1 Students Name Teachers Name Subject Date A & P by John Updike Literary Analysis Sammy is the narrator of A &

P. he is a 19 year old casher in a town in Massachusetts. The whole story takes place in summer and the whole representation of the story is aimed at, as described by John Updike, as a range of intentions of Sammy to try to find his place in the society and in the world. Sammy believes that most people in the town or at least those who come to make purchases at the store are sheep. He even calls them to be scared pigs in a chute (Updike). Such expressions, as well as some grammatical mistakes, demonstrate that Sammy does not belong to intellectuals. The more likely, he has graduated from school and did not have an opportunity to enter college. Moreover, he believes that all people in the world act in the same way, look the same and even think the same. Thus, he finds himself in despair as actually he is not able to break this boring environment. However, everything changes when he meets the girls who come to the store in bathing suits only. To be more accurate, it is necessary to mention that the one whom he called Queeny became the reason of his decision to quit; Sammy saw her as his change to break the reality and make his dreams come true. However, rudeness of Lengel played an important role in the process of decision making as well. He was not very nice with the girls and this pushed Sammy to the decision. He said that he quits so abruptly because this was the first time he tasted that he might have

2 power and at the same time pain, making the choice to ignore future disappointment of his parents and the difficult life which he might have after quitting. Talking about difficult life, Sammy focuses on the fact that he leaves in a small town, so quickly everybody will know that he quit and this means that he is not the best worker. As a consequence, it would be much more difficult for him to find another job. The life is not expected to be easy for Sammy and one of the reasons is that he belongs to the blue collar class (The Interview with John Updike). These and many other facts about the story can be learned from the first eleven paragraphs. The most important ones involve place where the story happens, the main participants of the story. All the elements of the section are essential some of them are important to understand the idea of the author, while the rest contribute to the general image of the city and to the greater understanding of the situation and conflict. Probably, Sammys coworker could present the material as well. However, it would be viewed from his perspective of a 22 year old man, who already has two children. The more likely is that he would not make the same decision as Sammy. However, the scene when he and Sammy see the girls demonstrate that he is not quite happy, but has to accept every detail of his life just the way it is as he has no choice. The story clearly demonstrates that Sammy is an experienced girl watcher. This fact is noticed when he describes the girls many details are mentioned and his imagination goes beyond the images he sees in reality. The more likely is that this story should be viewed as a tragedy. The reason is that it represents life of many people they belong to the blue collar workers, do not have access to opportunities they would like to have; they believe their life is limited and finally, when they

3 see a ray of light which they consider to be their chance to change their lives, it turns out that their decision was a mistake and they did not access the situation appropriately. In the whole interview Updike emphasizes that the story aimed to demonstrate class differences and perception of the world by people who belong to various classes. Class of the protagonist, Sammy, becomes revealed through his job, the way his manager treats him, Sammys fears about the future, and about usage of beer glasses to mark some family events. The whole impression of Queeny is based on Sammys watching skills. Since he is an experienced watcher, he is able to make correct conclusions about her class, taking into account her purchase, her voice, the way she talks and the way she responds to the works of Lengel concerning her and her friends clothing (A & P). And again, difference in social classes is experienced extremely sharply by Sammy after the girls leave, so he decides to quit his job. He has great expectations, but in the street he has to face the reality the girls leave in an expensive car, and he is left outside with no job, even greater fears about his future. It is very likely that his fears turn into despair after he comes back home, tells the parents the news and tries to find new job unsuccessfully because now he has got reputation of a quitter.

4 Works Cited A & P. Web. 12, Sept, 2012, <http://www.spike.com/video-clips/yuwo6y/a-p >. The Interview with John Updike. Web. 12, Sept, 2012, <http://digital.films.com/play/EW4QDW>. Updike, John. A & P. Web. 12, Sept, 2012, <http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/>.