A And P By John Updike

The story “A & P” by John Updike is a tale of a young man who lets
his desires and his anger get a little to far ahead of him and in the end winds
up quitting his job. The main character of the story is Sammy. An eighteen year
old boy from a small suburb outside Boston who works at an A & P
Supermarket. Sammy seems like an average boy who seems a tad bit tired of the
regular customers who come into his store. Regular customers including those
older married women with multiple kids, the overweight lady who has no regrets
wearing her bathing suit that doesn’t quite cover, and the nit picking old
ladies who spend years trying to catch an error by a cashier. It’s the last
ditch effort to make an impression on a beautiful young lady that ends up
leaving Sammy unemployed. The story starts out in an A & P outside of Boston
when in through the door walks three young lady sporting nothing except for
revealing two piece bathing suits. Quickly noticed by Sammy, he changes his
focus towards the three girls and critiques them in his head as he watches them
shop about the store. It’s the leader of the pack, which Sammy coins the
nickname Queenie, that really catches his eye. A tall brown haired girl whose
shoulder straps had fallen off of her shoulders and just dangled around her
arms. Entranced by her beauty and feeling blessed when Queenie and her pack
enter Sammy’s line, he begins to ring up her can of fancy herring snacks. As
Queenie reaches into the center of her bikini to remove the dollar to pay for
the snack in walks Lengel. Lengel, Sammy’s uptight dreary manager quickly
notices the outfits of the three girls which sticks out like a full moon on a
clear night begins to walk over and confront Queenie. Lengel proceeds to harass
and embarrass Queenie and her friends about their attire. Sammy was quick to
ring up the purchase and hand Queenie a bag with her food in it. Now was the
time Sammy was to make his move, whether it be his hope just to catch the
attention of such a thing of beauty or maybe it was his anger toward Lengel for
ruing this beautiful moment that cashiers dream about . Not surprised at the
girls attempt to speed out the store, Sammy quickly hollered out ” I
quit”. The girls had heard him, but that’s it, they continued to walk
across the parking lot, it was just Sammy and Lengel now. Realizing what he had
done, and still hoping by that some slim miracle the girls would turn around and
crown him their hero. It wasn’t gonna happen and Sammy knew he could now go
back now and that his decision, as wrong it may have been was final. The story
“A & P” by John Updike is a tale of a young man who lets his
desires and his anger get a little to far ahead of him and in the end winds up
quitting his job. The main character of the story is Sammy. An eighteen year old
boy from a small suburb outside Boston who works at an A ; P Supermarket.

Sammy seems like an average boy who seems a tad bit tired of the regular
customers who come into his store. Regular customers including those older
married women with multiple kids, the overweight lady who has no regrets wearing
her bathing suit that doesn’t quite cover, and the nit picking old ladies who
spend years trying to catch an error by a cashier. It’s the last ditch effort
to make an impression on a beautiful young lady that ends up leaving Sammy
unemployed. The story starts out in an A ; P outside of Boston when in
through the door walks three young lady sporting nothing except for revealing
two piece bathing suits. Quickly noticed by Sammy, he changes his focus towards
the three girls and critiques them in his head as he watches them shop about the
store. It’s the leader of the pack, which Sammy coins the nickname Queenie,
that really catches his eye. A tall brown haired girl whose shoulder straps had
fallen off of her shoulders and just dangled around her arms. Entranced by her
beauty and feeling blessed when Queenie and her pack enter Sammy’s line, he
begins to ring up her can of fancy herring snacks. As Queenie reaches into the
center of her bikini to remove the dollar to pay for the snack in walks Lengel.

Lengel, Sammy’s uptight dreary manager quickly notices the outfits of the
three girls which sticks out like a full moon on a clear night begins to walk
over and confront Queenie. Lengel proceeds to harass and embarrass Queenie and
her friends about their attire. Sammy was quick to ring up the purchase and hand
Queenie a bag with her food in it. Now was the time Sammy was to make his move,
whether it be his hope just to catch the attention of such a thing of beauty or
maybe it was his anger toward Lengel for ruing this beautiful moment that
cashiers dream about . Not surprised at the girls attempt to speed out the
store, Sammy quickly hollered out ” I quit”. The girls had heard him,
but that’s it, they continued to walk across the parking lot, it was just
Sammy and Lengel now. Realizing what he had done, and still hoping by that some
slim miracle the girls would turn around and crown him their hero. It wasn’t
gonna happen and Sammy knew he could now go back now and that his decision, as
wrong it may have been was final.

Bibliography
Updike, John. “A & P” The Bedford Introduction to Literature.

Ed. Michael Meyer. 5th Boston. Bedford/St. Martins. 1999, 576-580.