In the short story "A&P", written by John Updike, the narrator is a young grocery store clerk named Sammy. The story is of one day in which three young girls enter the store where Sammy works wearing only bathing suits, and instantly attract his attention. However, the detailed descriptions of these girls, given by Sammy, do not make him a male chauvinist.
             A male chauvinist is usually seen as a man whom objectifies women, and looks down upon them. Sammy does not fit this definition. It is true that most descriptions of the girls are having to do with their physical appearance, but the feeling given is not that Sammy was doing so to be disrespectful, or because he saw the girls as mere objects for him to stare upon. Judging upon physical appearance before getting to know a person is a natural human characteristic. Mostly everyone does it, whether meaning to do so or not. Therefore, Sammy should not be referred to as a chauvinist for doing so. Another reason this term is incorrectly used for Sammy is that he certainly is not looking down upon the girls, especially the one he calls "Queenie". Not only does he not look down upon this particular girl; he makes her out to be royalty. This is not only seen in fact that he refers to her as the queen, but also in such lines as, "she walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs", and "...getting sore now that she remembers her place, a place from which the crowd that runs the A&P must look pretty crummy." These lines, along with others, in addition to references to the girl as "more than pretty" and "so cute", make it obvious that Sammy is not objectifying or looking down upon the girls, but rather is infatuated with the one in particular.
             I also disagree with the second part of the statement; "...who suddenly sees the light". If the argument were to have been made that Sammy was indeed a male chauvin...