A & P By John Updike

The Rebellious Age Throughout all of history, the actions of teenagers have been scrutinized by adults. This scrutiny can be seen in short stories such as, John Updike’s “A & P,” as well as Max Apple’s “Stepdaughters.” For “Stepdaughters” we can see the rebellion through the 15-year-old Stephanie’s continuation of shot-putting, despite her mother’s disapproval and her stepfathers ‘neutral’ position. While in “A & P” the rebellious behavior of wearing their bathing suits into the store is disapproved upon by the manager, whereas the employee feels they have done no wrong. The stories’ conflicts have similar features: antagonists who oppose the choices of the teenage girls and protagonists who support the girls.

In the short story “A&P” John Updike uses a plethora of symbols to enhance his writing. Bathing suits, herring snacks, and sheep are three symbols that add to the deeper meaning of the story and give us an insight into Sammy’s thoughts. The narrator, Sammy, has grown accustomed to the daily routine of work at the A&P until 3 girls come in wearing brightly colored bathing suits. Sammy was baffled by their rebellious nature and commented “They didn’t even have shoes on” (197) to add to his disbelief. The bathing suits symbolize the girls as fresh and exciting.

The short story "A&P" by John Updike effectively portrays various traits of teen culture that were prevalent in the 1960s Through the protagonist Sammy's actions and experiences, Updike embeds and showcases rebellion, idealism, and sexual awakening as key traits of teen culture during that era. Firstly, rebellion is exemplified in Sammy's act of quitting his job at the grocery store. Updike describes Sammy's frustration with the conformity and hypocrisy he witnesses among his co-workers and customers, stating, " But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture, it's fatal not to go through with it" (Updike 1).

Updike uses the symbolism of the grocery store, the bathing suits, and the other employees in conjunction with the characterization of the girls, Lengel, and Stokesie, in “A&P”

The theme in this story is developed by characters, point of view, setting, and symbolism. The significant characters that contribute to the theme of the “A&P” are the main character, Sammy, his boss at the grocery store, Lengel, and the three teenage girls who enter the store wearing only bathing suits. The story is told from

In “A & P”, by John Updike, the protagonist, Sammy, is a nineteen year old cashier working at the A & P. The manager of the store, Lengel, is a long time friend of Sammy’s parents. When 3 girls walk into the A & P wearing only bathing suits, Lengel tells them they are not “decently dressed” and asks them to leave. This begins a short conflict in which the girls say they are dressed appropriately, while Lengel insists they are not and must leave. Sammy, although he originally belittled the girls, begins to pity them and quits his job to impress the girls. However, the girls leave without noticing Sammy, and quitting leaves him in a difficult position in life.

“A&P” by John Updike is written through the eyes of a young grocery store clerk named Sammy. While working, a group of girls walk into the store, wearing their bathing suits, causing all the workers to drool over them, but when they come to check out the manager Lengel tells them that what they are wearing is against policy. As the girls leave, embarrassed, Sammy courageously quits his job due to this incident, hoping to impress the girls, but as he walks out of the A&P he realizes that they are gone. Post-Structuralism, also known as Deconstruction, is a school of literary criticism where the reader “focuses on the inherent, internal contradictions in language and interpretation” (deconstruction).

A&P: The Perspective of Sammy “A&P” by John Updike tells the story of Sammy, a teenage boy working at a grocery store, when he sees three girls dressed in swimsuits enter. Quickly, Sammy becomes infatuated with the leading girl whom he dubs “Queenie”. Eventually, the girls are accosted by the manager for dressing inappropriately and Sammy quits in both an act of rebellion and wanting the appreciation of the girls. All throughout the story Sammy’s sarcastic and inquisitive nature comes out leading to a distinct voice and thought process the reader follows giving the reader a very opinionated view of all the characters and action in the story.

The short story “A&P” written by John Updike was about a nineteen-year-old boy named Sammy that is a cashier, who ends up meeting three customers that happened to be attractive young girls dressed in swimsuits. They entered the grocery store that was located in a small Massachusetts town where he worked. He is portrayed to be cynical and at times romantic as well. The central theme of this short story is learned while aging and becoming which is accepting the consequences of our many actions as an adult. Sammy ended up quitting his job to stand up to his store manager for the girls that he found were mistreated.

This “new order” of culture, “reflected indulgence, and an emphasis on immediate gratification, often in the form of sex and other bodily pleasures.” Sexual experiences combined with sexual promiscuity liberated young women to own their own bodies and to reject shame for doing so. Young women flaunted their new found sexuality by the specific clothing they chose to represent the flapper

“Feminism is not just about women; it's about letting all people lead fuller lives,” Jane Fonda. Fonda refers to feminism not only as an idea, but a way of life and amenable views. “A&P” by John Updike is a short story about three girls in a grocery store who are judged head to toe by multiple characters and speaker, Sammy, reflecting the idea that feminism is still not accepted. Updike uses literary devices, characters, and feminist views to show the objectification of women in the 1960’s. Generally speaking, Updike uses literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and symbolism to help the reader visualize what is going on.

In the short story “A&P” by John Updike the readers are introduced to Sammy, a young cashier at an A&P supermarket. The story is told from Sammy’s point of view and the readers see how Sammy’s heroism attempt failed. When three girls walk into the supermarket with nothing but their swimsuits the girls get scolded by the store manager, Lengel, and since Sammy was attracted to one of the girls, who he called Queenie, he thought that standing up to his manager for them by quitting his job would get her to notice him. Instead, by the time he got to go after the girls they were gone and it was like they didn’t even know he existed. The climax of the story is located towards the end when Sammy quit his job because Legnel shaming the girls for wearing the swimsuits is Sammy’s breaking point and the climax affects my attitude towards Sammy in negative way because he made such an idiotic decision over a girl

John Updike's short story "A&P" is about a 19-year-old boy “Sammy” who is going through changes in his life, and has to make crucial decisions that are going to affect his job and his future in the long run. The story is set in an A&P grocery store, in a town north of Boston, and begins with Sammy’s description of the three girls that enter the store. Sammy decides to quit his job in order to impress the girl “Queenie.” Unfortunately, his gentlemanly act goes unnoticed by Queenie and her friends, and he has no choice but to face the consequences of his action. The author of the story clarifies that Sammy’s immaturity comes from his judgmental attitude, sexist beliefs, and disrespectful attitude.

When we visit groceries, we pay attention to our groceries because we don 't encounter awkward situations where the females wear clothing which would distract us from our groceries. Our normal task in the grocery would be to walk in and buy our necessary goods and leave. The story A and P by John Updike focuses on a grocery shop where three female characters walk in wearing their bathing suit and catches the worker’s attention including the manager. Sammy, a employee in the grocery store observes the females and shows his interest towards the girls. This story is taking place in small town where people know each other and often judge each other on their appearance and their personality.

Jon Updike’s story, A&P is about Sammy, a typical nineteen-year-old boy who works as a checkout clerk in the grocery store. On an average day on the job, Sammy makes the unexpected decision to quit. What led to his decision to walk away from his job? The story tells of three girls who come into the grocery store dressed only in bathing suits. They make their entrance into the store where Sammy carefully observes their every move.