A&P

John Updike's short story "A & P" is set in a beach town. Yet, Sammy makes certain to note that the beach is five miles from the A & P store, and the store is "in the middle of town." The...

John Updike uses many literary devices in the short story "A&P." First, Updike uses diction to develop the character of Sammy. The story is told from his point of view, and Updike draws us into...

In "A&P" by John Updike, Sammy can be described as both narcissistic and hypocritical. His attitude towards others in the store is negative - and in the case of the three young girls, rather...

Sammy describes each of the three girls in turn. His description of the first girl reads as follows: She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two...

This short story definitely contains solid examples of symbolism in it. The clothing worn by characters is a good place to start. For the most part, I would assume that the standard clothing worn...

In the setting of Updike's story, the late 1950s, the A & P grocery stores were THE grocery store of small town USA. The name A & P came to be synonymous with "grocery store" in the way...

With climax being the point in a plot that creates the greates intensity, suspense, or interest, this point in John Updike's "A&P" is the action during which the conflict is resolved, or an...

A good thesis for Sammy's epiphany in Updike's story should be a statement of how his life is affected by his decision to quit his job. When the teenaged Sammy acts impulsively in what he feels is...

If understand a "round" or "dynamic" character to be one who undergoes some sort of change over the course of a story (usually in response to a conflict he encounters), then Sammy from "A & P"...

In "A&P," the mood shifts: it feels light, apprehensive, aroused, nervous, triumphant, and finally extremely apprehensive. Initially, Sammy's mood is relatively light. He at work and the day is...

There isn't a "correct" answer to this question. A person can effectively answer either side of whether or not Sammy made the right decision in quitting his job. I think a strong argument could be...

An epiphany is a sudden revelation. The Greek word means something like "showing forth," and the term is often used in a religious context, to mean a vision. In "A&P," one might say that Sammy...

Although I agree with the previous answer that the internal conflict is significant in "A & P," I disagree with the characterization of Updike's portrayal of Sammy. Yes, as the story concludes,...

Sammy acts in haste in the beginning of the story, quiting his job to prove a point. He is opposed to the way the manager treated the girls who came into the store wearing bathing suits. He wants...

Anyone who shops in supermarkets (which includes practically everyone) must often get the impression that the cashiers have very little regard for them and consider them just faceless figures to be...

Sammy is aspirational, and the A&P represents to him his working-class environment. He feels contempt for the housewives who shop in the store. He doesn't want to be a cashier—we learn that he...

I believe that this question is meant to focus on Sammy's actions that occur at the end of the story. Specifically, I think this question is targeting Sammy's decision to quit his job. When the...

The narrator's use of language is that of a teenage boy. Sammy is a typical teenage boy in many ways. He is interested in girls and is bored with his job in a grocery store. The sentence...

John Updike's short story, "A&P," is a slice-of-life tale about Sammy, the protagonist-narrator and teenage cashier in a New England grocery store. One day at work, three teenage girls come...

A comic story trimmed with both satire and sentiment, John Updike's "A&P," with the title of a long-time grocery chain that catered to middle America, depicts the rebellion of a young worker...

In "A&P," Sammy has a poor attitude towards others overall. He looks down on most of the customers in the store and thinks terrible things about them that suggest he finds them dumb and...

There are some obvious reasons why Sammy might feel that the world was going to be hard for him after he walked off his job. Although this supermarket is just part of a huge chain, it is probably...

A great many of the perceptions one has regarding a piece of literature or art are unique to each individual based on personal opinion and experience. My perception of the sadness the family feels...

I think the social statement that Sammy is trying to make is a statement against his manager's determination and support of what society deems "decent" clothing inside the store. By quitting, Sammy...

Yes, it probably will be hard for Sammy. He has reached a point of maturity from which there is no turning back. His world inside the supermarket was dull but safe. He has made a decision that...

Yes, you are on the right track in your thinking about these characters in the short story "A&P" by Updike. Even though Sammy doesn't seem too complicated at first and unlikely to change, he...

One could argue that Sammy is not a hero in John Updike's celebrated short story "A&P." In the story, Sammy is the protagonist and narrator, who works at the local A&P and attempts to...

Some readers might find “A&P” to be offensive and sexist because the narrator, Sammy, objectifies the girls who come into the store. Recall how he talks about them at the beginning of the...

One of the themes that emerges in "A&P" is that actions often have unintended consequences. Queenie and her friends casually enter the grocery store "in nothing but bathing suits." This...

This is an interesting query because Sammy is very much a part of the supermarket society in question; however, he does not consider himself a part of it. Sammy very much has an "us versus them"...

Sammy certainly seems to think of himself as more aware than the majority of the customers in the A&P, as he refers to many of them as "sheep," and he is especially interested in the girl he...

In order to understand the issue of sexism in John Updike's "A&P" you must look deeper into Sammy's descriptions of the female characters as well as the actions of every other male character....

Sammy is trying to figure out how a girl's mind works. When these three girls come into the store improperly dressed, or undressed, he is stunned with joy watching them walk around the store. His...

In the cold light of day, it's just dawned on Sammy that he's made a really stupid mistake. He thought that by quitting his job out of sympathy with the three young women he was acting like a hero....

John Updike’s short story “A&P” has often been read as a story of initiation, in which the narrator and central character learns some important lessons about the nature of life. Sammy himself...

Like the post #7 mentioned, I think Lengel narrating the story in his point of view will be quite interesting. Lengel, unlike Sammy in the story, is a fully grown adult who needs to take the...

If one were writing a section of "A&P" from Lengel's point of view, one would have to internalize his value system. In order to do this, it would be necessary to understand Lengel's values,...

The short story "A&P" by John Updike is narrated by Sammy, a 19-year-old young man who works at an A&P grocery store checkout counter. He is on the job one day when three young women clad...

The setting of the story is in a supermarket called the A&P. Updike focuses on emphasizing the importance of making the right choices you make and the consequences that follow. In places like...

In a typical exposition, the author might give background information, events leading up to the beginning of the story, and/or descriptions of the setting and characters. In "A & P," Updike's...

Just prior to Sammy's use of this phrase, he has watched his boss, Lengel, confront Queenie and her friends about their failure to adhere to the dress code of the store. As Sammy rings up the...

In “A&P,” the protagonist Sammy appears to be from the working class while a female customer whom he dubs “Queenie” belongs to the upper middle class. Updike illustrates their characters’...

Updike succeeds in drawing Sammy as a rounded character, partly because of his decision to tell the story in Sammy's voice. This immediately forces the reader to engage with Sammy and to sympathize...

In John Updike's "A & P," Queenie and the other girls's intrusion into the grocery store attired in only bathing suits causes quite a stir among customers and mangerial staff alike within the...

In this story, the narrator, Sammy, watches in admiration and excitement three teenage girls who are not local to his town come into the grocery store where he works clad in only their bathing...

Here are several literary elements in "A & P" in no particular order: We have a theme, in this case often described as a "coming of age" story. The main character, Sammy, evolves from a rather...