Comparing Soldiers Home And Sammy In A & P

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There are many similarities and differences between Krebs in Soldiers Home and Sammy in A&P. Both characters are dealing with conformist societies centered on major military conflicts. Both characters are young men but Krebs unlike Sammy has experienced the world which has caused him to become isolated. They both take notice of girls but Sammy unlike Krebs begins to analyze the differences between Queenie’s life and his own life. I would argue that Sammy and Krebs have more similarities than differences.
The first picture we get of Krebs is one of him and his frat brothers all dressed in the same uniform, we are told that he attended a Methodist college in Kansas before heading off to fight in World War One. We are also told that he returns
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A&P is a grocery store where the teenage narrator Sammy works the checkout lines. During his shifts Sammy observes the customers and his co-workers. Sammy finds he is drawn to a specific group of girls. These girls have just come from the beach and have not bothered to change out of their bathing suits. The girls do not fit into the scene they are in. the grocery store is no place to wear a bathing suit. Sammy calls the other customers sheep because they react to the girls in the same way as the others surrounding them. The girls do not seem to be worried about the reactions of the other shoppers to how they are dressed. The girls are not wearing shoes and are in swim suits. The girls draw Sammy’s attention because they are not the same boring people who he waits on every day. Sammy has observed the girls so closely he knows who the ringleader of the group is. Sammy continues to silently observe the girls until they checkout. As the girls are checking out they are scolded by the manager who tells them they are not dressed in an acceptable way. The manager believes that the girls should be dressed more modestly. After seeing the manager treat the girls the way he did Sammy decides that he no longer wishes to work at the grocery store. Sammy realizes after he quits the way he does that he cannot ever work at A&P again. while Sammy is unsure of his future after quitting his job at A&P he knows that he did it because of his own beliefs and not because he was

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