Hypocrisy In A & P By John Updike

“A&P” In the short story “A&P,” John Updike weaves a seemingly innocuous tale that ultimately supports the theme of hypocrisy and class struggle in the dark reality of life faced by the average lower-middle class suburban American. At first glance, the story seems to center on feminism and hypocrisy when Updike writes that “it’s one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach, where what with the glare nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A&P, under the fluorescent lights” (3). In this way, the author emphasizes the paradoxical nature of society’s acceptance of women in bathing suits worn only on the beach. By observing the almost frivolously contradictory rules in society, the author alludes …show more content…
Further, he cements this satirical stance with the creation of his “heroic” protagonist Sammy, who follows the girls on the basis of his raging hormones. Sammy’s climactic act of quitting carries undertones of an ulterior motive when he hopes that “they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero” (6). With his masterful insertion of a less than virtuous main character, Updike emphasizes the prevalence of hypocrisy in a world where even the main character falls prey to negative characteristics, calling into question what exactly makes a hero—action or intent? However, Updike adds yet another twist to the narrative underneath all of this. He sets the short story in a small, circa 1950’s suburb filled with almost entirely poor working-class Americans; in contrast, Queenie and her friends appear as the upper class through their refined appearance, gait, and even the herring snacks they initially plan to buy. Thus, the girls’ act of “feminist protest” instead transforms into a narrative of class division in which the rich can get away with anything. Indeed, Updike even calls into question the protagonist’s identity as Lengel, a character previously viewed antagonistically, can now be seen as the defender of the