A & P By John Updike Character Analysis Essay

“A & P” is a telling story about a young man named Sammy who works as a cashier at the A & P. Three young woman enter the store, the leader called Queenie dressed in bathing suits, which were not proper attire for this establishment and are told so by Sammy manager, Lengel. Sammy gawking at the young woman the whole time they were in the store he held his own with his manager. Immediately Sammy quit once they checked out, in an immature and resentful way towards his manager, but in Sammy minds a heroic and lustful way towards the young women, though he could not find them. Sammy in “A & P” by John Updike is characterized as an immature, rebellious, and lustful young man who does not consider the repercussions of his actions and allows his …show more content…
Sammy daydreams about being at the beach, Sammy works in the middle of the town were all Sammy can see is banks, a church, and a newspaper store. Sammy says, “It’s not as if we’re on the Cape; we’re north of Boston and there’s people in this town haven’t seen the ocean for twenty years” (Updike 20). Sammy is expressing his immature trait, he rather be at the beach than work, he has not grown up. As Sammy watches the girls, in a lustful way walking around in their bathing suits wishing he were looking at them at the beach instead of at the A & P. Lengel confronted the ladies and this is where Sammy internal conflict between the young ladies, the beach, and the job he hates starts to build up. Sammy says, “He had been thinking all these years the A & P was a great big dune and he was the head lifeguard” (Updike 22). Sammy’s point of view is clear in the story he is young and immature and is resentful to management, in his mind he rather lay at the beach and chase girls instead of being a responsible young adult. Quitting gets Sammy nowhere; he has no girls and no job. All of Sammy characterizations shine through at the end immature, rebellious, and his lustful