Who Is Sammy A Hero

Is a hero defined by his actions, or by the reasons behind those actions? I believe in the latter, and in John Updike’s story, “A+P,” the character Sammy is a perfect example of this. He does something that may seem heroic to some people, but because Updike gives us this story in through the perspective of Sammy we can see his true thoughts behind the decisions he makes. I believe that Sammy is not a hero because the one action that might could have been perceived in the story as “heroic” was just a selfish act, he is very judgmental towards other people in the story, and he acts before he thinks, which is not a trait a hero would have.

Sammy is not a heroic character because the one time he might have done something "heroic," he only did it for himself. In the story, the narrator said "so I say 'I quit' to Lengel quick enough for [the girls] to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero," evidencing that he only wanted his actions to seem heroic so that he could hang out with the girls, and that he did not really care about the girl's feelings as much as he tried to portray that he did. The narrator was also very judgmental towards the girls, which is not a very heroic trait. …show more content…
The narrator called one of the girls in a bikini "chunky," showing how he used derogatory terms to judge the girl. He also called all the people in the store "sheep," another derogatory term showing he thinks the customers are brainless and just walk around getting their things without putting much thought into it. Sammy is also quick to act on his passions, which is not a heroic