The short story, A&P, by John Updike, is about a young mans struggle with morality, authority, and freedom. When Sammy quit his job it was a monumental decision because while he lost his job he was trying to become a hero in front of the girls. Sammy had worked in the A&P grocery store for a while and through his descriptions of his job and actions while on the job one could see that he was not proud of his job as a courtesy clerk. Sammy was willing to quit his job for a couple of girls that he didn't even know so that they would notice him. The girls that entered the A&P represented Sammy's wandering imagination, longing for freedom and desire for a change in his mundane daily activities. When Sammy quit his job he was taking a stand against authority whether justified or not because he didn't like his meaningless job and wished for freedom from the A&P and his manager. I will talk about the foreshadowing in the story that is used to show that Sammy wants to quit his job anyways and he uses the girls as an excuse to do what he wanted to do in the first place while defending the girls. Then I will explain the reasons of Sammy quitting his job by talking about Sammy's wandering imagination and admiration of the girls. I will follow it by writing about his interactions with his boss and the sheep that represent authority figures in the short story.
             John Updike uses foreshadowing in many parts of the short story to show how Sammy dislikes his job and yearns for freedom. "... and they all three went up the cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle (Updike 16). This shows that Sammy has obviously been working at the A&P for a long time and in a way it seems sarcastic. The reason that it seems sarcastic is because the detail that he goes into seems very lengthy. Another quote that represents foreshadowing is, "...Th...