they ignore, stare, and judge these girls just because of their clothing choices. He sees that these people are ignorant to the outside world and states "[if someone] set off dynamite in A&P, people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering" (Updike 2). Sammy now recognizes that these people are ignorant and unaware of everything surrounding them. They only see right and wrong through their perspective due to the fact that they only care about their own views and values and are ignorant to think that other people might have some that oppose theirs. When the girls leave the store after being humiliated by the manager, the manager says to Sammy that, "it [is the girls] who [are] embarrassing [the people of the store]" (Updike 4). As a result of that, Sammy understands that the "sheep" only care about their own principals. Sammy sees that the "sheep" are self-involved and try to act as if the girls do not exist so that their lives can go back to normal. The "sheep" see the girls as change or an opponent to them and their value system. Sammy eventually sees, through the "sheep's" acts towards the girls, that he cannot live his life neglecting other people's opinions, views, and values on all issues. Sammy sees that he has to become more knowledgeable in other people's opinions and ideas before he can make them for himself as an adult. Sammy sees through this story that he cannot live only thinking in one, conservative way about life. Sammy sees he must explore more view, values, and beliefs before he can make them for himself.
Sammy creates an idealist world inside his head that everything will happen in favour for him.

At the end of the story, Sammy quits his job. Sammy that by quitting the girls are going to fall madly in love with him because he shows them support. Sammy decides to do quit when the manager of the store calls the girls out on their scandalous clothing option. Sammy recognizes that the manager has hurt the girl's feeling and says, "the girls, are in a hurry to get out, so I say ‘I quit'" (Updike 4). Sammy quits so the girls will see that he is on their side of this argument and is stepping up as the "man". After Sammy quits from A&P, he goes out of the store to meet the girls, when "[he] looks around for the girls, but [they are] gone" (Updike 4). Sammy takes in the fact that his massive, masculine attempt to support the girls means nothing to them. Sammy starts to see that the world is just and states, "[he is feeling] how hard the world [is] going to be to [him] hereafter" (Updike 4). Sammy clearly sees that his decision to support the attractive girls he barely knows is going to affect him in a negative way. Sammy realizes he cannot make rash decisions out of the blue as well as logically think about how they are going to affect him. When the girls leave Sammy outside without a job, Sammy's little world he made in his head broke apart into pieces and he sees that the world is not a fair

place.
Sammy thinks that people are for his own personal enjoyment and does not think about other's feeling and emotions.

When the girls first come into the A&P, Sammy sees them as objects there for his enjoyment. Sammy only thinks about himself in the way that these girls are in this store to please. Sammy egocentrically thinks that the girls are not in the store to purchase food but to please him and enlighten his day. Sammy does not see a problem with this because he only thinks about how the girls impact him. Sammy shows this behavior when saying, "with the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her… it made my stomach rub the inside of my apron" (Updike 1-2). Sammy sees these girls as objects for his pleasure instead of human beings with lives and personalities. As Sammy's eyes follow the girls around the store he catches sight of the meat butcher gawking at the girls from behind the meat stand. While the meat butcher is looking at the girls, Sammy recounts his actions saying, "Old McMahan [is] patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints" (Updike 2). Sammy sees that while he is admiring and watching the girls, other people are as well. Sammy notices this as a problem because he sees that other people are also looking at the girls as objects and not real people. Sammy then starts to see the consequences of his actions. He realizes he is only thinking about his own desires. When the girls finish

their shopping the manager comes out of his office to talk to them. Instead of going up to them he talks from across the store, loudly, and tells them how their dressing is inappropriate. The girls' reactions to the accusations are to leave the store. Sammy states, "‘[the manager did not] have to embrace them'" (Updike 4). Sammy sees that the girls are very hurt and sad that they were being criticized by not only the younger boys who work in A&P but the management staff as well. Sammy transitions from thinking about people (the girls) as objects for his enjoyment and pleasure to actual people with feelings and emotions just like him.
Sammy goes through a quick but necessary transition from adolescence into adulthood in John Updike's A&P. He transitions from being ignorant to knowledgeable about the fact that the world is more than A&P in the way that the world is more than how the "sheep" perspective it to be, but that there is a whole diverse world full of different principals and values. He matures from idealistic thinking that everything he does is going to work out for him to seeing that every choice has a consequence, good and bad. Sammy's final change from adolescence to adulthood is from thinking that people are for his own use and enjoyment to seeing that people have lives and emotions of their own that are as important as his own. Coming of age is something everyone will go through and is important so they can transition into a mature adult. Sammy experiences this change by the entrance of the three girls coming into A&P and changing everything in their short visit. No one can escape coming of age, but coming of age can skip over people until they are ready.