ENG 1020
Dr. Alexander
Sept. 28 2016
The Symbols of “A & P” and the Character Development of Sammy Symbols are always used in literary works. Symbols which are used by the writers always indicate a specific characteristic; it also helps to establish the settings of the story and the process of building up a significant character. As John Updike uses a lot symbols in his short story “A & P,” the symbols imply the society during that period of time. John Updike also developed the irreplaceable character of the story, Sammy, the narrator and the cashier of “A & P” by using the symbolic terms throughout the story. The “A & P”, as known as the “The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company”, is located in the middle of town, “two banks and …show more content…
When Lengel was having conflict with the three girls in bathing suites, it represents the conflict between the traditional norms and the new concept for teenagers. As for the leader of the old traditions, Lengel can’t bare that somebody else in the store is challenging his rules. Thus Lengel started his aggressive speak “[g]irls this isn’t the beach” (Updike 133). Even though the girls explained hard that they are just in the store to get some herring snacks, Lengel kept repeating and “want [them] decently dressed when [they] come in here” (Updike 133). The principles which Lengel refers are the symbols of the rules and orders of the old tradition during the 1960s. The rules which Lengel used against the three girls also symbolizes the condition during 1960s, when new concepts were not accept by the old traditions and thus are being strangled when it emerged. Sammy as a cashier in the A & P market, have seen many kinds of customers; but there hasn’t been any customer who made Sammy attracted like the three girls in bathing suits. For his boredom upon the customers and the manager, he stands out and says he quits his job in order to point out his standing point. When “[Sammy] started to say something that came out ‘Fiddle-de-doo’”” (Updike 134), it indicates that how the old traditions and morals are fluster in front of the new concepts. The argument …show more content…
The symbols such as the animal gesture to describe the customer and also choosing the market “A & P” helped to establish the entire story and helped to created characters like Sammy and Lengel. Updike’s writing is spotless, while the symbolic terms which are used in the story caused deep thoughts among