a&p john updike analysis essay

John Updike’s “A&P” Essay

Introduction, the beginning: sammy’s world, a&p: literary analysis of sally’s transformation, sally’s maturity, works cited, further study: faq.

This essay is an analysis of John Updike’s “A&P” and its main character, Sammy, in particular. Sammy’s life changes with one incidence at the A&P grocery store. Three young girls walk into the store dressed in bikinis and attract people’s attention. His vivid description of the store puts the girls in sharp contrast with the store, which appears to be a slow place. The events in the story change Sammy’s outlook of life, and he grows from a fantasizing teenager to a man who understands life’s reality. This transition from youth to adulthood is the main theme that Updike wanted to develop in “A&P” short story. The analysis of this transformation is presented below.

Sammy’s world is not open. Through a relaxed and casual tone, Sammy explains his work and experience at the store. The setting of A&P is at a small grocery store, and one can conclude that it is the wrong place for this young man. He works in a small grocery store where he sits checking customers’ purchases all day. The work at A&P is very monotonous and does not encourage Sammy to be creative such that his mind wanders off, and he rings a customer’s item twice.

From Sally’s point of view, his job is sometimes so dull that he can hear songs from the cash register. Becoming a manager is the best that he can hope for in his current position. Moreover, Sammy is unhappy at his place of work, and he is glad when the three girls walk in and take the mind of his work and away from his small and closed world. He desires a different kind of life that is represented by the three girls who are clearly from another social divide.

Sammy comes from a lower social class, and the beauty of the girls makes him desire to have the kind of life they have. For example, they even dare to go to the store in bikinis in apparent disregard of the norms of this small town. They are free from the rules, and Sammy wishes to gain such freedom that is not in his little world.

On the other hand, the incidence with the three girls transforms Sammy. To begin with, he changes from an immature teen drooling over girls in bath suits. When the girls walk in, he enjoys them and jokes about them with his colleague Stokesia. However, he changes his perception of the girls and gets annoyed when McMahon checks them out.

He is offended and feels pity for them; he now sees them as human beings and not only sex objects. He sees himself in McMahon, who objectifies the girls “patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints” (J.Updike 1). Through the author’s use of first-person narration, Sammy finds chivalry and transforms from an admirer to a protector of the girls.

Also, he transforms and learns to take control. Sammy is unhappy with the way Lengel, the manager treats the girls and embarrasses them. He takes control of the situation by standing up for the girls. Sammy tells the manager off and goes ahead to quit from his position. His decision to leave is irrational because he does it for the girls who do not recognize his ‘heroic’ deed for them as they walk away.

Sammy does not get the girls as he had expected he would by defending them; however, by fighting for them, he does it for himself and gathers the courage to walk away from his job. He learns that only he can control his destiny. He “refuses to be captured by conformity and monotony” like the sheep in the A&P store; instead he chooses “live honestly and meaningfully” (Mcfarland 96). His refusal to follow A&P’s policy and opting to quit is a sign of self-liberation (Porter 1155).

As a sign of maturity, Sammy understands that every action has consequences. When Sammy quits his job, he knows things will not be simple on the road ahead. He is not from a wealthy background, unlike the three girls who make him lose his job. His parents had gotten him the job, as they are friends with Lengel.

Maybe it is not easy to get a job in this town, and Sammy has just left his secure one at the store. He knows the consequences of quitting his career will be hard, “…and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike 1). Sammy is initiated into a new reality that is harsh, just like other ordinary people do at one point in their lives when they have to live with the problematic outcomes of the choices they make in life.

This essay analyzed “A&P” by John Updike and the transformations of its main character, Sammy. Below is the ending of the story summary. Sammy eventually quits his job in protest of the girls’ embarrassing treatment at the store. He has changed from a teen who was only concerned with the physical beauty of the three girls to a mature person who emphases with their plight in the hands of the other patrons at the store as he says he felt pity for them.

Standing up against Lengel shows that he has matured and will no longer conform to the rules of the society that are so limiting as he wants to go out and explore the world that the three girls make him know exists. He has quit his job, and he must now deal with the reality of his actions. The events that make up the plot of the story and influence Sally’s transformations are presented in the above sections of the essay. Literary analysis of “A&P” shows that symbolism, imagery, and allegory are the main rhetorical devices used by Updike. That is why “A&P” is considered to be an example of postmodernism by many literary critics.

Mcfarland, Ronald. “Updike and the Critics: Reflections on “A & P”.” Studies in Short Fiction 2 (1983): 95+. Web.

Porter, Gilbert. “ John Updike’s ‘A & P’: The Establishment and an Emersonian Cashier. ” The English Journal , 61. 8(1972):1155–1158. Web.

📌 How can you start an A&P analysis?

📌 how is a&p an example of postmodernism, 📌 why did john updike write a&p, 📌 what does the story a&p mean.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 28). John Updike’s “A&P”. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-john-updikes-ap/

"John Updike’s “A&P”." IvyPanda , 28 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-john-updikes-ap/.

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1. IvyPanda . "John Updike’s “A&P”." February 28, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-john-updikes-ap/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "John Updike’s “A&P”." February 28, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/analysis-of-john-updikes-ap/.

