He faults her by remarking, "I know it made her day to trip me up."

On the other hand, the young Sammy is driven by his romantic vision of the teenaged girls who enter the store in their swimsuits. He finds Queenie particularly seductive:

...what got me, the straps were down....there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her, this clean bare plane of the top of her chest down from the shoulder bones....I mean, it was more than pretty.

After he overhears the manager of the A&P, Mr. Lengel, tell the girls that they cannot enter the store because they are not "decently dressed," Sammy impulsively tells his boss that he quits, adding that Lengel should not have embarrassed the girls by speaking to them as he has. Mr. Lengel warns Sammy:

"I don't think you know what you're saying....You'll feel this for the rest of your life."

Thereafter, Sammy impulsively pulls off his apron, punches the "No Sale" button on his cash register, and goes outside where he looks for the girls. However, the girls are gone. It is then that Sammy comments that he "...felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter."

The short story "A&P" by John Updike has several topics to consider for a thesis statement. This is a story that combines the challenges of self-esteem, identity, the want to be accepted, the breaking of rules, and the consequences of our actions.

If you were to pick one of those themes, for instance, the consequences of our actions, you could start a thesis statement that could read:

The short story "A&P", by John Updike, treats a challenging aspect of adolescence: Social acceptance versus social choices. The main character is placed in a situation where he can choose to create short-lived reputation in front of his peers versus losing his job as a result of it. When he chooses the latter, he must face the consequences that come as a result of placing social acceptance as the most important choice.

When you think about it, our main character is a young kid who has to work and is not able to enjoy himself during the Summer. As the young girls with bathing suits enter the store, he is placed in a somewhat embarrassing situation where he gets to see his peers enjoying themselves, while he has to work. Somehow, this young man must show that he is also capable of being "cool" by being insubordinate to his manager in favor of the girls. He is fired, and is left with nothing- the girls leave the store as they would have, with or without his scene, anyways.

Yet that tiny moment of control might have given him the only chance to save some dignity. That is what makes all the difference in him, although we know that his choice is rather poor.

Thesis writing can be hard. The first thing to remember about any good thesis is that it makes an argument. It is not a statement of fact. There is nothing to prove. Saying that Sammy quits his job is not a thesis statement, so regardless of what thesis you come up with, be sure that it makes an argument that you intend to prove with evidence from the story. 

The second thing to remember about thesis statement writing is that it is okay to be formulaic when writing the thesis. A solid thesis writing style is the "point and counter-point" format. This kind of thesis statement begins by admitting to an argument that you intend to disprove. The second half of the statement is then what your main argument is. Generally, this thesis format begins with a dependent clause, and it is then followed up by the independent clause containing your main argument.  

The previous post contains some great thesis suggestions.  A couple of them open up the possibility to connect this story to societal concerns or types of government. That is fine, but it's also okay to keep a thesis statement and paper entirely focused on the piece of literature. Regarding "A & P," I've always liked challenging my students to examine Sammy's "heroism."  

The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say "I quit" to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.

I like asking students about whether or not Sammy and/or his act is heroic. Your thesis statement could be a statement that seeks to prove (or disprove) Sammy as a hero. For example: "Although Sammy is quite certain that his actions will make him Queenie's conquering hero, his actions are neither heroic nor do they prove beneficial to any character in the story."  

There are many possible angles to take in writing about John Updike's story "A & P." It all just depends on your opinion of the story and whether any particular aspect of it stands out in your assessment as being worthy of note. A couple of ideas that one might explore in a thesis have to do with Sammy's reaction to the girls; Sammy's moral predicament; Sammy's choices in his moral predicament; the theme of individuality; or Updike's authorial style choices.

One could take a position in relation to Sammy's reaction to the girls' attire as being representative of Marxist literary theory with Sammy standing for the exploiting capitalist class and the girls standing for the exploited worker class. One could discuss Sammy's moral predicament while listening to the manager scold the girls in terms of a rigid archaic Victorian social moral code that not only constrains but also ostracizes. One could discuss Sammy's choice to quit his job in terms of the irrationality and shortsightedness of youth that acts as self-sabotage and causes endless difficulties.

One could discuss the self-imposed constraints of an individuality that doesn't leave room for social realities, or, on the other hand, that would enlighten society if a demonstration of individuality could initiate a successful rebellion against status quo. One could discuss Updike's choices in vocabulary, discussing his use of adjectives and adverbs or his choice of prepositional relationship words.

The story is about a teenaged boy named Sammy who works at the local A&P grocery store. One day he encountes a trio of swimsuited girls in the grocery store. The girls cause quite a stir because of the way their dressed (or not dressed.) The girls come to his checkout station, and one girl pulls a dollar from her bathing-suit top. The store's manager, Lengel, spots the girls and reprimands them for their attire. The girls are embarrassed and want to leave quickly. Sammy, in a passionate moment, tells Lengel that he quits. The girls, however, fail to notice his act of chivalry and continue walking out of the store. As he, punches "No Sale" on the cash register, he realizes that the world will be a harder place for him from now on. The story has remained popular because many of the themes are still central to adolescence, including accepting the repercussions of one's choices.
A & P.

While enotes editors do not write theses or essays for students, we are glad to offer suggestions and advice on your efforts.  However, since no topic has been put forth, you may wish to first decide on what your topic is going to be.  Enotes provides examinations of theme, character, style, etc. that may be good choices for an essay.

Another approach that can be taken in analyzing a short story is that of a different perspective. For instance, you can interpret Updike's main character as reaching an existential crisis where he must make an effort to identify himself as an authentic person; that is, he must create his own existence as an individual apart from the sheep who push their carts to the counter.  This approach can work easily for Updike's story after you have read about Existentialism and its basic premises.  In the introduction, define those aspects of Existentialism that you wish to establish in the essay and write a thesis based upon them.  These three points will be what you, then, support with passages, quotes, etc. from Updike's story.

If you can, you may also wish to compare (and contrast)  Sammy with the youth in James Joyce's "Araby" if you have read this story, also as both characters have an idealistic and romantic notion of the girls whose sexual attraction for them is great.  However, they realize at the end that the girl(s) is/are not interested in them at all and, as a result, they suffer from their delusions.  A "motivator" for the essay can begin the introduction.

See the links below for other ideas and "help."