Body Image In John Updike's A & P

“Only God Can Judge” Teenagers are insecure, judgmental creatures. Both of these characteristics feed off of each other to establish a mess of a human being. We (teenagers) will tear someone else down in hopes of building ourselves up. One thing that has remained constant over time is the way teenagers highlight each other’s physical features, as well as how insecure they are about their own. The short story “A&P” exemplifies the way humans observe the female body. In this piece three girls come to shop at a grocery store wearing nothing but bathing suits. The narrator illustrates an image of each the girls, portraying everything from the bone structure in their faces, to their skin tone, tan lines, and the way they walk. Additionally, the narrator describes the older women in the store; denoting their varicose veins, and rugged faces. The human body attracts a lot of attention, consequently, not all of that attention is presented as praise. As a matter of fact, I feel that the narrator was criticizing the girls bodies rather than approving them. In the end of the story, the manager of the store refuses to serve the
“A&P” displays the manner in which we observe other’s physical features. As well as how adults treasure dictating the way inferior teenagers can express their body’s. “The Story of My Body” clearly represents the approach teenagers take in examining their own body’s. Which, more quite frequently does not occur in a favorable manner. I feel that this issue would be resolved if others would simply withdraw from suggesting flaws to others. Works Cited
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “The Story of My Body.” Schmidt and Crocket 77-84.
Schmidt, Jan Zlotnik, and Lynne Crockett, ed. Legacies: Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Nonfiction. 5th ed. Boston: Cengage Learning Wadsworth, 2013. Print.
Updike, John. “A&P.” Schmidt and Crockett