ipl-logo

The Consequences Of Choice In John Updike's A & P

849 Words4 Pages

“Life presents many choices, the choices we make determines our future.” This quote by author, Catherine Pulsifer, which signifies how every choice has a consequence, weather that being good or bad, fits well with how the characters in John Updike’s short story “A&P” had consequences of their own after certain choices. Sammy is the main character and the one who makes the most significant choices among the other characters. Sammy is working at A&P grocery store as a cashier when he gets side tracked by three girls wearing nothing but bathings suits in the store. His attention switches from his job to the three girls very quickly until his manager, Lengel, gets involved and begins to reprimand the girls for how they were dressed inside the store. This is where Sammy makes …show more content…

The choice he makes comes with an unsuspected baggage of consequences. It is clear that there are certainly always consequences that arise when a choice is being made. That being said, A&P demonstrates how every choice has its own consequences.
First of all, based on the choices that Sammy showed by quitting his job, it is obvious that he faces many consequences. When Sammy wants to be the girls hero he decides to quit his job. When Sammy tells Lengel that he quits, Lengel says “Sammy you don’t want to do this to your mom and dad”(Updike 5), which is implying that the decision he just made is going to have a consequence that involves his parents. The story stats that Lengel has been friends with Sammy’s mom and dad for years and it is quite clear to see that he is not only going to have to bare with the struggle of finding a new job, but he will also have to deal with the reprimands of his parents. Since

Show More
Related

  • A & P By John Updike

    1078 Words  | 5 Pages

    The subject of women's attire has been a conversation topic for decades. From the unrealistic expectations of the clothing itself to the idealization of the "perfect" body, clothing standards have oppressed women. John Updike's short story "A&P" captures this injustice and demonstrates to the audience how this kind of judgment can affect someone. The story is told from the perspective of a 19-year-old boy and tells of his experience throughout a troubling moral situation. Readers are guided through his path to maturity and are shown the perspective of someone not yet tainted by the wrongs of beauty standards.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Updike's A & P

    134 Words  | 1 Pages

    In “A&P”, John Updike wrote a short story about a male clerk at A&P grocery, named Sammy, who worked at a hot summer day shift when three young women in his age entered the store only in swimsuits to purchase some snacks. Even though shirts and shoes are required, Sammy did not report on the girls to the manager, but instead he allowed them to continue shopping as he looked and imagined the girls based on their appearance. As Sammy watched, Lengel, the store manager, felt that the three girls did not had shirts and shoes on, reprimanded them the rules, which the manager thought Sammy reported on them. Sammy did sign out after the girls left, which he not just realized the three girls’ affection, also was disappointed on this

    Read More

  • The Narrator In John Updike's A & P

    436 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Narrator in the story A&P by John Updike tells an experience where he chose to make a decision that would change his life and take him to new places. This decision was one that was derived from the need for freedom and change. Usually a decision like this takes a realization that growing up and taking a new path is necessary. In this story, this realization began from the narrator seeing how his manager treated the girls in the store with such hostility because they were just wearing bathing suits. The boy, watching this, realized he wanted to live like the girls had been living.

    Read More

  • Identity Formation In A & P And Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

    1543 Words  | 7 Pages

    As such, "A&P" and "Sonny's Blues" serve as powerful literary examples that dive into the intricacies of human identity and the ways in which individuals strive to break free from societal constraints to assert their individuality. In John Updike's "A&P," the main character, Sammy, impulsively quits his job at a grocery store after defending three girls in bathing suits who are reprimanded for their attire. However, as Sammy searches for the girls outside the store, he realizes the potential consequences of his impulsive action. The grocery store represents a commodified society where people's desires are determined by their purchasing ability.

