John Updike

The Power of Desire John Updike’s “A & P” depicts the thoughts that go through a young man’s head as a group of young, beautiful, bikini clad women enter the grocery store that he works at. Sammy and his colleague Stokesie gawk at the girls as they shop throughout the store. By chance, the group of girls go through Sammy’s checkout lane and they receive a lecture by the store manager, Lengel, because of their revealing clothing. Displeased by the manager’s treatment of the girls, Sammy…

others find it difficult to be responsible for their own lives. In some instances, growing up doesn’t always mean leaving home, but rather overcoming the challenge of exposing who you are and what you want to do with your life. In the story “A&P” by John Updike, the author illustrates a young boy at the age of eighteen during the 1950’s. Sammy, the main character, is an average kid who works as a cashier in a grocery store, however he is fascinated by the sight of three teenage girls who walk in…

Even though Poe’s death remains a mystery today it is fact that “The Fall of the House of Usher” has been, throughout time, a reader’s favorite story, both casual and school forced. I personally think it has been such a famous and favorite book of readers because the short story is very dark, cruel, creepy and mysterious. Since it is so dark and mysterious it constantly keeps the attention of the readers such as college students like myself. If the story doesn’t keep my attention then I really…

The Odd Allure of Love Love can be a mystery. It takes hold of us just as fast as it releases us. Love can, on occasion, be justified by logic, but often, it is seemingly random, taking hold of our mind and jerking it about for reasons obscure to all but love itself, until love grows bored and lets us go at less than a moments notice. In the short story “Araby,” by James Joyce, a boy falls head over heels for a girl. He hardly knows her, yet still, he can’t shake off the obsession. This…

Short Story Epiphanies There is a theme of epiphanies in “Greasy Lake” written by T. Coraghessan Boyle and “Cons” written by Jess Walter. The theme is very strong and prevalent in each story in their own way. In the story “Greasy Lake” there are epiphanies when the characters that they are not as bad as they would like to believe themselves be. The last short story “Cons” the main character has a very strong epiphany at the end. All the stories have strong epiphanies in all of them will be…

Greasy Lake and Setting Oftentimes, the setting is a particularly crucial part of a story. It could be symbolic for an idea, or it could contribute to the change of a characters personality. Furthermore, setting does not only refer to the location or time period of the story; it could also pertain to “climate and even the social, psychological, or spiritual state of the participants” (Literature, Glossary of Literary Terms, G26). The significance of setting is especially prevalent in the short…

Abbie and Sadie’s Epic Adventure Lotus Eaters- One day a girl Abbigail went to a Krispy Kreme shop wanting to get a doughnut. What she didn’t know was that the mob had taken over the shop and they were giving people drugged doughnuts to get free workers, and new mob members. One day Abbigail went in to the Krispy Kreme store. All she wanted was one simple glazed doughnut. She walked in, got her doughnut, and ate it. She became, almost instantly, addicted to the doughnut. She kept eating the…

A young woman walks down the street, completely covered in cloth from head to toe. As a female, she is considered beneath all of the men around her. She is only permitted to leave the house under certain restrictions, such as retrieving groceries. Most importantly, conceiving a child is considered the most valuable contribution she can make to society. While the scenario sounds familiar, she surprisingly does not reside in Gilead. As a dystopian novel, “A Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood…

Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger, who tells a story of a teenage boy undergoing a period of confusion, just like every teenager. Trying to handle the aspect of growing up and gaining the feeling of comfort and confidence with who he is and his personality. In The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger implies symbols to express Holden’s struggles with immaturity throughout his whole life. In his opinion everyone is phony and fake. Holden acquires symbols that help him with confidence, comfort…

Superior writers use a vast number of well-used elements. It is key to use exceptional elements if you thrive to be a great writer. An example of a writer with higher-level elements is Ray Bradbury. Bradbury has a famous short story called "The Pedestrian." The "Pedestrian" is a futuristic story about a man who is not involved with the world. Bradbury uses setting, figurative language, and symbolism to affect the overall succession of the story. First, Bradbury uses figurative language to…