Rebellion In John Updike's A & P

One of the major themes of “A&P”, a short story written by John Updike, is that of rebellion. Sammy gave up his job in order to impress Queenie. In doing so he demonstrated a fearless stupidity. Despite all his efforts to get the girl to notice him, he walked away with no reward. Although he did it in order to woo Queenie, Sammy is somewhat a hero of justice. He stood up for the week, and defended her against a prejudice villain. His boss chose to attack the girls in front of everyone, making them look like fools. Sammy only did what he thought was right. After what takes place during “A&P”, Sammy most likely had to pay heavily for his actions. Since he was so young and that was most likely his first job, the bad reputation he has with