The Use of Setting in A and P

A detailed Summary of The Use of Setting in A and P

The setting of "A & P" is quite usual for a regular grocery store on a weekday. The town is north of Boston, five miles from the beach. Since the store is right in the middle of town, banks and churches and the newspaper store can been seen from the front doors. The day is Thursday, so there is not very much business. Outside, the sun can be seen on the pavement. The main character, Sammy, is almost nineteen years old and his coworker, Stokesie, is twenty-two and married. The manager, Lengel, is gray and teaches Sunday school. The setting in John Updike's story, "A & P", is used as a way to show humor and realism.

Updike uses the setting in a way to show humor. In the beginning, Sammy is ringing up an older woman's groceries when three bathing suit clad girls walk in. Sammy, of course, forgets what he is doing momentarily, and rings up a box of HiHo crackers twice and the old woman catches the mistake (Updike 316). "She's one of these cash-register-watchers, a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows, and I know it made her day to trip me up," Sammy thinks about the old woman (Updike 316). Updike also makes humorous descriptions of all th

e other customers. They are referred to as sheep because of the way they move about the store without anything on their minds except what is on their lists (Updike 318).

The setting also gives a sense of realism in the story, making everything described easily seen by a reader. Updike describes items in the store very vividly. As Sammy is watching the girls make their way through the store, they go in the "[C]at-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle" (Updike 317). The girls also pass a "Pyramid of Diet Delight peaches" (Updike 318).

The reason the girls even make the journey into the store is for a can of "Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks in Pure Sour Cream" (Updike 319). The sounds made by the cash register also make the story have a sense of realism as Updike sings the cash register song:

In the end of the story, Lengel tells the girls that are not to come back in the store unless they have their shoulders covered. Sammy believes this talk is too harse for the three lovely ladies, so he decides to become their hero. He tells Lengel that he is quiting. He then takes off his apron, fo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sammy Updike, John Updike's, , GROC TOT-, Cream Updike, Diet Delight, realism updike, updike 316, updike 318, 316 updike, updike describes, girls store, sense realism, cash register,

Approximate Word count = 799
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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The Use of Setting in A and P

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