In “A&P” by John Updike
What does Sammy mean when he says now here comes the sad part of the story?
The customer at the register and Lengel represent society at large and its expectations. Sammy’s parents would see this situation as sad in
that Sammy quits his good and steady job
. Sammy sees it as a last declaration that he is not ready to join the ranks of the adults, and for him it is not at all sad.
What kind of person is Sammy?
Sammy, the narrator of “A&P,” is
an opinionated, sarcastic, disaffected teenager with
a healthy interest in the opposite sex and a keen observational sense.
What does Sammy represent in A&P?
Sammy refers to
the regular A&P customers as “sheep
,” which is a metaphor that draws attention to their sameness or herd behavior.
What is surprising to Sammy about Queenie?
In an interview, Updike spells out what Sammy hints at in the story: that
Queenie is a rich girl
. Sammy has learned to tell people’s social and economic class in part from what they buy at the store. The herring snacks are a fancy, expensive item.
Why does Sammy choose to quit the A&P store at the end of the story?
He wanted freedom and independence from the store, from his job, from his parents, and finally obtained it by quitting. > Sammy quit his job in the story “A&P,” by John Updike,
because he wanted to prove himself to be independent and get rid of his dependence on his parents
.
Why does Sammy not like his job?
In “A&P,” Sammy quits
his job as a romantic gesture in an attempt to gain Queenie’s attention and admiration
. Sammy hopes that Queenie will take notice of his gesture and possibly entertain the idea of dating him.
What traits admirable or otherwise does Sammy show?
In the story “A&P,” Updike is successful in drawing Sammy’s character in a few brief strokes, showing that Sammy is
observant, imaginative, rash, impulsive, and longs for a better life
. He is no less heroic for wanting to be noticed by the girls for his heroism.
How does Sammy feel after he exits the store?
Lengel tries to talk Sammy out of quitting, telling him that he will regret the decision later and that his quitting will disappoint his parents. Sammy, however, feels that
he must see the gesture through to its conclusion
, and he exits the A&P. When he reaches the parking lot, he sees that the girls are long gone.
How is Sammy a hero in A&P?
Sammy is
an unrecognized hero whose drastic actions initially seemed illogical
. His rebellious attitude is an indication of his willingness to stand with those people who are oppressed and also to stand firm for what he believes is right thing. He therefore becomes a hero to himself and to the oppressed.
Does Sammy regret quitting his job?
Does he regret quitting his job?
Yes
, for a moment, but, ultimately, no–throughout the story, we see that Sammy has achieved a rather cynical detachment from both his job and the store’s patrons, whom he often refers to as sheep.
What does Updike know that Sammy doesn t?
The truth that Updike alludes to here is that
Queenie is a brief illusion of Sammy’s youth
—that things change very quickly and the dream world he is immersed in, acting like a knight paying homage to a princess, is fleeting. Then everybody’s luck begins to run out.
How does Sammy feel about the usual customers in the store?
In “A&P,” Sammy thinks of the regular customers in the A&P as
sheep
because they seem to him timid and obedient like sheep, flocked together in one indiscriminate herd. Calling them sheep shows his contempt for them but also helps him distinguish between them and the girls he admires, Queenie and her friends.
What do the girls symbolize in A&P?
The bathing suits that the girls wear into the A&P are an emblem of the girls’ casual disregard of the social rules of the small town. They also represent the
girls’ deliberate provocation
, an attempt to attract the eye of every man they encounter.
What is the message of A&P by John Updike?
The main message of the story is
the choice made by the main character
. He rebels against the society that is consumer-conditioned and chooses to live honestly and meaningfully. The nature of this rebellion is what J. Updike wanted to show in his A&P short story.
How does Sammy See Lengel?
Lengel is the A&P’s manager. Also a Sunday school teacher, he runs the A&P with a watchful eye, and Sammy describes him as “
dreary
.” Lengel acts as a kind of force for conformity, and reprimands the girls for wearing their bathing suits into the store, embarrassing Queenie and, ultimately, causing Sammy to quit.