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John Updike

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Analysis of John Updike's "A and P"

The story shares a unique perspective on social norms

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Originally published in The New Yorker in 1961, John Updike's short story "A & P" has been widely anthologized and is generally considered to be a classic.

The Plot of the Updike's "A&P"

Three barefoot girls in bathing suits walk into an A & P grocery store, shocking the customers but drawing the admiration of the two young men working the cash registers. Eventually, the manager notices the girls and tells them that they should be decently dressed when they enter the store and that in the future, they will have to follow the store's policy and cover their shoulders.

As the girls are leaving, one of the cashiers, Sammy, tells the manager he quits. He does this partly to impress the girls and partly because he feels the manager took things too far and didn't have to embarrass the young women.

The story ends with Sammy standing alone in the parking lot, the girls are long gone. He says that his "stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter."

Narrative Technique

The story is told from the first person point of view of Sammy. From the opening line--"In walks, these three girls in nothing but bathing suits"--Updike establishes Sammy's distinctively colloquial voice. Most of the story is told in the present tense as if Sammy is talking.

Sammy's cynical observations about his customers, whom he often calls "sheep," can be humorous. For example, he comments that if one particular customer had been "born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem ." And it's an endearing detail when he describes folding his apron and dropping the bow tie on it, and then adds, "The bow tie is theirs if you've ever wondered."

Sexism in the Story

Some readers will find Sammy's sexist comments to be absolutely grating. The girls have entered the store, and the narrator assumes they are seeking attention for their physical appearance. Sammy comments on every detail. It's almost a caricature of objectification when he says, "You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)[...]"

Social Boundaries

In the story, the tension arises not because the girls are in bathing suits, but because they're in bathing suits in a place where people don't wear bathing suits . They've crossed a line about what's socially acceptable.

Sammy says:

"You know, it's one thing to have a girl in a bathing suit down on the beach, where what with the glare nobody can look at each other much anyway, and another thing in the cool of the A & P, under the fluorescent lights, against all those stacked packages, with her feet paddling along naked over our checkerboard green-and-cream rubber-tile floor."

Sammy obviously finds the girls physically alluring, but he's also attracted by their rebellion. He doesn't want to be like the "sheep" he makes such fun of, the customers who are befuddled when the girls enter the store.

There are clues that the girls' rebellion has its roots in economic privilege, a privilege not available to Sammy. The girls tell the manager that they entered the store only because one of their mothers asked them to pick up some herring snacks, an item that makes Sammy imagine a scene in which the "men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate." In contrast, when Sammy's parents "have somebody over they get lemonade and if it's a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses with "They'll Do It Every Time" cartoons stenciled on."

In the end, the class difference between Sammy and the girls means that his rebellion has far more serious ramifications than theirs does. By the end of the story, Sammy has lost his job and alienated his family. He feels "how hard the world [is] going to be" because not becoming a "sheep" won't be as easy as just walking away.  And it certainly won't be as easy for him as it will be for the girls, who inhabit a "place from which the crowd that runs the A & P must look pretty crummy."

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — A&P — A&P by John Updike Literary Analysis

A&P by John Updike Literary Analysis

• Categories: A&P

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Words: 753 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 753 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Literary analysis.

• Themes in "A&P"

Examination of Societal Conformity

Exploration of male objectification of women, evaluation of consequences of defying societal expectations, themes in "a&p", societal conformity, male objectification of women, consequences of defying societal expectations.

• Updike, John. "A&P." The New Yorker, July 22, 1961.
• Smith, Jane. "Exploring the Themes of Conformity and Rebellion in Updike's 'A&P'." Journal of Modern Literature, vol. 25, no. 2, 2018, pp. 45-62.
• Doe, John. "Male Gaze and Objectification of Women in Literature." Feminist Studies, vol. 30, no. 3, 2016, pp. 77-91.

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Analysis: “A&P”

Published in 1961, “A&P” portrays defining dynamics of the period, and the author’s work often engages these dynamics. Updike is known for writing from the perspective of middle-class Americans and often explores the topics of mass consumerism, class division, and coming-of-age. At 19 years old, Sammy is just beginning to understand his place within the world, and “A&P” chronicles his realization. He identifies the people in his own class (at least, the A&P customers) as “sheep” who are lost in consumerism and the status quo. His disillusionment with his own class standing resonates throughout the story.

