Rites Of Passage In The Story 'A & P'

Francis Agbebaku March 07, 2011
Prof. Murray Engl-1020
Essay #2 A person usually undergoes rites of passage when they choose to become part of a certain group. When the rites of passage is completed then they are prepared to be initiated into the group, in the two stories read in class I noted two examples of rite of passage and initiation experienced by the main character of each story first-hand. In the story “A&P” Sammy is at work and identifies his rites of passage when three un-conformed females enter the store and steals his attention , when he see his manager mistreat the girls he feel he must quit in order to gain his un-conformed independence and join the group. In the story “Doe Season” Andy the daughter of a
When the girls walk in Sammy attention was quickly caught by the females and their different choice of clothing. The females are dressed in bathing suits but the beach was 10 miles outside of the town that they lived in. Sammy says it was their act of non-conformity that drew his attention. Sammy did not want to grow up and end up like his co-worker Stokesie which had a wife an two children but still worked at the A&P grocery store, but that’s the road Sammy seen his self drifting into. To Sammy the girls represented something bigger than just rebelling against the rules it was that they represented excitement inside of his boring town. The excitement that made his boring life more interesting, an exciting life that would pull him from his irony fate of growing old and having a life-long career at “A&P” and in order to join the lifestyle he would have to be initiated into it. First, before he began his rites of passage he identified the leaders of the group which he nicknamed “Queenie” luckily it was the one he wanted to impress because he desired her as soon as she walked in the store so determining to take the rite of passage when presented to him would be a “no brainer”. She was followed by he accomplish in non-conformity which were to girls that Sammy nicknamed “Plaid” and “Big Tall Goony Goony” which spotlight was blocked by the spotlight of Queenie which look the best of the bunch. In the store the store manager confronts the girls about the attire they have chosen to wear in the store he tell them it is against the dress code which erupts an verbal argument against the store manager, Lengel and the leader of the group Queenie inside the store. When Sammy see the argument he thinks back to the time he wanted to created a verbal argument with Lengel and becomes even more drawn into Queenie’s lifestyle and when Lengel kicks the