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Sammy and the Setting in John Updike's "A&P"
Summary: In John Updike's short story "A&P," Sammy is following his daily routine at his supermarket job when three girls in bathing suits enter the store. Before the girls walk in, the store closely reflects Sammy's life, and Sammy lived an artificial life under the artificial light of the store. However, the girls' disruptions at the store convince Sammy to leave his job and his safe, familiar life and head in the direction of the "juvenile delinquent."
John Updike's "A&P" is about a boy named Sammy, who lives a simple life while working in a supermarket he seems to despise. As he is following his daily routine, three girls in bathing suits enter the store. The girls affect everyone's monotonous lives, especially Sammy's. Because the girls disrupt the routines of the store, Sammy becomes aware of his life and decides to change himself.
Before the girls enter the store, Sammy is unaware that the setting he is so judgmental of reflects his own life. Sammy feels that he is better than the rest of people at the A&P, referring to them as "sheep" and "house-slaves" because they never break from their daily routines. He also condescendingly talks about "whatever it is they[the customers]...mutter." Reinforcing his superiority above the people in the store, Sammy sees himself as a person that can seldom...
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This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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