Kristyn Salazar
Professor Williams
English 1302.625
28 September 2014
To Expect the Unexpected
Both the short stories, "A&P" and "Deportation at Breakfast", were intriguing stories, very similar, yet very different from one another. The narrator from each story gave a twist to end the story in an unexpected way.
Sammy from "A&P" is a young, naive teenage cashier with a healthy attraction for the opposite sex. He cannot help but to notice the three girls walking around in bathing suits in the grocery store he works at leading to an unfortunate event. The narrator from "Deportation at Breakfast" is an older gentleman on the hunt for a warm breakfast and is drawn to an old-fashioned diner. He experiences everything but breakfast.
In "A&P," while Sammy is on the job, his manager, Lengel, embarrasses the three girls he is interested in, causing him to quit his job on the spot.
His mission for his abrupt actions is to impress the girls by standing up for them (Updike 237-238). Although his rash actions do not turn out in his favor, this situation shows his personality to be spontaneous.
In contrast, the narrator from "Deportation at Breakfast" has a much more strategic personality. After Javier, the cook, is arrested by the authorities, the narrator's eggs begin to sizzle and burn on the grill. Since no other employee was(is) in sight to finish cooking his meal, he chooses to go behind the counter to pick up where Javier left off (Fondation 208). Rather than having burnt eggs and crunchy toast he thought (thinks) thoroughly and chose to intervene, rather than acting suddenly. Sammy on the other hand quickly quits his job and walks out of the store without any sight of the beach babes, and cannot help but regret his decision. He...