In A&P, written by John Updike, the main character Sammy works at an A&P grocery store in a small town. Based upon his outlook, Sammy is presented in the story as a person uninterested in his life and seeking a change. After three girls are belittled for wearing bathing suits in the store, Sammy is displayed as tired of his closed-minded boss and the customers. As a result, he decides to quit his job on a whim, demonstrating Sammy’s immaturity and carelessness. Although it appears that Sammy has only a single motivation behind this bold decision—to get the girls’ attention—when closely analyzed, Sammy’s description of the customers and his attitude towards the store reveals to the reader that he has been fed up with this lifestyle long before
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Three girls whom Sammy refers to as Queenie, … were not only young, but dressed in bathing suits with no shoes on, which was very rebellious in the time period. With the shock of this new sight, Sammy becomes disturbingly observational of the girls, describing every detail about each of them. His focus is the girl he refers to as “Queenie”, whom he becomes infatuated with. Despite being reflected as inappropriate, Queenie carried herself with so much confidence despite. “She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. She didn’t look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long prima donna legs.” (Updike 33). Thus, Sammy was inspired to exhibit that same confidence in which he stood against Lengel, his boss, and his conformity to the standards of the time. Furthermore, based on Sammy’s sudden imagination, the clear inspiration behind his decision to quit was to gain Queenie’s attention and become close to her. He seems to desire for a girl who can show him a world he’s not a part of because she is rich, whereas he is poor. As Sammy stated, “‘I quit’ to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.” (Updike 37). This irrational belief of his not only demonstrates his immaturity, but also his desperation. Despite this action being put into motion by Queenie, his longing for a change has been present …show more content…
He describes the customers as “sheep” because they all dress and act the exact same. Hence, the astonishment of the customers when Queenie and the others walk in because they could never be that bold and rebellious and they had never seen anyone act in such a way. The customers are so fearful to be different that they continue with the standards of the time period rather than protesting the inequality of how they are treated. Thus, they continue to follow the standards and keep to themselves like worthy followers. “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would buy and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists” (Updike 33) Sammy, tired of this dullness and conformity of the customers, becomes extremely judgmental, making his lack of maturity apparent. After becoming distracted by Queenie and the others, he forgets whether he rang an item up or not. Thus, he rang it up once more to be sure. The customer becomes flustered with him for the simple mistake, thus, Sammy compares her to a witch “If she’d been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem” (Updike 32). This establishes the impression that Sammy feels superior compared to
Three girls whom Sammy refers to as Queenie, … were not only young, but dressed in bathing suits with no shoes on, which was very rebellious in the time period. With the shock of this new sight, Sammy becomes disturbingly observational of the girls, describing every detail about each of them. His focus is the girl he refers to as “Queenie”, whom he becomes infatuated with. Despite being reflected as inappropriate, Queenie carried herself with so much confidence despite. “She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. She didn’t look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long prima donna legs.” (Updike 33). Thus, Sammy was inspired to exhibit that same confidence in which he stood against Lengel, his boss, and his conformity to the standards of the time. Furthermore, based on Sammy’s sudden imagination, the clear inspiration behind his decision to quit was to gain Queenie’s attention and become close to her. He seems to desire for a girl who can show him a world he’s not a part of because she is rich, whereas he is poor. As Sammy stated, “‘I quit’ to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.” (Updike 37). This irrational belief of his not only demonstrates his immaturity, but also his desperation. Despite this action being put into motion by Queenie, his longing for a change has been present …show more content…
He describes the customers as “sheep” because they all dress and act the exact same. Hence, the astonishment of the customers when Queenie and the others walk in because they could never be that bold and rebellious and they had never seen anyone act in such a way. The customers are so fearful to be different that they continue with the standards of the time period rather than protesting the inequality of how they are treated. Thus, they continue to follow the standards and keep to themselves like worthy followers. “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would buy and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists” (Updike 33) Sammy, tired of this dullness and conformity of the customers, becomes extremely judgmental, making his lack of maturity apparent. After becoming distracted by Queenie and the others, he forgets whether he rang an item up or not. Thus, he rang it up once more to be sure. The customer becomes flustered with him for the simple mistake, thus, Sammy compares her to a witch “If she’d been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem” (Updike 32). This establishes the impression that Sammy feels superior compared to