Summary Of A & P By John Updike

We’ve all been cocky about something in our lives at some point, but being arrogant is a different story. Being cocky is when you’re overconfident, but arrogance is when you see yourself superior to everyone. In the short stories Raymond’s Run and A&P the authors examine arrogance, cockiness and contempt and how the main characters resolve conflict. Squeaky, the main character in Raymond’s Run, shows cockiness rather than arrogancy. However, the main character of A&P, Sammy, is arrogant because he thinks that everyone is below him and has a bad thing to say about everyone.

Updike uses irony to emphasize the gravity of this lesson, as Sammy learns that there are repercussions for his decisions. Lengel's words serve as a reminder of how quickly youthful recklessness can be replaced by adult responsibility, even if it is too late for Sammy to undo his mistake. Using psychoanalytic criticism, we can deduce that Updike uses irony to illustrate Sammy's naivete and his newfound understanding of adult responsibility. Initially viewing himself as a hero for standing up to authority, Sammy realizes the consequences of his impulsive decision to quit his job. Lengel's words that Sammy will "feel this for the rest of your life" serve as a powerful reminder of the repercussions of his actions.

Nevertheless, the girls are gone and he is alone facing his problem in reality. However, he does not regret quitting. “Now here comes to the sad part of the story[quitting], at least my family says it’s sad, but I don’t think it’s so sad myself” (748). Sammy knows in order to defend for something more valuable, he must give up something which also implies his growth as a young adult. Through the conflicts between the characters, Updike implies his protest for personal

Earlier in the story, Sammy’s action may be perceived as rebellious. However, from a different perspective, Sammy’s decision in using his moral compass could be interpreted as incredibly mature. For example, he showed a substantial amount of development in his character by looking at the situation from the girls’ perspective. Sammy takes into consideration the families which the girls were most likely brought up resulting in their senseless behavior.

Sammy made the mistake of acting on desire while overlooking the consequences. Had the character's, point of view, setting, or symbolism in the story been altered the meaning of the story may have changed entirely and the themes we distinctly see in the story, could have been completely different. The characters, point of view, setting, and symbols in “A&P” assisted the development of the themes enclosed in the story. “A&P” depicted themes of women do not have the same rights as men and do not act on the power of desire. Other themes can also be found in this story but these two stood out to me

Lust and Defiance The short story, “A & P” by John Updike, tells of a time when youth were beginning to rebel towards conventional ways. This story is written in first person and gives an example of how lustful desires can cause a person to turn their back on conformity, and move toward defiance. Lustful desires, self-definition, and defiance are the central themes within this short story. While this was written during the 1960s, this type of youthful rebellion against a structured life still occurs today.

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.

3 The story of “A&P” by John Updike adopts the uses of figurative language to embellish the critical moments of transitions of people’s lives, particularly in the life of Sammy. Updike utilizes crafts of plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, and symbol to constitute the story, and to project the idea of "life passages. " Also, Sammy undergoes a series of events that enables him to transition as a person in his life. 3

The A&P is a microcosm of society as a whole and the pressure to conform to unspoken rules. It shows how social and peer pressure is placed on people who are different. Sammy quits his job because of Lengel’s choice to address the situation with Queenie publicly, to embarrass Queenie, to make her feel uncomfortable, and to make her feel unimportant. Sammy realizes and disfavors that Lengel tries to be a kingpin and make the other pins of the world follow his lead. Sammy also quits his job because he does not want to conform to the image that others want him to be.

Discuss one of the following regarding John Updike's "A&P": Characterization, Setting, Theme. Sammy is the narrator of this story. He is an opinionated teenager who describes people shopping at the store as “sheep”. He believes everyone acts the same.

Protagonist vs. Antagonist in Updike’s “A & P” The protagonist vs. the antagonist in John Updike’s story “A & P” is highly debatable. However, there is much reason to believe that Sammy is the protagonist and Lengel, Sammy’s boss, is the antagonist. Sammy is portrayed as the sweet and naïve boy next door.

In “A&P” by John Updike, the choice of Sammy as narrator in first person point of view helps communicate the message that he approves of the daring decision the girls made to go out in public wearing nothing, but their bathing suits. Therefore from the moment the girls step into the store, they capture Sammy’s attention, and he focuses on how they act. The girls draw Sammy’s attention because they are not phased by the reactions they are causing the other customers in A&P to have. While the girls are shopping Sammy tells us, “I watched them all the way… The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle — — the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one — way signs or anything) — — were pretty hilarious.

What do you think a hero is? A hero is a man or woman who uses bravery in a very important or scary moment. Sammy, a man in the story, is not a hero. He is very judgemental, he quit his job because he wanted to talk to the girls, and he left his boss to be the cashier when he quit. A hero is not judgemental, he or she does not quit their job, and they do not disrespect anyone.

The Impact of Setting in John Updike’s “A&P” “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle--the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything)--were pretty hilarious” (Updike 651). As an average cashier at a plain A&P store in the middle of town, the protagonist Sammy is unaccustomed to customers in provocative attire. Queenie and her two friends (one chunky, one tall) are outcast in a setting of tremendous social conformity, and quickly catch Sammy’s watchful eye with their unexpected bikinis. Unabashed in teenage ignorance, these three girls continue to shop for herring snacks, unaware that consequence is at their doorstep.

Although Sammy quit, he found a sense of freedom in these girls, He wanted to be different just like them and that is what he pursued after the right motivation. The Author used Sammy to show that being different is a good thing, but making irrational decisions in pursuit of non-conformity can leave you with