John Updike's "A&P" tells the story of Sammy, a nineteen-year-old grocery store clerk in New England, whose life is about to change. He watches three young girls come into his store wearing only bathing suits. The store manager admonishes them, and in their defense Sammy quits his job. The story reveals that there comes a time in a person's life when their path in life must be chosen. Sammy's conflict is whether to conform to the status quo or be different and go his own way.
             Sammy is in a dead-end job, which he hates, at the local grocery store. He describes his customers as "a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows"(1031), "sheep"(1032), and "scared pigs in a chute"(1034) just to keep him amused. He finds the girls in their suits fascinating, refreshing, something completely out of the ordinary, and it appeals to him. He is tickled by reactions of the "houseslaves in pin curlers" (1032) at what they had just seen.
             The girl Sammy refers to as Queenie appeals to him. Her sense of individuality, apparent in her attire, a flesh tone swimsuit with the straps off the shoulders, bare feet, and an air of confidence strikes a chord with Sammy. She symbolizes what he wants, to be an individual, to be free, to be something better than he is.
             When Mr. Lengel confronts the girls, Sammy takes it as an attack on his own freedom more than an affront to the girls. He sees Lengel as the oppressor, his future, his destiny. When Sammy quits, he symbolically sheds his bonds by removing his personalized apron and bow tie and leaving them on the counter, thus freeing him to leave. He knows the girls will not wait, it doesn't matter, for they are the catalyst he needs to cast off the old life. He cannot go back as that would be "fatal" (1034) to his new life. His stomach feels queasy as he realizes how different his world will be f...