John Updike A & P Diction

In “A&P” by John Updike, the 32nd paragraph is a description of Sammy’s last thoughts after quitting his job at the grocery store. The paragraph conveys information about the character through the illustration of Sammy’s personality and his ability to make decisions. This helps the readers fully understand the reason why Sammy quits his job and how regretful he feels when looking back.
A lot would change if this last paragraph was omitted from the story. For example, the readers would not know if Sammy was actually regretful or what his last feelings were after he quit his job and the story would not have a shift in tone, which without would leave the reader with an intense curiosity as to what happened next. If the story ends with paragraph 31, which ends, “…and outside the sunshine is skating around on the asphalt” (Updike 96), the word sunshine leaves the audience with hopes that everything is going to be alright. However, paragraph 32, the one being analyzed, has a completely different tone. This little yet noticeable shift in tone plays a very important role in the way the story ends. Without paragraph 32, the readers cannot see how the story’s tone goes from happy sunshine to harsh regret. It ends with Sammy saying, “…my stomach kind of fell as I felt

how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 96).
Throughout the story and especially in paragraph 32, Sammy emphasizes on the term his girls, yet they are gone so they are not his girls after all. It also shows how quickly his life has changed by already looking like a stranger when standing outside staring through the window as he is being easily replaced by his boss. This means that now, he definitely has to find another job.
The main objective of this passage is to uncover Sammy’s true motives. For the first time, he makes a critical life decision. At first, readers think that Sammy wants to quit because of Queenie, but then it becomes more and more clear that he has been wanting this for a long time. In order for the reader to understand what Sammy actually wants (which is an escape from A&P and his own life), the author uses a sad tone full of loss and regret. Sammy’s last thoughts express, “I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 96). It shows the type of character Sammy is and wants to be. He feels trapped in A&P and realizes that if he quits, he might have a chance to have a better life similar to Queenie’s. But, at the same time, it also shows how his immaturity leads him to an impulsive action that might change his life forever, yet he does not realize this until the end.
Another description found in paragraph 32 reveals to the readers that his girls were indeed his dream and just used as an excuse to get out of A&P.

According to the text, “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course” (Updike 96). This sentence makes the reader feel like Sammy knew he was never going to get the girls, yet he decides to quit since he realized that he was never going to achieve a better life if he stayed at A&P. Even though he still calls them his girls, he knows that “once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it” (Updike 96). He feels obligated to go through with this “act of heroism”, but deep inside, quitting, is what he has been wanting to do for a long

time.
As presented in the story, Sammy is blinded by the boringness of A&P; that injection of freshness and adventure he gets when the three girls walk in, makes him open his eyes and realize this is not how he wants his life to be. It is summer and Sammy is forced to work at a grocery store he does not want to work in, as opposed to Queenie and the other girls who are enjoying the beach and a high-class lifestyle. It is very clear that they are both presented in two completely different worlds. When Queenie buys the Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks, it shows that the girl’s socioeconomic level is high and appears to have a more interesting life, more desirable life, the kind of life Sammy is now desiring.
In this particular part of the story, Sammy imagines how “Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and springs of mint in them” (Updike 95). Sammy, in reality, aspires to become like Queenie’s father, however, Sammy knows that if he stays at A&P, that is never going to happen. In other words, he is stuck in a grocery store while the girls are living his dream life, which gives him the motivation to quit his job as he feels that might be the only way out.
Sammy sees these girls as an opportunity to escape and be free. He risks it all, and for the first time makes an independent adult decision. It is his first real taste of power and possible pain because he stands up for what he believes in. His family does not agree with his decision and views it as point of sadness, however, Sammy believe his decision to be a good one, although he knows his life will get harder. Sammy states, “Now here comes the sad part of the story, at least my family says it’s sad, but I don’t think it’s so sad myself” (Updike 94).
Sammy’s description of the customers is as follows, “A couple customers that had been heading for my slot begin to knock against each other, like scared pigs in a chute” (Updike 96). Sammy is tired of being a follower and leaving the store was his last resource to become something more than that. Sammy is now not considered to be a “sheep” hidden in the dark. This impulsive decision was probably what he needed to mature and be ready for the real world.
Updike describes the manager, Lengel’s, immediate reaction to Sammy’s impulsive action as: “Lengel sighs and begins to look very patient and old and gray” (Updike 96). The audience sees that Lengel has been working at A&P for a long time, that the highest position he can aspire to get to is being a manager which he already is. Lengel’s lifestyle is not the lifestyle Sammy wants as he sees him as someone who is “pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school” (Updike 94). At the same time, Sammy’s dead-end job and life, lack opportunities for advancement. Sammy discovers that he does not want to aspire to be just a manager, but at the same time he feels useless being a regular worker who is easily replaced by his boss.
In the end, Sammy stands outside, realizing that he has just made his life a lot harder and is most likely regretting his decision because he now has no job. This information is important because Sammy compares the “hardness” of Lengel’s appearance with the hardness that awaits him in his future dealings with the world. Just in this short passage of the story, the reader learns multiple things. The reader is able to fully understand and know how regretful the main character Sammy is about his decision he thought would give him his “happy ending.”