Although Lengel gives him the opportunity to change his mind, Sammy folds his apron and leaves it on the counter with the bow tie on top. Leaving the store, Sammy “look[ed] around for [his] girls” (82), but they were already gone. Without being rewarded for his heroic gesture, Sammy is left to deal with the consequences of his actions. He then begins to grasp harsh reality of being an adult and “how hard the world was going to be” (82). In “A&P” John Updike described how quickly a person can
The interactions Sammy has during this one day at the A&P give the reader a look on Updike’s thoughts on freedom, changes, and growth in a young man's life. Sammy is the protagonist of the story. He is working at his common job, with common co-workers, at a common store. One day while he is working, three girls wearing bathing suits come into the store. After dismissing the first two as unattractive, he focuses his attention on a girl he decides to call “Queenie”.
Olivia Mendoza English Composition II Professor Chism 21 January 2015 A & P Boldness can be a productive or a contrary thing. As for Sammy’s case, being bold was a contrary. Sammy was a nineteen-year-old boy who seemed to have life a little dull. He didn’t exactly seem to have life figured out. In the beginning of the story, the protagonist (Sammy) was at his cashier as usual when the antagonists (the Queenie and the girls) walk into A & P grocery store in their bathing suits and changed Sammy’s life forever.
Angie Staiert Mr. Brandon Cummins ENG 102-OL6 October 22, 2011 Sammy’s Actions at A & P John Updike’s short story “A & P” is set in a small town grocery store with Sammy as a cashier. Three girls in bathing suits come into the grocery store, which may seem a little odd as they are nowhere near a beach, but it is summer time. Sammy and Stokesie (who is the other cashier) watch the girls as they stroll through the store looking for the one item they need. Sammy’s actions show how one person can stand up for what they believe in. At the end of “A & P” Sammy show’s his frustration on how the girl’s in the store had been treated by his manager Lengel that he quits in order to stand up for what he believed in.
Character can be defined as the combination of qualities or features that distinguishes one person, group, or thing from another. Sammy starts off as a young man who is discontent with his ordinary life checking customers out at the grocery store in a sleepy small town. As a teenager Sammy feels the need to change his way of life. Sammy is a 19 years old boy who seems to be working hard to help his parents put food on the table. You can tell in the beginning of the story when the line “In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits”.
In the short story “A&P” by John Updike, check out boy Sammy stands up for the “mistreatment” of girls dressed in bikinis who came into the grocery store that he worked at. While practically drooling at the girls as they walked through the aisles, his mind had essentially put them on a silver platter. When his boss told the girls to not come back without some proper clothes on, Sammy quits his job saying to his manager, “You didn’t have to embarrass them.” Sammy’s abrupt decision to quit showed how much he was caught up with the girls, of whom he didn’t even know. After handing back his apron, he ran outside expecting to see the girls waiting for him in order to thank him for standing up for them. Obviously when he got outside, they were long gone.
Matthew Gullet Debbie Amburgey English II 9/10/12 Point of View Sammy is an immature 19 year old kid who hates his job as the A&P cashier. Sammy’s life is coming to a crossroad, little does he know, on the day that three half naked young girls walk in the grocery store. Sammy judges the customers, as well as his boss, and due to this his life would never be the same. The point of view in A&P is incredibly important because everything that happens in the story is told by Sammy the narrator. We get to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about everyone, from Sammy’s perspective.
Happy has lived in the shadow of Biff his whole life, he feels that to get the attention he deserves he must strive to be more successful than his brother. When Willy was talking about Biff, Happy kept hinting that he was losing weight, but Willy seems to ignore him. “He is a marked-down version of his father, with not even a grand dream to cover his grossness. His only redeeming aspect is an easy-going fondness for his family” (Koon pg.37). Happy shows
Sammy works at the A&P supermarket in small town and seems to be tired of the boring day by day of the job. Sammy got the job because of his parents, but he does not want his fate to be similar to his co worker Stokesie “….married with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already” (Updike, 221). Three girls walk into the store with bathing suits not the usual looking customers at this store. “….usually women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs….” (Updike, 221) indicating the normal customers are old women. The three girls do not represent conformity and Sammy would like to be like them.
Mr Birling is a very selfish man who ‘has to make his way’ and doesn’t think of anyone but himself and his family; he thinks the community is stupid. He likes to make predictions on future- the unsinkability of the titanic, the impossibility of the war and the promises of technology. Sheila is presented as a very pretty and a quite honest character. She is engaged to Gerald Croft and they have just had their engagement party. When the inspector tells Sheila about Eva Smith she showed a lot of emotion and felt that she had to tell the inspector everything that happened.