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Willpower In John Updike's A & P

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Willpower is thought of as a muscle of the mind; those who train themselves to be strong in austerity have a higher chance of leading a prosperous life, according to Florida State University social psychologist Roy Baumeister and New York Times science writer John Tierney (theguardian.com). Willpower is having the strength to carry out decisions, wishes, or plans with total determination. Self control goes hand in hand with willpower; without control we make decisions that aren’t always the smartest choice. The human civilization is separated from the likes of the animal kingdom because of the restraint that governs our impulses. With the right balance of self-control, a healthy diet, exercise, avoidance of drugs and alcohol (in excess), retirement savings, procrastination, and all other sorts of noble goals would be easily obtained. Willpower helps us choose how we behave and react to certain stimuli.
Instead of being captive to temptation, willpower gives us determination to pull through and not fall victim to adversities. The Beauty of …show more content…

In the story A&P, by John Updike, a storehand named Sammy exercises his willpower as Nora Helmer did in her situation. Without regard, Sammy fell victim to irrationally behaving out of impulse by quitting at the expense of the treatment of two girls by the store manager. After seeing how embarrassed the girls were, he quits his job at A&P in an attempt to get the girls to think of him as their savior. What Sammy has in willpower, he lacks in self control. Quitting his job was not a proper response for someone in his position, but I commend him for setting his mind to something and then acting on it with good intentions. I have aspired to believe in something so strongly that I have the willpower to stand for my beliefs. In all certainty there are people, ideas, and actions that I will stand for, though it takes a lot of provoking for me to expel my

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