A & P by John Updike

Author—John Updike John Updike - born in 1932, in Shillington, Pennsylvania. Graduated from Harvard in 1954. Spent a year in Oxford, England, at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. From 1955 to 1957 he was a member of the staff of The New Yorker. Wrote more than fifty books, including collections of short stories, poems, essays, and criticism. His novels have won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the American Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Rosenthal Award, and the Howells Medal. He died in January 2009.

SETTING This Story takes place in 1961, in a small New England town's A&P grocery store. 

Plot Sammy, the narrator, is introduced as a grocery checker and an observer of the store's patrons. 

PLOT CONTINUED Sammy finds himself fascinated by a particular group of girls.  Just in from the beach and still in their bathing suits. They are a stark contrast, to the otherwise plain store interior. 

As they go about their errands, Sammy observes the reactions, of the other customers, to this trio of young women. 

Plot--Summary The girls, however, appear to be unique in all aspects of their beings going barefoot in swim suits  

He sees them in such detail, that he can even pick out the queen of the bunch.  observes their movements and gestures confronted by the store manager and chastised for their unacceptable appearance.  Sammy, feeling that the managerial display was unnecessary and unduly embarrassing for the girls, decides to quit his position as checker.  Knows that his decision may be hasty, he knows that he has to follow through, and he can never go back.  He has taken a stand. He leaves, with a clean conscience, but the burden of not knowing what the future has in store for him.

Narrator The teenage narrator of this story is forced to make a snap decision about his position at the A&P, the consequences of which will be significant. “A&P,” published in 1961 is told from the perspective of Sammy, a smart-aleck teenager severely bored in his job as a cashier. The story is about Sammy’s coming of age His tone is conversationally casual he turned 19 last April he has just graduated from high school Clearly he is not of an upper-class family nor on his way to some prestigious university. His employment appears to be a necessity for a son of a family that is not well off.

Social Disparity When the trio of girls arrive, Sammy is ringing up a box of Hi Ho crackers for an older woman customer. The crackers suggest, with their casual simplicity, a social disparity between the elegance of the summer-vacationing girls who have come in to purchase Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks in Pure Sour Cream at the request of the mother of the attractive girl and Sammy and the usual customers.

Class difference Sammy underscores this difference in class and living style when he describes Queenie's voice "kind of toney . . . the way it ticked over 'picked up' and 'snacks'." imagines her aristocratic home life her "father and the other men . . . standing around in ice- cream coats and bow ties and . . . the women . . . in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and . . . holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them."

Class differences Sammy compares his own parents on festive occasions, they serve their guests "lemonade if it's a real racy affair, Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stenciled on." (For the youthful, "They'll Do It Every Time" was a newspaper comic strip by Jimmy Hatlo that ran from 1929 till Hatlo's death in 1963.)

Setting A grocery store in which everything seems ordinary and seems gray. The atmosphere is not upbeat The three girls seem like the most entertainment he's ever had in the store. The store allows the girls to stand out even more than they would otherwise. Even though they are in bathing suits, its almost like the notion of public nakedness in a commercial setting .

“Sheep” Sammy equates the customers with sheep They stay together and do everything together. Where one sheep goes, the other sheep follow They all look the same. Attitude toward the shoppers of the A&P is negative. Sammy does not want to be stuck at this job for the rest of his life.

The “S h e e p” Reactions of the shoppers when they see Queenie. "You could see them, when Queenie's white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on they pushed. 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 and muttering ‘Let me see, there was a third thing, began with A, asparagus, no, ah, yes, applesauce!’ or whatever it is they do mutter. But there was no doubt, this jiggled them. A few house-slaves in pin curlers even looked around after pushing their carts past to make sure what they had seen was correct." The “S h e e p”

Character-Names Updike gives all the major characters names that fit their personality Sammy is a light hearted friendly boyish name. Stokesie sounds like his last name that has become his first name. This may indicate a man older than Sammy Stokesie is "married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that's the only difference. He's twenty-two, and I was nineteen this April."

Stokesie Sammy makes a connection between himself and Stokesie Similar in age Similar reaction to the girls’ presence in the A&P. Due to Stokesie’s responsibilities, such as a wife and children, he will likely end up working at the A&P for a long time. This is a fate that would not be pleasant for Sammy, who is unhappy in the job.

Character The names Updike uses may also describe a characters authoritative and sharp presence. Queenie is a name that perfectly describes the girl that Sammy is infatuated with. A woman of importance, power, and attraction. He described her walking in the store. He says, "She came down a little hard on her heels, as if she didn't walk in her bare feet that much, putting down her heels and then letting the weight move along to her toes as if she was testing the floor with every step, putting a little deliberate extra action into it. You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?) but you got the idea she had talked the other two into coming in here with her, and now she was showing them how to do it, walk slow and hold yourself straight."

M o t I v a t I o n Assumptions why Sammy would quit. To impress the girls. He wanted them to notice what he did and afterwards take notice in him. Queenie represents something bigger and better for Sammy. Sammy is a blue collar boy maybe longing for a white collar girl. He says "I say, we're right in the middle of town, and if you stand at our front doors you can see two banks and the Congregational church and the newspaper store and three real-estate offices and about twenty-seven old free-loaders tearing up Central Street because the sewer broke again. It's not as if we're on the Cape; we're north of Boston and there's people in this town haven't seen the ocean for twenty years." There is an element of social inequality in the story.

