Dynamic Character In John Updike's A & P

A dynamic character is defined by: “those who change significantly during the course of a narrative or whose full personalities are revealed gradually throughout the story” (100). In “A&P”, Sammy is initially shown as a cynical young man who considers other people to be “sheep” (20), but later he selflessly comes to the defense of others against his manager. Similarly in “Cathedral”, the unnamed narrator is at first wary of Robert (the blind man) because of the misconceptions and prejudices he has towards blind people, but eventually ends up enjoying Robert’s company. It is these previously unseen sides, and shifts in perspective that make Sammy and the unnamed narrator dynamic characters. From the very start of “A&P”, it is very clear that Sammy is extremely bored. Through Sammy’s passing thoughts and observations, the reader is able to discern that he is very negative and overly critical …show more content…
The narrator makes it obvious from the beginning that he is unhappy about the blind man’s visit. His initial complaints against the Robert (the blind man) seem to stem from jealousy, after all, his wife and this mysterious man are exchanging tapes through mail. It is easy to see how the narrator could be jealous of his wife having this pen-pal relationship with another man, but his apprehension does not end there. The narrator’s comments also seem to indicate that he dislikes the man simply because of his blindness. He says that “[his] idea[s] of blindness came from the movies. In the movies the blind moved slowly and never laughed” (86). The narrator carries these prejudices with him into the conversation with his wife about the visit. He approaches the conversation very facetiously by saying “’Maybe I could take him bowling’” (87) and “’Was his wife a negro’” (88). The narrator even chooses to refer to Robert exclusively as “the blind man”, indicating that he had never even bothered to learn his