    Read More

  • Characterization, Setting, Theme In John Updike's A And P

    368 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • John Updike's Short Story A & P

    255 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Female Objectification In John Updike's A & P

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    As made apparent by Sammy’s first thought outside, “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone of course” (pg. #7), Sammy initially quit his job in the moment to gain praise from the girls and hopefully to have them swooning over him, but all along he knew the chances of gaining praise from them was slim. Although Sammy was hoping the girls would be waiting for him after he quit his job to stand up for them, he wasn’t really surprised by their absence; He expected it. As Sammy stated “I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter,” (pg.#7) without a job and without any form of reward for his somewhat heroic act, Sammy finally realized the challenges women in society face. Overall, A&P by John Updike is a short story raising awareness for women’s rights as well as proving that you shouldn’t judge someone based on their appearances.

    Read More

  • The Negatively Constracted In John Updike's A & P

    605 Words  | 3 Pages

    In John Updike's short story "A&P," the narrator, Sammy, is negatively impacted by his human connections with the other characters in the story. Sammy's interactions with the customers and his boss at the grocery store represent a world of conformity, predictability, and boredom. However, when three young women in bathing suits enter the store, Sammy becomes infatuated with them, and his perspective shifts. The sexuality of the females in the novel causes them to become a distraction for Sammy the narrator, and when people have a physical connection instead of a personal connection, it eventually has consequences. This has a negative effect on the character.

    Read More

  • A & P Rhetorical Analysis

    500 Words  | 2 Pages

    A major theme in A&P is personal freedom. Throughout the story Updike uses metaphor for all elements in the story to implies the theme. At the beginning of the story, Sammy uses sarcastic tone to describe the customers as “sheep” and “houseslaves” which implies he is different from them in mindset. The way how Sammy talks about others shows his intellectual mind. He is not same as Stokesie who wants to be a manager one day.

    Read More

  • Conflict In John Updike's A & P

    564 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humans in general, often times desire something that they don’t possess. For instance, in the short story “A&P”, the protagonist, Sammy, works at the A&P and notices three girls walking into the store with nothing but bikinis. Over the course of the story, Sammy observes the “main” girl, Queenie, and her friends and eventually, quits his job when the manager tells the girls to follow store policy for wearing bikini-clad clothing. In the end, Sammy is left jobless and empty handed with the girl, Queenie, and is then pondering about the future. Overall, Sammy’s desire for Queenie and him advocating for her due to her clothing led him to be somewhat of a hero.

    Read More

  • How Does John Updike Use Irony In A & P

    1060 Words  | 5 Pages

    John Updike's short story “A&P” explores teenage rebellion and coming-of-age, through multiple stylistic elements such as symbolism, metaphor, and irony; Updike can portray his theme of the consequences of making decisions based on impulse and youthful idealism specifically through the character Sammy. The “A&P'' grocery shop is a particularly effective symbol in this scenario. The narrator, Sammy, who works at the shop, has both a physical and symbolic role in the story. In addition to Sammy's workplace, the store represents society's expectations of conformity. Other customers are described as “sheep” who came in wiping their hands on their skirts as though the shelves had been dusting themselves since the last time they were in.

    Read More

  • John Updike A & P Setting Analysis

    1085 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Summary Of John Updike's Short Story A & P

    1453 Words  | 6 Pages

    In John Updike’s short story “A&P,” Sammy is the narrator and cashier at the grocery story A&P. The author uses dynamic characters with immensely different personalities to portray conformity and rebellion in our society. Through out the story Sammy challenges conformity and social norms at his work place for personal reasons. Sammy is very bitter character and taken as a realist which fuels the story. Queenie, a rebel against conformity, sparks Sammy’s emotions after the way she is treated by his boss Langel when she walks into the grocery store with nothing but a bikini covering her skin.

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In A & P By John Updike

    1852 Words  | 8 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Dramatic Conflict In A & P

    458 Words  | 2 Pages

    Where does the dramatic conflict in A&P become apparent? Why does Sammy quit his job? What do you understand from the conclusion of the story? ( use examples from the text) The dramatic conflict in A&P is not apparent until the last part of the story.

    Read More

More about The Consequences Of Choice In John Updike's A & P

Open Document