There is a point in every child's life where the spell of youth is broken and the harsh, devil-may-care views of mature existence are revealed. In the short story "A & P" a boy goes through a coming-of-age of sort, and sees society as it exists from an adult viewpoint.

Sammy works in a grocery store: The A & P. A grocery store is an establishment of explicit order and organization, a bustling center where everything, even herring snacks, has its own section or aisle. The only chaos that inhabits a grocery store is that one unruly wheel on your shopping cart. As shoppers walk under that electric eye in the door, the chilling produce air and elevator music consumes them and immediately they kick into grocery mode. After grabbing a cart, they join the herd of sheep already shopping in the store. Sammy spends the majority of his days in this fluorescent-lit wonderland watching the sheep roll by.

Sammy works in a grocery store: The A & P. A grocery store is an establishment of explicit order and organization, a bustling center where everything, even herring snacks, has its own section

Sammy decides that he should quit so the girls will see he is their unsuspected hero. Lengel states that Sammy will "feel this for the rest of (his) life," which is true: everyone remembers his or her loss of innocence. Mayhem ensues, and Sammy decides that he should quit so the girls will see he is their unsuspected hero. Lengel states that Sammy will "feel this for the rest of (his) life," which is true: everyone remembers his or her loss of innocence.

He takes up for what he thinks about the situation. When Sammy quits his job, he jumps into taking responsibility for his own actions quicker than he can think about it; all of sudden he is taking off his apron of youth and walking through the grocery store door-out of his world of order and organization. He has just left the cold produce air and elevator music. He looks back through the windows of grocery land and his stomach falls as he felt this is how hard the world was going to be. Aisles and price checks do not exist in the real world. Quitting his job at the A & P was Sammy's step up from adolescence, his small triumph over his youthful being. Sammy has his first important decision in life, and it just happens to occur at the A & P.

"Oh Daddy, " Stokesie said beside me. " I feel so faint." All that was left for us to see was old McMahon patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints.

These girls seem to spark an interest from the young men, so that tells me that they don't see things like that very often. I say tat because of the way the young men act (Par. 9)

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Lengel Sammy, Daddy Stokesie, grocery store, store unruly, elevator music, air elevator music, produce air, air elevator, produce air elevator, hero lengel sammy, girls unsuspected hero, quit girls, sammy decides, unsuspected hero lengel, sense self, decides quit, girls unsuspected,
Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)