John Updike's A & P

A& P is a fictional short story by John Updike. The plot of this story is about a 19 year-old named Sammy. He is very observational, judgmental, and sarcastic. We as readers know this about him because of the way he describes three girls who walk into the store. These three girls, whom he names Queenie, Big Tall Gooney-Gooney, and Plaid, call attention to themselves by entering a local grocery store in bathing suits. By the end of this story, Sammy becomes a dynamic character because of the way he evolves in his thinking. In this story, there are many different elements of literature that can be shown within the setting, characters, and symbols. This story takes place in a small town north of Boston in the 1960’s. It is mainly set inside A & P, a massive grocery store chain in Northeast America. Sammy briefly mentions that there is a beach nearby, approximately five miles away. Considering that the girls are in bathing suits, one can

Sammy, the antagonist, is introduced first. He is a 19-year old working as a cashier at the A&P store. He is very opinionated, judgmental, sarcastic, and observational. Some comments Sammy makes that are perceived as judgmental, are directly towards three girls that enter the store. Of these three girls, the most important one with a contributing role to this story is “Queenie” as he describes her, the leader of the group. Compared to her friends, Queenie is the most confident and eager to be seen. She is desperate to call attention to herself by entering the store in a bathing suit. We then meet Stokesie, one of Sammy’s friends and co-workers. Stokesie is also a cashier at A&P and is married with children. Sammy looks at Stokesie as to what he wishes not to become, working a dead-end job with no future. Lengel, the store manager, appears to be a “by-the-book” manager. He is very uptight and is viewed as the villain because he embarrasses the three girls at the