Compare/Contrast Updike

A detailed Summary of Compare/Contrast Updike

Both John Updike's story "A&P" and Ernest Hemingway's "A Day's Wait" portray youthful pride and stubbornness, however I feel "A Day's Wait" was more effective because the character is innocent and portrays these qualities out of fear.

Sammy, the main character in "A&P" finds himself acting without thinking. His main goal is to impress the three girls that came in the supermarket wearing nothing but bathing suits. When asked to leave by the store manager(Lengel)for lack of clothing, Sammy, trying to look "macho," quits his job to show he doesn't agree with Lengel and impress the girls. His efforts fail when the girls hurry out of the store not paying any attention to Sammy standing up for them. Sammy is now left without a job because of his stubbornness and "superman ego."

Schatz, the main character in "A Day's Wait" is a boy who fears his days are numbered but does not show his fear due to youthful pride. When told he had a temperature of 102.00f he immediately prepared himself for death because the boys in France told him it was impossible to live with a temperature of 44.0C. Schatz failed to notice that the temperatures were in two different measurements and because of this was scared out of his mind but acted so br

Both authors also take different routes in their writings. Updike's story is full of details and descriptions. He makes you feel like you are there in the supermarket watching this drama unfold. He gave me a clear picture in my mind of how the characters looked, how they moved, how the spoke etc. I thought his style of writing was very effective. I like when an author makes you a part of the story and not just another audience member. Ernest Hemingway does not do as good of a job with sensory details. He provides a picture for the reader but I felt he did not draw me into the story as well as Updike did.

Schatz is also a very brave little boy. The whole time he thought he was going to die and asked his Papa very calmly when he thought that he would die. Schatz is a hero in my book because I can not even contemplate death in my mind, and for a nine year old to honestly think he is going to die and act so mature about it is very brave.

Another difference that I noticed in the two stories were the difference in the secondary characters. In "A&P" the secondary characters being Lengal, Stokesie, and the three girls, were not compassionate to Sammy and his actions. The girls shrugged him off and left without a thanks, Stokesie said nothing, and Lengal tried to tell Sammy to keep his job but would not give in about making the girls leave the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Day's Wait, Ernest Hemingway's, A&P Schatz, Ernest Hemingway, English Updike, Lengal Stokesie, Stokesie Lengal, day's wait, main character, John Updike's, bathing suits, pride stubbornness, youthful pride, secondary characters, quits job, stories difference, updike's story, secondary character,

Approximate Word count = 920
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English