A & P Critique

"A & P" by John Updike is a wonderful exception to this rule. Updike

writes the story from a viewpoint of what I believe to be a younger, more

contemporary person. The story contains many other enjoyable attributes,

such as the comments about young girls' flesh. I found the story to be a

good read and although I typically don't like stories that are short and

uninvolved, I was able to gain a lot of enjoyment from this work. The

story begins with little-to-no foreshadowing and doesn't enlighten the

reader until about half way through the piece. All of the sudden, the

reader is cast into an "A & P" grocery store in what I would think to be

. . .
A good

example of this can be seen toward the end of paragraph 2 when he gives

his interpretation of what happens in a girls mind. I felt like

a first hand participant in the antics. However, as I

began to read the story I was able to create background information of my

own which changed my opinion about the story altogether. " (63), it can be seen that he is an

experienced girl watcher. As I said, I

typically don't enjoy shorter stories, although I'm glad that I made an

exception by reading "A & P". I got the impression that the

main character was a younger fellow. He makes a simile to

a bee buzzing in a glass jar. you

know, the kind of girl the other girls think is 2 very 'striking' and

'attractive' but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is

why they like her so much. I was able to sympathize with the

main character and I was able to connect with him as well. I'm able to

make a few emotional connections to Sammy, the main character, as well. His comments and actions sounded

more immature than mature, so I was able to relate more closely to the

work. though undocumented, the writer gives details that

point to this time period.

Common topics in this essay:
John Updike, , main character, background information, girl watcher, typically don't,

Approximate Word count = 505
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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