Examples Of Power In A & P By John Updike

The supermarket in “A&P” by John Updike is an arena in which nearly all of the key characters, Lengel, Sammy, and the girls, are fighting for the most power. At first the hierarchy is not all that obvious but under closer inspection a clear structure of empowerment rises. Power and the illusion of power are prevalent themes in John Updike’s “A&P. ” Only the girls possess qualities of true power in this slightly cringe-worthy narrative. While most people would claim that Lengel holds the most power, Queenie and the other girls have the most real(substantial, legitimate) power in the store. This is evident from the moment they walk in. They have everyones attention to the point of distracting the employees from their tasks. The first line …show more content…
Sammy mostly has power and influence over the reader, as the encounter is told from his perspective. As the reader is forced to view the girls through the eyes of an incredibly bored, slightly misogynistic 19-year-old boy, it creates an uncomfortable tension when he is ogling the girls. This tension is especially evident when he is giving purely physical descriptions of the girls and when he contemplates, “You never know for sure how girls’ minds work (do you think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)…” This statement upon first reading seems normal because, from the perspective of Sammy, it is, but, after it sinks in how Sammy literally views these girls as nothing more than their physical forms, the strain between views of the narrator and the reader is realized. Not only does Sammy see the girls as “sex objects”, as Corey Evan Thompson so aptly notes in his essay “Updike’s A&P.,” he believes that he actually has power over the girls. His constant objectification of them through out the entire text shows that he thinks of them as nothing more than some really nice eye-candy. Sammy also refers to them as “my girls,” which is an extremely possessive way to refer to these girls that he has literally shared zero words with. In fact, the only direct interaction he has with them is to ring up their one item. All the idolization and pseudo …show more content…
He views himself as “the head life-guard” and the A&P as “a great big dune.” However, Lengel has the least amount of actual and perceived power in the store. He attempts to embarrass the girls and get them out of the store, but the girls justify their right to be in the store and continue with their purchase. “We are decent.” Queenie defiantly declares, when Lengel implies that their bare shoulders, legs, and feet suggest otherwise. Queenie takes away all of his power when she says this as she reminds the audience that she comes from a much higher standard than Lengel’s lowly supermarket. All that he can return with is a half hearted “After this come in here with your shoulders covered,” followed by a weak excuse of policy. Additionally, Lengel cannot even convince Sammy to make the reasonable decision to not quit, even though, as the reader can infer from the fact that he is a Sunday school teacher and an old family friend, that he is supposed to be old and wise. Lengel feels he has to stoop to guilting Sammy into not quitting by telling him how disappointed his parents will be and how he will “feel this for the rest of your life.” Lengel’s credibility as a man of power has been declining gradually since he entered the story, but at this point it hits an all time low. This final loss of control signals to the reader that Lengel cannot stop the rise of the