John Updike A & P Summary

John Updike’s “A&P” is the best short-story because its setting, characters, and diction all show how love and growing up are equally tough but combine to support Sammy’s thoughts as it relates to social norms and the difficulties faced with adulthood. The setting is the A&P Supermarket, which was the epicenter for shoppers within many communities of the time, and was comparable to a Wal-Mart Supercenter of today. Additionally, the store was described as being a centerpiece of the community. The characters are well described through subtle wordplay with the main character and narrator having a life-defining moment where he has had an epiphany of sorts of the challenges that he and all young adults will face as adults. Updike’s diction

is spoken through the eyes of a young adult, who thought he had all the knowledge the world had to offer and uses creative writing to describe the three non-conformists by incorporating grocery store items and workers. Updike’s innovative use of setting, characters, and diction further supports Sammy’s moment of clarity as he decides to quit his job to break the chains of conformity and step into enlightenment as he moves forward into adulthood. The understanding also brings the realization that the life ahead of him will not be as easy as maybe once thought.

            The setting in “A&P” is the A&P Supermarket, which is the location everyone visits regardless of social standing within the community. The setting is used to explain the characters further as they traverse the store on their quest to locate the single item sought by the trio. Furthermore, the store is used as an example of how society conforms to the social expectations. On numerous occasions throughout the short-story, Sammy refers to the patrons as sheep as they proceed throughout the store or gather at the checkout aisle as another example of their conformity within social standings. Additionally, Sammy goes on to explain how the store is in the center of town but only five miles from the beach. He then tells that there are those residents who have not seen the ocean for twenty years. The idea of not going to the beach for this extended time is that it has not been accepted within the mainstream middle-class society. Youths generally have progressive thoughts and will think and do things that are outside the social or economic norms which could substantiate the extended time frame since visiting the ocean. In this story, it shows that as adults obtain additional responsibilities, they conform to the expected social norms.

            The narrator and main character (Sammy) is developed as the trio of non-conformists are described through the eyes of Sammy, who is a young adult that works at the A&P.

Sammy begins to describe the girls, who are summer visitors to the area when they are first noticed near the bread aisle. He especially points out the chunky kid in the green two-piece and describes her “can” with the white crescents at the tops of her legs. Then Sammy proceeds to describe one of the girls as the queen because the manner, in which, she carries herself and how she led the others. Sammy then proceeds to refer to her as Queenie throughout the remainder of the story due to her high society demeanor. All the time he has his hand on a box of crackers that he cannot remember if he has rung them up yet. Sammy then goes on to describe the customer being rung up as “cash-register-watcher.” The author goes into great detail to develop most characters within this story. Sammy is developed throughout the story and even foreshadows the meeting with Lengel. Sammy’s defining moment is when he decides to quit his job as a grocery store clerk/ bagger in a show of defiance to the established norm, and as a way of standing up against the unaccepting society due to the way, Lengel treated the girls because of their attire. All the while, Sammy was hoping that the girls would take notice of his stand in their honor. When questioned about quitting by Sammy’s boss, Lengel, Sammy almost questions his decision but realizes that it would be detrimental to the gesture he has begun. The realization of this lesson for Sammy was also a life lesson of the difficulties that lay ahead for him and ultimately he was left all alone in the parking lot with his bad

decision.  

            The diction used in the A&P further supports being the best short-story because the author paints a colorful picture while describing the scenario using phrases that have double meanings when the important thought is put forth to decipher the meaning. The descriptions of how the “sheep” reacted to the view of the three non-conformists as they came upon them in the aisles create a picture that can bring a smile to any face. Sammy describes “Queenie’s white top shoulders dawn upon them” causes the patrons “to jerk, hop or hiccup.” As the trio was checking out, Sammy described with such detail about where the folded bill had “come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known were there.” This depiction showed the mindset of Sammy as he weaves between juvenile topics and the ultimate topic of how cruel the world can be as he views how unyielding Lengel can be when addressing non-conformists. Another description put forth by Sammy was when the girls had finished talking to McMahon, the butcher, Sammy described how McMahon was sizing up their joints after they continued on their journey behind a pyramid of Diet Delight peaches to locate the herring snacks (Kellner, 1994). “In Updike's verbal economy, a maximally exuberant splurge of language is required for the most efficient animation of matters that are seemingly insignificant” (Webb, 2008, para. 1). Updike’s wordplay throughout the story shows the thought that was put forth before putting pen to paper to ensure the correct language was used to depict the story’s meaning accurately.

            The setting depicts how everyone regardless of social standing will visit the store, but the younger generation wants to rebel against conformity and social norms. The characters are well defined and ultimately shows social status through the depictions of Sammy’s view of the community. Sammy’s ability to maneuver through the store utilizing grocery items to accentuate the trio, and the slang that was used to bring an added effect to the story to further substantiate the writer’s ability to claim the best short-story. This page-turner is creatively written and colorfully describes all aspects of this story using language for all but does require additional thought to understand the underlying meanings. The lasting mark that writer John Updike has left on readers is evidenced in the article written by Cooper in 2009 after reading of Updike’s untimely death is proof of Updike’s skill as a writer and should leave little question of where this story stands in the annals of time. These facts presented support the fact John Updike’s “A&P” is the best short-story due to the setting, character development, diction and establishment of the plot through the twists and turns of the grocery store aisles.

References

Cooper, R. R. (2009, May 8). To the visible world: on worshiping John Updike. Commonweal, 136(9), 16+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.bethelu.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A200263574/LitRC?u=tel_a_bethelc&sid=LitRC&xid=6ea3e8a6

Kellner, B. (1994). A&P: Overview. In N. Watson (Ed.), Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Detroit: St. James Press. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.bethelu.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/H1420008173/LitRC?u=tel_a_bethelc&sid=LitRC&xid=81f468f3

Webb, S. H. (2008). John Updike and the waning of mainline Protestantism. Christianity and Literature, 57(4), 583+. Retrieved from http://link.galegroup.com.bethelu.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A185428357/LitRC?u=tel_a_bethelc&sid=LitRC&xid=a2660511