A & P

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on A & P. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality A & P paper right on time.

Out staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in A & P, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your A & P paper at affordable prices

In the short story, "A & P," by John Updike, 1-year-old Sammy works as a grocery store clerk in the middle of his town. One fateful day, three girls meander into the store, wearing only their bathing suits. To Sammy, these girls appear free, cool and confident. In his description of Queenie and the two other girls, Sammy says, "She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders look round. She didn't look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long prima-donna legs "(188). Sammy watches the girls very closely, studying their every move with a seemingly sexual eye. With a judgmental perspective, he immediately labels these perfect strangers based solely on their appearances. In reference to the girls' obvious affluence, Sammy even says, "I wonder where the money's coming from"(1), and also condescendingly refers to the girls as "sheep pushing their carts down the aisle" (10). Sammy's boss, Lengel, upset with the girls' inappropriate attire "concentrates on giving the girls that sad Sunday-school superintendent stare,"(1) and orders them to wear more clothing the next time they shop there. Sammy, deeply troubled by the confrontation, suddenly makes the huge decision to quit his job. Initially, it seems that he selfishly quits his job to appear more attractive to the young, sun-kissed beauties. "The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say 'I quit' to Lengal quick enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero" (15). However, if Sammy clearly views the girls' in a negative light, why is he so eager to impress them? Is his condescending tone a message to the reader that he doesn't like the girls?

When the three girls first enter the store, Sammy's admiration for their bodies and bathing suits is distinctly obsessive. When the girls walk towards the meat counter, Sammy says "From the third slot I look straight up this aisle to the meat counter, and I watched them all the way" (10). He seems to think he has got them all figured out. One might assume that he disliked them. When Sammy describes Queenie's physique, he confidently states, "She had sort of oaky hair that the sun and salt had bleached, done up in a bun that was unraveling, and a kind of prim face. Walking into the A&P with your straps down, I suppose it's the only kind of face you can have" (18). This is case, Sammy simply looks at Queenie's face, and immediately makes a critical remark without even knowing her. For example, when Queenie approaches the register with a box of herring snacks in her hands, Sammy says, "I wonder where the money is coming from. Still with that prim look she lifts a folded dollar bill out of the hollow at the center of her nubbled pink top. The jar went heavy in my hand. Really. I thought that was so cute" (1).

In the following example, Sammy speaks as though he knows the girls on a personal level. Sammy describes the girls as almost brainless."You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)" (188) Who is he to immediately disparage the girls?

Another example of Sammy's disapproving nature is when the girls approach the meat counter and old McMahon, the butcher, looks the girls' up and down as he would a piece of meat. "Poor kids," Sammy says to himself. "I began to feel sorry for them" (11). This continuous effort to mock the girls advances the argument that Sammy must be jealous of the their untroubled lifestyle.

In the first few pages, Updike introduces an apparent contrast between the two lifestyles, which is evidence that Sammy feels it necessary to compare his life to the girls'. Sammy lives in a low-income town where physical appearance is of very little importance. "There are usually women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs and nobody, including them, could care less…It's not as if we're on the Cape; we're north of Boston and there's people in this town who haven't seen the ocean in twenty years" (11). Wealth is never flaunted because it doesn't exist.

For the girls, however, money is never a predicament. Their excessive wealth is accompanied by luxury, endless opportunity and privilege. In the following passage, Sammy reveals his awareness that "something more," or "something better," is certainly out there for him. As Queenie approaches the register with her jar of herring snacks, Sammy imagines her life at home,

All of a sudden I slid right down her voice into her living room. Her father and the other men were standing around in ice cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them (1).

There is a brief moment when Sammy begins to compare his world to the girls' when he describes his own family's typical cocktail party. "When my parents have somebody over they get lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with 'They'll Do It Every Time' cartoons stenciled on" (1). Why does Sammy feel it is necessary to compare his life to Queenie's? Why does he imagine herring snacks and ice cream coats? Undoubtedly, Sammy would not have discussed these apparent differences if they didn't upset him. This is a perfect example, that despite the fact that Sammy is constantly putting the girls down, he actually wants what they have.

It is certain that Sammy's reasons for quitting are far more intricate that one can see immediately. Does he do it to show-off in front of the girls? Is Sammy's display of contempt for them the only reason he walks out? In truth, Sammy's fascination with these girls is not just based on a sexual drive. Through Sammy's eyes, the girls symbolize freedom and opportunity. The girls live in a fantasyland that exists outside of usual rules where independence is innate and obligation is a foreign term. Thus, Sammy's fixation is not envy, but admiration. His decision to quit his job is a message to his family and to his community that he can live like these girls. Sammy leaves this grocery store to escape his world of monotony and conventionality and continue his pursuit for further self-discovery.

Throughout Updike's story, Sammy proves that his desire to improve his life can no longer be concealed. Whether his decision to quit that day was strictly impetuous or, in fact, premeditated, the presence of these three girls is a reminder to Sammy that he wants to be more like them. Shortly after Sammy quits, his boss, Lengel exclaims, " Sammy, you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad" (16) Sammy internally replies "It's true, I don't. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it"(16). As fate would have it, the three girls who meandered into Sammy's store that day, ignite a kind of ambitious drive that pushes him over the fence into a world of freedom. They appear mindless in their quest for herring snacks, but they represent a life that Sammy always dreamed of.

Please note that this sample paper on A & P is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on A & P, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on A & P will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!