He seems to be surrounded by these characters bound to their boring lives. Sammy uses different names to describe the people he sees in his conformist town. He calls the customers in the store “sheep”, (Updike, 20) because of how blindly they follow their usual routine and “houseslaves”, (Updike, 20) are what he calls the house wives with pin curlers puttering around the store. He goes on to say that the customers are so enveloped in their grey lives that if someone were to set off a bomb in the center of the store that they would fail to even notice. One customer, “the witch”, (Updike, 18) as Sammy calls her, is described as a serious looking woman one who diligently watches the register he is on, eagerly waiting for him to slip up and make an error.
Sammy observes the patrons of A&P mundanely going about their shopping, like “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (6). He continues to belittle the customers by stating, “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists” (6), as if they are not thinking about what they are doing because they have done it so many times before. The narrator explains the dullness of the store by pointing out the “fluorescent lights” and “checkerboard green-and cream rubber-tile floor” (7). Finally, Sammy states, “The store’s pretty empty, it being a Thursday afternoon, so there was nothing much to do” (12), indicating everyone works a typical nine-to-five shift and only older, retired people are at the store on a Thursday afternoon. Sammy observes the girls breaking the normal routine practiced by other shoppers.
All of the clips in this sequence are in black and white and the quality is of an old film-reel projector. The director then cuts the camera to an establishing shot of a block of flats, with a popular song playing, which is non-digetic. There is then a sound-bridge and the next shot is of the family’s kitchen, where the song changes to a digetic sound and it sounds as if it is coming from the radio. The scene from inside the kitchen follows David as he complains about Ben finishing the cereal. David tries to steal some of his brother’s breakfast, but both parents tell him off.
The family moves into the upstairs room, which they nickname “Italy” because it is warm and dry. Angela goes to the butcher’s to get meat for Christmas, but all she is able to obtain with her grocery dockets is a pig’s head. As they carry home the meat, Frank’s classmates see them and laugh at their poverty. Frank’s father is disgusted that Frank had to carry the head home. He considers carrying things through the streets undignified, and refuses to do it himself.
So the man hides all of the Dorito’s from the goat and makes a poster saying that the goat is for sale but the goat catches him and closes the door as if the goat was going to do something to the man and that’s how the commercial ends, it leaves us wondering what will happen to the man. The commercial is trying to
Next morning when Jim finds out that Alena is an extremist vegetarian, he does not hesitate to lie about being a vegetarian also. The author uses verbal irony to show his desire to identify with her. “I don’t eat meat myself, […] or actually, not anymore’ – since the pastrami sandwich, that is- […]” (Boyle 573). Jim surprises not only the reader, but also himself when he finds himself marching down the street with a placard and even later gets knocked out by a former kick boxer chauffeur. Jim’s actions are exactly the opposite with what the reader is led to expect from the description of Jim and his fondness of meat.
Weir highlights this through costuming, for example, when Book wears Jacob’s (Rachel’s dead husband) clothes. The full shot of Book wearing the ill-fitting clothes, coupled with his uncomfortable facial expression, demonstrates his unsuccessful attempts at being completely accepted in the Amish community. His intruding presence in their community is symbolised by the act of his car knocking into the birdhouse, emphasising the disruption of harmony and peace. His stay with the Amish teacher Book that violence is not the key to solving problems, and competes with his rival Daniel for the affections of Rachel. However, his supreme ordeal is defeating the enemy, which he successfully accomplishes at the end, as shown by the close up shot the group of
Immaturity immediately kicks in as he refers to her as "a witch about fifty." The reader is able to tell that Sammy is unhappy at his job and does not care for the customers. He makes references to them as “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (Updike 261) and “A few house slaves in pin curlers” (Updike 261). As the girls make their way to the register, with only a single jar of herring snacks, Sammy’s judgment kicks in again.
We see how selfish and self centered the narrator is as he has thoughts of, “this blind man” “coming to sleep in [his] house” and telling his wife “maybe [he] could take him bowling” (22). The narrator’s jealousy and lack of interest in Robert’s visit is blatantly apparent. While his wife goes to the depot to pick up Robert
“Blue Collar Slob” Often you hear the term “Blue Collar Slob.” We should take a minute to reflect on this comment; it’s a slur, an insult. It brings up so many images too mind, for instance, a refrigerator repairman with his ass crack showing, in need of a shower and a shave. Maybe a sweaty jack hammer operator, teeth clinched tight, on a short cigar. Or how about the concrete cowboy (truck driver) with the chain driven wallet and cheap simulated leather cowboy boots, the carnival worker, high school janitor, and highway workers. In short some consider these people society’s primitives; however; these blue-collar slobs are essential, more than we realize.