A & P Group

Question:

amayjan
amayjan

In "A&P," by John Updike, what word would you use to describe Sammy at the beginning of the story?

Also how and why that character evolves...

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Posted by amayjan on Sunday October 11, 2009 at 7:55 PM and tagged with a&p, literature, sammy character analysis.

Answers:

  1. bullgatortail
    bullgatortail Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Best answer as selected by question asker.

    Although I would not attempt to convince you that the character of Sammy in John Updike's short story "A&P" is so complex that only one word would not suffice, it is true that he cannot be described so simply. Certainly "lustful," "sexist," "immature" and "unsophisticated" come to mind. Although Sammy narrates the story in a seemingly confident manner, he is obviously a young man with limited social skills and little life experience outside of the local high school and the grocery store in which he works. His descriptions of the scantily-clad girls who traverse the aisles of the store reveal the true nature of the beast within.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/and-pa

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    Posted by bullgatortail on Sunday October 11, 2009 at 8:56 PM