A & P
“Wrong Decision” In the short story “A & P” by John Updike, is about a young man that is miserably employed. The short story tells of a small town boy quitting his job for all of the wrong reasons. The story began with a description of a three girls who changed Sammy’s life. Sammy develops the setting to tell the story of how he is a discontent grocer, and he is put in to a situation of the harsh reality of the adult world after making a childish decision. Updike tells the story using the elements of point-of –view, character, and plot. Updike uses the element point of view in the short story “A & P,” to help the reader realize the how
Sammy expressed his feelings about the situation. Sammy has recently turned nineteen years old an age at which the stone the things were once written in, begins to erode. The late teen years are years that tend to be the age where when most people began to have greater sense of whom they truly are. As a result they tend to challenge authority as well as values and social mores that they have been told all of their lives are right. Updike pokes gentle fun at Sammy because he succumbs to the girls who are cast roles of the legendary Sirens—the mythological temptresses damsels’ proverbial knight and shining armor (Blodgett).
However, this age also marks the period in their life where the line between childish rebellion and asserting one’s self as a responsible adult becomes blurry. Sammy made the decision to quit the job as a grocer because he felt that the girls were being mistreated and he wanted their attention.
Sammy was not aware of the decision he was making at the time, he was thinking with his hormones. Sammy felt like this was a good idea at the time to get the attention of the three girls in the store. As he said, “I said I quit” (Updike, 101), he the realized that he couldn’t believe that he said that and quit his job. He decides that
Sammy expressed his feelings about the situation. Sammy has recently turned nineteen years old an age at which the stone the things were once written in, begins to erode. The late teen years are years that tend to be the age where when most people began to have greater sense of whom they truly are. As a result they tend to challenge authority as well as values and social mores that they have been told all of their lives are right. Updike pokes gentle fun at Sammy because he succumbs to the girls who are cast roles of the legendary Sirens—the mythological temptresses damsels’ proverbial knight and shining armor (Blodgett).
However, this age also marks the period in their life where the line between childish rebellion and asserting one’s self as a responsible adult becomes blurry. Sammy made the decision to quit the job as a grocer because he felt that the girls were being mistreated and he wanted their attention.
Sammy was not aware of the decision he was making at the time, he was thinking with his hormones. Sammy felt like this was a good idea at the time to get the attention of the three girls in the store. As he said, “I said I quit” (Updike, 101), he the realized that he couldn’t believe that he said that and quit his job. He decides that
Cited: Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press. From Literature Resource Center, 1994