The story I have chosen to base my best of the best essay on is Updike, “A & P” which was written in 1961.
The reason I chose this short story is that it quickly arranges a detailed setting which is easily identified in the reader’s mind. This story is written in the first person experience of Sammy who is working in a grocery store which is located in a rural, yet touristy, area that is five miles from the beach. The plot is set when Sammy tells the story of being behind a cash register which the reader can easily identify with because everyone has experienced this setting from early childhood all the way to adulthood. Our main character is also very descriptive in this setting which was obvious by his ability to recite from memory where …show more content…
From this point, the reader can see where the point of view of all the players begins to develop. First, the male adult reader can personally identify with having a first job that was a very boring and unchallenging experience. Furthermore, the male reader can also identify with the changes that Sammy is going through changing from a teenager to a young adult and the growing infatuation with the opposite sex. Furthermore, readers can understand the huge difference between what was considered moral and acceptable in 1961, are worlds apart from today's standard. As well as this, I feel that the secondary point of view of the story would be the changing of morality which was ever present in the 1960s with the introduction of looser morality in a generation known for hippies, drugs, and free love. Next, would be that the female characters have to know that walking into a store dressed in an uncovered bathing suit would draw a lot of attention to them and that is exactly want happens for the two male cashiers present. However, as the reader, I do not believe that they wanted the negative attention that they faced from the store manager. If fact, ”the …show more content…
I can see where this criticism could be given in this short story due to the very detailed and erotic (for 1961) descriptions of the three bikini-clad girls. The following was written about the author: “Updike lavishes as much attention on the preliminary desire and subsequent guilt as he does on the fleshly play-by-play descriptions.”(Heddendorf, 2008). However, this story has what is described as having what a short story needs “classic short stories are impressionistic dramas of sensation and inner experience, of moral choice and psychological emergence or growth; outward action is normally subordinated to inward feeling.” (Nelles,2012). I cannot say that this story ends with the main character, Sammy, coming out ahead by quitting his job over his perceived unfair treatment of the three bikini-clad customers. Being a red-blooded, American male, I love rooting for the idea of Sammy exiting the store and getting into a red, 1961 Chevy Corvette convertible with the three lovely, young ladies who then drive to the beach where they all have a great time. However, the story does not end in that manner. Nevertheless, the reader is left to their own accord in identifying with the perception that Sammy ultimately did the right thing in his protest of how these young ladies were treated simply for the sake of doing the right thing. I, myself, can
The reason I chose this short story is that it quickly arranges a detailed setting which is easily identified in the reader’s mind. This story is written in the first person experience of Sammy who is working in a grocery store which is located in a rural, yet touristy, area that is five miles from the beach. The plot is set when Sammy tells the story of being behind a cash register which the reader can easily identify with because everyone has experienced this setting from early childhood all the way to adulthood. Our main character is also very descriptive in this setting which was obvious by his ability to recite from memory where …show more content…
From this point, the reader can see where the point of view of all the players begins to develop. First, the male adult reader can personally identify with having a first job that was a very boring and unchallenging experience. Furthermore, the male reader can also identify with the changes that Sammy is going through changing from a teenager to a young adult and the growing infatuation with the opposite sex. Furthermore, readers can understand the huge difference between what was considered moral and acceptable in 1961, are worlds apart from today's standard. As well as this, I feel that the secondary point of view of the story would be the changing of morality which was ever present in the 1960s with the introduction of looser morality in a generation known for hippies, drugs, and free love. Next, would be that the female characters have to know that walking into a store dressed in an uncovered bathing suit would draw a lot of attention to them and that is exactly want happens for the two male cashiers present. However, as the reader, I do not believe that they wanted the negative attention that they faced from the store manager. If fact, ”the …show more content…
I can see where this criticism could be given in this short story due to the very detailed and erotic (for 1961) descriptions of the three bikini-clad girls. The following was written about the author: “Updike lavishes as much attention on the preliminary desire and subsequent guilt as he does on the fleshly play-by-play descriptions.”(Heddendorf, 2008). However, this story has what is described as having what a short story needs “classic short stories are impressionistic dramas of sensation and inner experience, of moral choice and psychological emergence or growth; outward action is normally subordinated to inward feeling.” (Nelles,2012). I cannot say that this story ends with the main character, Sammy, coming out ahead by quitting his job over his perceived unfair treatment of the three bikini-clad customers. Being a red-blooded, American male, I love rooting for the idea of Sammy exiting the store and getting into a red, 1961 Chevy Corvette convertible with the three lovely, young ladies who then drive to the beach where they all have a great time. However, the story does not end in that manner. Nevertheless, the reader is left to their own accord in identifying with the perception that Sammy ultimately did the right thing in his protest of how these young ladies were treated simply for the sake of doing the right thing. I, myself, can