Sammy's Dilemma at the A & P
John Updike's A & P is the story of Sammy; a boy who decisions are based on his
inner feelings and desire to stand up for what is right. At 18 years old Sammy works for
the local A & P; a grocery store. One afternoon a group of girls wearing nothing but
bathing suits enter the store and Sammy is drawn to them. Although Sammy's character
appears timid at first, he quickly becomes bold and daring before the end of the story.
Sammy doesn't get out much, if he even gets out at all. The whole time he is
staring at these girls like he has never seen one before. Although, this may be cause by
the lack of excitement in his job "The store's pretty empty, it being a Thursday afternoon,
so there was nothing much to do except lean on the register and wait for the girls to show
up again (Updike 17)".
Sammy is a shy person whose only interaction with people are the
ones that come through his checkout line. You would never expect Sammy to do what he
does later on in the story.
The girls finish their shopping and proceed to the checkout line and they head
straight for Sammy's lane. In walks the manager and he isn't happy. The manager tells
the girls that they can't come back dressed as they are and Sammy apparently didn't like
that. The girls begin to make a quick break for the door and in the heat of the moment
Sammy yells, "I quit!" The girls continue to walk out of the store and by the time Sammy
can run outside to look for them they were gone.
In conclusion you can see how Sammy's character changes over...