Thoughts on John Updike’s Short Story “A & P”

The short story “A & P” by John Updike dealt with some very confusing internal conflicts, experienced by the main character named Sammy. I cannot say I admired Sammy for quitting in the end of the story. It seems a bit pointless to me why he quit. I can understand how Sammy was sick and tired of his mundane job. Many of us can relate to mundane aspects of jobs. Although he could’ve been more thankful that he had a job at all. However, as humans we gripe and complain and then make life changes compulsively. Many people can likely relate to Sammy at some point in their lives. I know I sure can, in some slightly different ways.

The three flamboyant rich girls who walked into the store were like bait, taunting Sammy. Like any normal teenage male, he observed their fascinating bodies and their skimpy bathing suits. I think Updike did a great job describing the girls. He uses a very informal tone but he’s good at reeling the reader in with suspense. The biggest thing that I didn’t like about the story was the way it portrayed the manager, Mr. Lengel. He was made to appear as if he was the bad guy or the unfair one. However, it makes sense that Updike portrayed him this way as the story was from the point of view of Sammy. The story made Mr. Lengel look like a very stilted legalistic Sunday school teacher. In reality, he was just trying to do what was right. Meanwhile, the juxtaposition of raging teenage hormones was a major theme in this story. Thoughts and emotions can be intense as teenagers. Teenage males, especially, are very visually stimulated, and I think this story did a great job of capturing this internal tension with Sammy’s perspective.

I think that the A & P store is an interesting setting for the story, I like the contrast between the sheep, or the customers and the three girls that are walking throughout the store. I do think that John Updike is a very good writer and I wish I could sit down and interview him on what exactly inspired him to write this short story.

Below are some questions and my answers to the short story "A & P" by John Updike

Summarize the information Sammy gives readers about his tastes and background. Why is this exposition vital to the story's development?

Many things lead one to think that Sammy is probably in the lower class in society. He doesn't like many of the items in the store. This is made clear when he mentions the "plastic toys done up in cellophane that fall apart when a kid looks at them." When he looks at Queenie he pictures her being in a wealthy upper class family. Even the way in which Queenie speaks seems to prove that she is of a higher social class for this time period. Sammy, being in a lower class, may have felt like people looked down on him. The bowtie that Sammy is wearing for work isn't his as he was likely not able to afford buying his own.

List some of the most obvious physical characteristics of the "A & P" customers. How do these characteristics make them foils for Queenie and her friends?

Sammy refers to the customers as being sheep, signifying their compliant and stupid nature. He mentions "houseslaves in pin curlers... pushing their carts past." The customers appear to be very noraml, taking care of their daily chores. When the three girls walk into the store, they provide a shocking contrast in comparison to all the seemingly regular customers.

How accurate are Sammy's judgements about the other characters? How might the characters be portrayed if the story were told by Lengel?

Sammy was simply judging them based on a teenage male perspective. I think he was impressed by these girls deviance. This might have helped lead him to his final decision in the end to quit his job. In a way, the girls were kind of like bait. He was clearly attracted to them. Ironically, the girls were buying herring. If this story were told from the point of view of Mr. Lengel, then he probably would have taken action in getting the girls out of the store much quicker. He was obviously less susceptible to the bait that the girls flaunted. He didn't want them to reflect on his store and scare off other customers.

Given what you learn about Sammy during the course of the story, what do you see as his primary motivation for quitting his job? What other factors motivate him?

His primary motivation for quitting his job was because he was sick and tired of working somewhere that was so boring. He didn't seme to take any joy or pride in his work. Sammy felt that the manager was wrong in embarrassing the girls, so he wanted to stand up to him, defending them, and maybe showing off a little too. Also, Sammy hoped that he would get the girls attention and impress them with his bold actions. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to notice his attempts at gaining their attention. Deep down inside Sammy didn't seem to be surprised by the girls not taking much notice of him even though he still fell for the bait that they appeared to tease him with. This story is very much about the mind of a teenage male and how they make big changes in life that tend toward impulsivity, but that’s all part of learning and emerging into adulthood.