A & P
Have you ever disliked a job? The main character in the story is a 19-year-old boy named Sammy working behind the register of the convenient store; which hates his job. The story A & P is written by John Updike. The story takes place in a small grocery store in the middle of a minute town, five miles from the beach. The town is so small that it can be seen in whole from the grocery store window. There are many problems that the main character undergoes. The three dilemmas that he faces throughout the story are the girls, his boss, and his own guilt. He faces many hardships throughout the short story, but in the end does what he believes to be correct. "In walks these girls in nothing but bathing suits"(90). The girls disillusioned Sammy; he was awestruck by the way they were dressed. He had never seen anyone enter the convenient store dressed like that. The women that usually enter the store "generally put on a shirt or shorts or something before they get out of the car into the streets." (91). Sammy is a very sarcastic individual, and passes judgment on what he thinks of them throughout the story. The first girl that Sammy notices is a plump girl with a "soft looking can with those two crescents of white jus
He is glad that it is summer so he doesn't have to gather any of his belongings. Sammy's boss tries to remind him of how his parents won't be happy with his quitting "Lengel (Sammy's boss) sighs and begins to look very impatient and old and gray. "(90) This made her appear to be naked from the top of the suit up. He looked back into the store and saw "Lengel in my the slot, checking the sheep (customers) through. He and his co-worker did not have anything to do until they came to their register so they watched and waited. Sammy realizes that she is higher class than he is. She came down a little hard on her heels, as if she didn't walk in her bare feet that much, putting down her heels and then letting the weight move along to her toes as if she was testing the floor with every step"(90). The first two girls that Sammy saw he considered "sheep"(90) following Queenie, because they walked everywhere following right behind her. Sammy's boss approaches the girls dressed in their inappropriate clothing and says "Girls this isn't the beach. Sammy, you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad," he tells me. He hated his job and this was the only way to rectify it. The girls were in a hurry to get out of the store because they weren't happy about Sammy's boss being a jerk about their clothing.
Common topics in this essay:
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Mom Dad,
,
Lengel Sammy's,
sammy's boss,
girl sammy notices,
sammy notices,
girl sammy,
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girls sammy,
clothing girls,
grocery store,
throughout story,
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mean girls,
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