De tribus puellis

A Matter of Appearance In the short story A & P, by John Updike the narrator/main character Sammy quits his job at the A & P store after defending three girls dressed in bathing suits from the “stingy” A & P manager Lengel, however the girls leave the store without even noticing Sammy’s attempt at gaining their attention. This then raises the question about why he quit. What was his reason? Was it wrong? Was it right? It is quite possible that Sammy may have had a deeper subconscious reason for quitting the A & P, but that is up to the readers to decide, because I am not going to answer that question here, but rather focus on a different matter. It does not make a difference why Sammy quit because it does not excuse or deny that his actions were filled with inner desires of lust while using distasteful, disrespectful, and sexist words towards the three girls based on only their appearance. The first girl who catches Sammy’s attention is the one he calls Plaid. He is so distracted by her physical appearance that he almost describes her three times. Each time, throughout his narration, he uses distasteful words to describe her. He uses such words as “chunky”, “chubby”, and “fat” (Updike 32-33). Those are all highly offensive when said about someone, even if you are just thinking them. The most distasteful and disrespectful thing said towards her though, is when Sammy states, “…the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from the back—a really sweet can…” (35). Sammy does not…

The A&P story will be analysis in cultural. The effects of a small conservative community with conservative views is invaded by swimsuits. This story was written during 1932, and people are viewed based on the appearance and status in the community. In fact, in the very first sentence Sammy says "in walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits." (Updike 259) It was quite an attention grabber and people just didn’t dress that way to go grocery shopping. However, Sammy notices Queenie is…

will become a sheep like everyone else. In the beginning, Sammy couldn't stop looking at Queenie, "The longer her neck was, the more of her there was"(431), but by the end of the story, Sammy realizes he deserves more in life, "I said I quit"(435). The two quotes from the story show how Sammy changes from the beginning to the end. At first, Sammy would never quit his job and by the end, he gets enough courage to quit so he wouldn't be stuck at A&P forever. Not only is Sammy a round character but…

In life there will be times where some people may feel that quitting is the best thing to do for themselves or possibly for others. “A&P”, a short story written by John Updike, is based on a nineteen year old boy, Sammy, who works as a cashier at the A&P supermarket. Updike portrays Sammy as a young man who lacks enthusiasm towards his job and wants to figure out what the real purpose is working at A&P with his miserable manager Mr. Lengel and dealing with “sheep’s”. John Updike strongly…

In my opinion, I believe that Sammy is a likable character because, of the way he makes jokes on society/class when comparing them to Queenie. He is an opinionated, sarcastic, rebellious teenager with a high interest in the opposite gender, and a keen observational sense. Sammy notices everything about the three girls, from the patterns of their bathing suits, to the different boundaries of their tan lines. Sammy divides up the various people in the grocery store into different type’s classes.…

Once the three girls stroll in, Sammy pays a tremendous amount of attention analyzing their features. Beginning with the first girl describing that she has "black frizzy hair that hadn't quite frizzed right, and one of those sunburns across the eyes."(page 69) He continues on about several other of her features that don't particularly appeal to his interests. Although Sammy gives both girls a lot of analysis, he focuses on what he doesn't like about them, even though he cannot stop giving them…

“I told Summer that I would never let anything happen to her, and I failed her. I was determined to get her back. To bring her back home to me” (Preston 106). Determination and perseverance is what The Cellar is all about. After Summer was abducted, the only thing Lewis wanted back was his best friend, his girlfriend. Throughout the book determination is shown. Summer’s determination to get out of her kidnappers home. Lewis’s need to get her back. Colin’s way of not giving up to keep the girls…

Three girls, three summers, one unbreakable bond as told by Christina García in her contemporary fiction, Dreams of Significant Girls. Garcia’s story follows the lives of Vivien Wahl, Shirin Firouz, and Ingrid Baum, all roommates at a Swiss summer camp. These three girls could not be more different in terms of heritage, personality, and aspirations, but their experiences force an unshakeable bond over the course of three years. Vivien, who lives in New York, after fleeing her home country of…

The story “A & P” is about a boy named Sammy who is the cashier at a grocery store. What would usually be a normal day for him becomes something much bigger when three girls walk in only wearing bathing suits. This causes a problem, for they are against the dress policy and they are distracting for everyone there. The girls eventually get in trouble by the manager, and that’s when Sammy stands up for them and quits. Sammy’s attitude towards the girls changes significantly during the story. The…

While reading “A&P” by John Updike, it reminded me of a situation I had in my life. The protagonist, Sammy was put in a position very similar to mine. Sammy is a young and immature kid working in the A&P grocery store. Sammy is immature because of the way he lacks concentration on his job. He does not like how his boss treats a couple of girls who walk in the store with only bathing suit one day. He makes a sudden decision to quit his only job in a moment of anger towards his boss. There are…