John Updike's A&P
John Updike's "A&P" features a few moments in the life of a young man who works at a grocery store. He becomes enamored of three girls who walk into the store dressed in bathing suits. The protagonist Sammy, finds that his choices lead to sometimes disappointing consequences as he is faced with having to explain awkward circumstances to his parents. Updike develops this coming of age story using details as part of the exposition, rising action, crisis, climax, falling action, and resolution. The exposition begins in the first paragraph as the three girls walk into the store. Sammy is at his register checking out other customers when he notices the girls. "In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits. I'm in the third checkout, with my back to the door, so I don't see them until they're over by the bread"(Updike 12). Updike provides details about Sammy's interaction with the girls. These details humanize Sammy. The reader can readily identify with a youngster whose attention is diverted at work. "The story opens abruptly-'In walks these three girls'-and maintains that vernacular, conversational, ungrammatical voice throughout its 250 lines"(Peck 3). The exposition occurs in the first few sentences and sets up a serie
The resolution of the story takes place in the last paragraph. As Sammy walks outside he notices that the girls are already gone, leaving his act of heroism unnoticed. "There wasn't anybody but some married screaming with her children about some candy they didn't get by the door of a powder-blue Falcon station wagon"(16). This is also where the epiphany of the protagonist takes place. Sammy recalls, "...my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter"(16). humorous", as David Peck points out. The rising action also sets the stage for several crisis within the story. John Updike presents a realistic story of a nineteen year old male's actions and the consequences they produce. "'A & P' is primarily a story of initiation, as a young boy moves from innocence (and ignorance) to experience (and knowledge)"(Peck 2). It is also a great example of resolution that many people could learn from. Perhaps the most appropriate meaning of the story is expressed by Leon Lewis. "If the reward for selling out is a life like Lengel's, then even an act that no one but its agent appreciates is better that the defeat of submerging the self in the despair of denial"(Lewis 2378). "He knows that he will have to accept the consequences of his actions, but this is the true source of his real strength. Acknowledging that now 'he felt how hard the world was going to be on me hereafter,' his acceptance of the struggle is at the root of his ability to face challenges in the future"(Lewis 2378). incorrectly. The customer he is serving gives him trouble about the mistake and the reader observes the Sammy observes Lengel taking his place in the checkout lane. "His face was dark gray and his back
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1161
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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