An Analysis of Sammy The story “A&P” by John Updike revolves around Sammy. He is the narrator and protagonist of the story taking place when he was around 19 working at the A&P supermarket in a small town in the 1960s. Sammy is a typical kid working a summer job his parents set him up with. Though it seems like he is just going with what society views acceptable, he is shown to have contempt for the social norm. His infatuation with Queenie though juvenile, reveals his want for a better life. Even though Sammy quitting his job was at first an attempt to gain Queenie’s favor, he ended up learning a valuable life lesson. Sammy grows from a teenager dissatisfied with his job, inexperienced with the opposite sex, to a man stepping out on his own.
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Throughout the story he displays a negative opinion of the customers by referring to them as “sheep” and even references the Salem witch trials while dealing with one of them. The way Sammy describes the town by first mentioning how far they are from the beach, suggests that he rather be at the beach and the town is dull. The congregational church found in the middle of town suggests that religion is a big deal there and the people were most likely conservative. This shows that deep down, he is someone that dislikes conformity and wants to break away from the status …show more content…
His meeting with Queenie showed him a life he always wanted. When Lengel insulted her, it was like he was insulting Sammy’s dream. Sammy quitting despite Lengel saying “you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad” was a rejection of the life his parents laid out for him. Lengel telling Sammy that “you will feel this for the rest of your life” meaning there are consequences to his actions. Sammy stated that his coworker Stoksie is married with “two babies chalked up to his fuselage already”. Stoksie being a couple years older, Sammy saw him and Lengel as possible futures for himself as either some guy who married young because it was expected of him, or getting old and turning into Lengel. She was the push he needed to get out there and start living his life on his own terms. When Sammy stated “my stomach kind of fell as I know how hard the world was going to be hereafter” was him accepting the importance of going out on his
Throughout the story he displays a negative opinion of the customers by referring to them as “sheep” and even references the Salem witch trials while dealing with one of them. The way Sammy describes the town by first mentioning how far they are from the beach, suggests that he rather be at the beach and the town is dull. The congregational church found in the middle of town suggests that religion is a big deal there and the people were most likely conservative. This shows that deep down, he is someone that dislikes conformity and wants to break away from the status …show more content…
His meeting with Queenie showed him a life he always wanted. When Lengel insulted her, it was like he was insulting Sammy’s dream. Sammy quitting despite Lengel saying “you don’t want to do this to your Mom and Dad” was a rejection of the life his parents laid out for him. Lengel telling Sammy that “you will feel this for the rest of your life” meaning there are consequences to his actions. Sammy stated that his coworker Stoksie is married with “two babies chalked up to his fuselage already”. Stoksie being a couple years older, Sammy saw him and Lengel as possible futures for himself as either some guy who married young because it was expected of him, or getting old and turning into Lengel. She was the push he needed to get out there and start living his life on his own terms. When Sammy stated “my stomach kind of fell as I know how hard the world was going to be hereafter” was him accepting the importance of going out on his