A&P and Updikes Use of Setting

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The short story by John Updike, A&P, takes place in a grocery store in the early 1960s. In this time period American society braced a strong spirit of conformity and tended to follow the ways of those around them. Updike writes using very descriptive words to capture the reader’s attention and help visualize the story as if the reader were in the store. Updike’s setting does a great job bringing the story and imagination of the reader together through his use of familiarity, level of detail, and wider setting. The reader’s familiarity with grocery stores makes it instantly easier to visualize the setting than if Updike had attempted to set the same story in a random office building. Updike uses familiarity to his advantage. Since most readers likely have an existing knowledge of grocery stores and can visualize a typical layout, Updike begins to describe the activities happening in the store rather than describing the store itself. The reader can tell the setting is a grocery store just after reading Sammy is “in the third check-out slot, with [his] back to the door, so [he] doesn’t see them until they’re over by the bread” (Updike 17). By not having to take the time to describe to the reader the general setting Updike is able to give in-depth details about the food on the shelves, the color of the floor, the people walking the isles, and the employees behind the registers and counters. These details give the reader that much more of an insight to how the characters in the story view their own surroundings rather than how the reader views them. Being able to see the setting from the characters’ point of view helps the reader associate with the characters on a more personal level. Once the reader is on a personal level with the characters he or she is able to understand the author’s full intentions for the story. In addition to familiarity, Updike uses a

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