Motivation Sammy may have quit in a sort of protest. Saying that he doesn't want to be one of the sheep of the town. He thinks he's doing the right thing because he thinks a wrong has been done. Sammy is a typical well intentioned American male trying to find his way. The end of the story says the world will be harder on him because in a small town everyone will know he quit, so he will be known as a quitter. His parents will be disappointed. His stand will have consequences. So he basically had quit his job and given up his good name for girls who just vanished on him. Or has he stood up for something he felt was an injustice?

Coming of Age This story represents a coming-of-age for Sammy. Though it takes place over the period of a few minutes, it represents a much larger process of maturation.  Changes in Sammy.  At first, he sees only the physicality of the girls how they look what they are wearing As the story progresses, he notices the interactions between the girls determines the hierarchy of the small dynamic observes their actions and how they affect the other patrons observes  how the other people view the girl's actions.

Coming of Age for Sammy Notices that the "regulars" seem to do the same things day in and day out.  Following the same path and directions through the aisles Check off their lists and go about their searching  The group of girls is different They do not seem to follow any set path.  They seem to live in the now.  He feels bad about the way the girls are being viewed by others He no longer wants to be part of something that discourages uniqueness. 

Coming of Age for Sammy This is further supported in the checkout scene Sammy makes the comment about the policy and how it is what the "kingpins" want.  It is not something that he believes in, nor does he want to enforce it.  Sammy starts to feel, for the first time, that there is something out there that is better.  He is ready to go find it.  Sammy is making the choice to be an individual, to venture into the unknown.  he does have some hesitation in "removing the apron".  he knows that he cannot put it back on.  Symbolizes his acceptance of having to move on in life.  the manager makes reference to Sammy's decision and in it's effect on his parents He is leaving his adolescence behind and this always has some effect on parents.  Hard for them to let their children go into adulthood.  Sammy sees it as a time that he took a significant step towards becoming a man.

Theme and Meaning The story’s theme focuses on Sammy’s struggles to grow up. forced to make a choice about where he stands on the confrontation that takes place between his manager and the girls, decides to take action. He doesn’t feel right about Lengel’s humiliation of the girls; Sammy decides to take a stand, by quitting, in hopes to become the girls’ “unsuspected hero.” He does not get any reward for quitting the girls do not notice forced to deal with the consequences of his actions Lengel gives Sammy the chance to keep his job, Sammy believes that once you take this type of action, there is no turning back. He thinks that quitting is a mistake, but it is too late to do anything about it. harsh reality of not “getting the girl” being left jobless Learns the nature of being an adult, as he says “my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.”

Analysis of "A&P" Short Story by John Updike “Looking back in the big windows, over the bags of peat moss and aluminum lawn furniture stacked on the pavement, I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through. His face was dark and gray and his back stiff, as if he’d just received an injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” An epiphany is an instance of sudden truth brought about by a mundane event. Sammy, experiences just that. First published in the July 22, 1961 issue of The New Yorker, the reader can’t help wondering if the story were written to reflect the radical changes that were taking place in society during this period. Updike uses a unique setting and a variety of characters to help the reader understand that Sammy’s act was not that of a hormone driven 19 year old, but actually the decision of a man who refuses to become a “sheep.”

Analysis Conformity and Sheep The title setting was perfect to symbolize the structure of society. It is designed to guide people in one direction, and it doesn’t require much thought. The “sheep” go up and down the aisles, pushing their carts and checking off their lists. The flourescent lights provide a false sense of sunlight in an otherwise dreary setting. The only disruption in the flow of traffic is the sight of “Queenie” and her two followers. “The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle-the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything)-were pretty hilarious. You could see them, when Queenie’s white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back in their own baskets and on they pushed.”

Analysis: Non-conformity The first characters to be mentioned in the story are the main focus of Sammy’s attention. “In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits.” Is the story just a romantic dream These girls represent much more than a mere sex symbol Sammy does take interest in the aesthetic qualities they possess-- notices more the way they carry themselves and the reactions of those around them. “She held her head so high her neck, coming up out of those white shoulders...” Girls embody that wild side of life. They confidently walk into a grocery store Change this young man’s life. He sees something that he never knew he longed for, a life outside of this “A&P” world.

Analysis Rejects Conformity Lengel, Sammy’s manager. “Lengel’s pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn’t miss that much.” injects more conformity into the story feels compelled to reprimand the girls Embarrasses them in front of Sammy makes Sammy realize that “Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency.” It can be said that the act of quitting was delinquent on Sammy’s part it was more than a rash decision based on sexual feelings realizes the consequences of his actions follows through knowing that “...once you start a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it.” He knows that if he backs down now, he will continue to back down throughout his life.

Analysis Act of Independence Sammy is faced with a decision that he knows he’ll feel for the rest of his life. If he stays quiet, he’ll more than likely become just like the “sheep” that seem to disgust him so much. But, like many of the young people coming of age in the 60's Sammy chose to go against the norm. He chose to find out what lies beyond A&P. The girls were the catalyst. Standing up to his manager was not an act of chivalry, it was an act of independence.

Analysis intertwines the two elements of setting and characterization. when Sammy unties his apron strings, he is actually cutting the strings that link him to the structure of society.

The End