Araby And Catcher In The Rye Comparative Essay

Though little action occurs in the story, Sammy’s character is finely drawn in the space of a few pages, and his brush with authority has large implications. He has been compared to Holden Caulfield, J. D. Salinger’s protagonist in "The Catcher in the Rye", and Walter Wells in his essay "'A & P': A Return Visit to Araby," has suggested that Sammy’s moment of protest is similar to the epiphany or sudden moment of insight-experienced by the narrator in James Joyce’s story “Araby,” a comment that places Updike in the pantheon of the most accomplished writers of the 20th century. They were negative reactions to the story center on what some readers perceive as Sammy’s misogynist views. Other critics consider “A & P” a slight story, though one into which a lifetime of dignity, choices, and consequences is compressed. Either way, critics responded enthusiastically to “A & P,” and readers’ identification with Sammy’s predicament has contributed …show more content…
Sammy has sympathy and a sense of outrage. However ironic, his sacrificial gesture is as refreshing as his colloquial candor. An observer of his social world, he resolves not just to record but also to act upon his