“We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves” ~ May Lamberton Becker. Growing up is ia full of hard, uncomfortable decisions and moments, we all have to grow up and change. “A&P” by John Updike; “Gryphon” by Charles Baxter; and “Doe Season” by David Kaplan are all coming-of-age stories where each main character learns about themselves and life in general and taken together tell us that life is all about the choices we make, and the effects of those choices. In “A&P”, Sammy is a 19-year -old, opinionated young man who decides to take a stand against his manager and defend Queenie. He is motivated by his curiosity her mien invokes in him, and because he feels apathetic about his position. Chic, avant-garde,
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It is during this situation in “A&P” that Sammy realizes he is deciding between conforming and rebelling “That’s policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency.” (19) Tommy’s conflict is when he decides that Miss Ferenczi is more interesting and intriguing than his regular teachers and his usual substitutes, and will say or do almost anything to prove she is right. “I had liked her. She was strange. I thought I could nail him.” (69) He wants to believe Miss Ferenczi so ferociously because he relishes her substitute facts and goes to great lengths to prove she is telling the truth. Such as debating with his friends, going in quest of information in his dictionary and ultimately, getting into a fistfight with Wayne. Andy’s conflict occurs when she realizes that she is no longer a child, and she cannot continue to play and act like a boy. She is embarrassed when her father’s friend Charlie questions and provokes her about her gender and behavior. “Charlie Spoon was still grinning. ‘So What are you gonna be, Andrea? A boy or a girl?’ ‘I’m a girl,’ She said” (114, 115) This conversation shows that she has decided that although she likes to spend time with her father, she is not contented with the male’s activities and …show more content…
When he thought, “I knew where Mrs. Mantei lived: she had a new house trailer just down the road from us, at Clearwater Park. She was no mystery.” (139) it showed that the unvarying teachers aren’t really remarkable to Tommy, and that he feels there is nothing new to learn from them. Andy experiences the pain of change, and the loss of childlike innocence, while learning that growing into a young lady is inevitable, and she just needs to run away from the adolescent comportments and accept her femininity. “…crying Andy, Andy (but that wasn’t her name, she would no longer be called that); yet louder than any of them was the wind blowing through the treetops, like the ocean where her mother floated in green water, also calling Come in, come in, while all around her roared the terrible, now inevitable, sea.” (176) In conclusion, Sammy, Tommy, and Andrea are all learning how to navigate the world and make adult decisions. Some things can be changed and controlled, however, some things are just inevitable. Life goes by quickly, and sometimes it is better to accept the way things are, change things you cannot accept, and pick your battles
It is during this situation in “A&P” that Sammy realizes he is deciding between conforming and rebelling “That’s policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency.” (19) Tommy’s conflict is when he decides that Miss Ferenczi is more interesting and intriguing than his regular teachers and his usual substitutes, and will say or do almost anything to prove she is right. “I had liked her. She was strange. I thought I could nail him.” (69) He wants to believe Miss Ferenczi so ferociously because he relishes her substitute facts and goes to great lengths to prove she is telling the truth. Such as debating with his friends, going in quest of information in his dictionary and ultimately, getting into a fistfight with Wayne. Andy’s conflict occurs when she realizes that she is no longer a child, and she cannot continue to play and act like a boy. She is embarrassed when her father’s friend Charlie questions and provokes her about her gender and behavior. “Charlie Spoon was still grinning. ‘So What are you gonna be, Andrea? A boy or a girl?’ ‘I’m a girl,’ She said” (114, 115) This conversation shows that she has decided that although she likes to spend time with her father, she is not contented with the male’s activities and …show more content…
When he thought, “I knew where Mrs. Mantei lived: she had a new house trailer just down the road from us, at Clearwater Park. She was no mystery.” (139) it showed that the unvarying teachers aren’t really remarkable to Tommy, and that he feels there is nothing new to learn from them. Andy experiences the pain of change, and the loss of childlike innocence, while learning that growing into a young lady is inevitable, and she just needs to run away from the adolescent comportments and accept her femininity. “…crying Andy, Andy (but that wasn’t her name, she would no longer be called that); yet louder than any of them was the wind blowing through the treetops, like the ocean where her mother floated in green water, also calling Come in, come in, while all around her roared the terrible, now inevitable, sea.” (176) In conclusion, Sammy, Tommy, and Andrea are all learning how to navigate the world and make adult decisions. Some things can be changed and controlled, however, some things are just inevitable. Life goes by quickly, and sometimes it is better to accept the way things are, change things you cannot accept, and pick your battles