A & P Group

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zoeace
zoeace
Student

What is the significance of the final decision of the narrator in A&P to quite his job?

John Updike's the A&P

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Posted by zoeace on Monday February 9, 2009 at 5:13 PM and tagged with a p, a & p, john updike, narrator.

Answers:

  1. pmiranda2857
    pmiranda2857 Teacher
    High School - 10th Grade

    eNotes Editor

    Sammy's decision, to quit his job in order to get the attention of the girls who have been chastised by the manager from coming into the store improperly dressed.  Sammy has learned a huge lesson, decisions have consequences.  His rash decision to quit the store in a flurry of emotion fueled by hormones and a desire to draw the praise of the girls, to get noticed by the girls, appears to have failed.

    The girls leave the store and never even notice Sammy.  He, however, is left with his decision, quitting a job he needed.  He realizes, then, that his life is going to be a lot harder in the future.  Not only because he now has no job, but because future decisions will have to be thought out more carefully. 

    "At the end of the story, he quits his job in an effort to be a hero to the girls and as a way of rebelling against a strict society. In a sudden moment of insight—an epiphany—he realizes "how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter'' if he refuses to follow acceptable paths."

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

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    Posted by pmiranda2857 on Monday February 9, 2009 at 5:27 PM