A&P

A detailed Summary of A&P


The reason why Sammy quits is the result of his sudden awareness of having given up his freedom which is very well announced in the two first sentences: "In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits/I'm in the third check-out slot" where the free behavior of the girls contrasts with Sammy's slave condition.

In a word, "A & P" is the story of a conflict between two concepts, Freedom and Alienation that are suddenly brought face to face through the "sacrilegious" entry of the girls into the A & P.

And the real interest of this extract consists in the various dimensions of this confrontation since it is based on three main types of opposition relying on esthetics, economics, and sociology.

The esthetical dimension of the story opposes youth (that symbolizes beauty) and old age that corrupts everything and makes people ugly. This refers of course to the contrast between the angelic beauty (with strong erotic connotations) of the girls and the repulsive face of the "witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows".


"Looking back in the big windows, over the bags of peat moss and aluminum lawn furniture stacked on the pavement, I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through. His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just an injection of iron".

Sammy's decision is thus a very fair and courageous one. Of course, his future becomes uncertain by renouncing to the dead-end job... but this is the price for freedom, for not becoming an "iron human being" like Lengel (and like perhaps each of us in some extent), as the two last sentences suggest it:

On the contrary, I think that the contrast revealed by the entry of the girls into the A & P had a strong setting off impact on him... of course, the behavior of the girls was very provocative, but it helped Sammy to take his decision.

In fact, I am convinced that Sammy was already psychologically ready to find his freedom again (this freedom he had perhaps never had). This matter of fact can be deduced from Sammy's very critical description of his own life. He is conscious of his alienation that is shown throu

Some common words found in the essay are:
Central Street, Freedom Alienation, Mom Dad, , dimension story, behavior girls, entry girls, it's sad, social norm, story family,

Approximate Word count = 730
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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