A & P by John Updike - Paper

As people age, maturity and wisdom is gained through every experiences. From the time a child turns eighteen and becomes an adult, they are required to deal with the realities of the real world and learn how to handle its responsibilities. In John Updike's short story, "A&P", the narrator Sammy, a young boy of nineteen, makes a major change to his life fueled by nothing more than his immaturity and desire to do what he wants and because of that, he has do deal with the consequences. From the beginning of the story, it is clear that Sammy does not likes his job, nor is he fond of the customers and people he is surrounded by each day. To Sammy, they are nothing more than "sheep" going through the motions of life. "I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering ‘Let me see, there was a third thing, began with A, asparagus, no, ah, yes, applesauce!' or whatever it was they do mutter." (Updike 616). He view them negatively; to him they are boring and useless, living dull and unimportant lives and it's obvious through Sammy that he doesn't want to ever become one of them, nor does he want to be around them. It is also clear through Sammy and everyone else who works at the A&P that the job is boring, simply by the way they react to the arrival of the three unique teenage girls. Granted the only people working in the store are men, they still find the arrival of the girls to be extremely exciting and an event worth waiting for. "The store's pretty empty, it being Thursday afternoon, so there was nothing much to do except lean on the register and wait for the girls to show up again"(Updike 617). They take pleasure in the girls visits, and when they do arrive, Sammy makes it clear that he is not the only one captivated by them; McMahon at the meat counter is seen "sizing up their joints" (Updike 617) and Stokesie expresses a constant fixation with the girls as

Cited: Updike, John. "A & P." Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers. Ed. John Schilb and John Clifford. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2011. 614-619. Print. Kellner, Bruce. "A&P: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Apr. 2012.