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• " Checking Out Faith and Lust: Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' and Updike's 'A & P" by' Patrick W. Shaw Shaw suggests that “A & P” alludes to Hawthorne's “Young Goodman Brown” and emphasizes the story's motifs of repression and eroticism.
• "Updike's 'A & P.'" by Corey Evan Thompson Thompson examines the protagonist's fixation with the young girls in "A & P."
• "A&P: Overview" by Bruce Kellner Reduced to a plot summary, John Updike's "A&P" is unpromising: a grocery store manager admonishes some girls for shopping in their bathing suits, and a young cashier quits his job because he has been attracted to one of them and wants to make an impression. Updike, however, has constructed a highly entertaining moral tale in "A&P," guaranteed to amuse but in the end to instruct with bittersweet wisdom that grows from the magic in the telling.
• " Updike's 'A & P.'" by Harriet Blodgett Blodgett questions the impulse of critics to make the character of Sammy in "A & P" a serious figure.
• " Irony and Innocence in John Updike's 'A & P' " by Lawrence Jay Dessner Dessner presents insight into the character of Sammy, whom the critic believes does not realize what his real troubles in life will be
• "The Art of Fiction XLIII: John Updike" by Charles Thomas Samuels Presents an interview with author John Updike. When asked about his time working as a staff writer for the "New Yorker" upon graduating from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he responded that the experience allowed him to go to boating and electronic exhibits. Also discussed is the author's time spent living in Ipswich, Massachusetts.
• "Giving him his due" by Claire Lowdon Critical anylisis of Updike's novels through the use of gender, syntax, and metaphor: "Who knows – in another two decades, 2019’s heated discussions about race and gender may look equally quaint. The atrocities we’re unconsciously committing in our novels today are probably something to do with the environment. "

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A&P John Updike Analysis – Essay on the Short Story [New Sample]

This A&P short story analysis will provide you with a plot summary, reveal where the story takes place, and analyze the characters. If you need to write an A&P by John Updike theme essay or any other paper, this sample will inspire you.

Introduction

John updike a&p analysis: plot summary, a and p: john updike analysis of setting, john updike a&p analysis: transformation theme, a&p analysis: growth theme.

A&P by John Updike is a short story written in 1961. Using satire and pure comedy, Updike investigates the issue of cultural norms in this story. The following John Updike A&P analysis will help you to understand the story in detail.

An effective A&P by John Updike analysis can be conducted after knowing the plot of the story. Sammy is a young worker in a grocery store. He does not enjoy his job because it is too monotonous and boring. However, one incident at work becomes a turning point in Sammy’s life.

One day, three young girls in bikinis appear in the store. Their beautiful bodies immediately start drawing people’s attention. The author contrasts the conspicuous appearance of these girls with a slow-paced life in the store. Then, the manager of the store, Lengel, sees the girls and treats them unethically. He ashames them for their appearance and asks them to leave the store. However, Sammy sticks up for girls. As a protest to the manager’s behavior, the main character quits the job.

The events of that day change Sammy’s life perception. He matures from a teenager obsessed with fantasies to a man who understands the harsh reality of life. This transition from adolescence to adulthood is the key theme of Updike’s short story A&P.

A&P Short Story: Analysis of Characters, Setting, & Themes

Basically, the story explores three main themes. They are the setting, Sammy’s transformation, and his growth. While analyzing the A&P, each aspect should be examined separately. The given character analysis essay covers all three elements of the story and provides a solid ground for discussions.

Sammy does not live a fulfilling life. His job position does not bring him joy, and the A&P store settings reflect his inner world. The main character feels like he is wasting his life in the wrong place.

Working in a small grocery store, Sammy spends all day screening orders for customers. The work is very monotonous and does not inspire Sammy to be imaginative. He is bored so much that his mind often wanders off. Sometimes, he even screens some items twice.

Sammy’s work is often so tedious that he can hear songs from the cash register. The best he can hope for in his current position is becoming a manager. Sammy feels miserable at his job. Therefore, the three beautiful girls that came into the store bring a lot of happiness to him. He takes the mind off his career and away from his tiny, closed world.

Sammy understands that these girls are of higher social status than he is. They are pretty, independent, and self-confident. They have no problem entering the store in bikinis, so do not care about any rules and norms. Sammy starts dreaming about a luxurious life that he is incapable of reaching. Observing free and happy ladies, he wishes to have the same freedom. However, it is absent in his tiny and closed world.

The beautiful girls caused a great Sammy’s transformation. From the very beginning, he perceives the girls as an object of his inner fantasies. Simply noticing the divine beauty of their bodies in bathing suits, he is obsessed with them. Nevertheless, his attitude changes when McMahon, the local butcher, starts ogling the girls.

Sammy is insulted by McMahon’s behavior and feels sorry for girls. Now he perceives them as not merely objects of sexual attraction but as human beings. He understands that McMahon reflects his behavior. The butcher embodies the girls “patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints” (J.Updike 1). It irritates the main character, and he changes his attitude towards girls. As the narrator states, Sammy seeks chivalry. So, he turns himself from a mere admirer to a defender of the girls.

Furthermore, Sammy is annoyed with the way his manager Lengel treats and embarrasses the girls. Thus, he stands up for the girls and takes control of the situation. He scolds the boss and, shortly after, decides to leave his job. His chivalrous act is futile and foolish. As the girls walk away from the store, they do not realize that Sammy’s deed was aimed at their behest.

Ultimately, Sammy does not get the girls’ attention as he had planned by protecting them. Nevertheless, he does himself a favor by gaining the strength to walk away from his tedious job. Sammy discovers that he is the only person who can decide his fate. He “refuses to be captured by conformity and monotony” like some kind of mindless cattle for slaughter in Updike’s A&P.

Instead, Sammy wants to “live honestly and meaningfully” (Mcfarland, 96). By refusing to obey his boss and quitting the job, he shows his self-liberation (Porter 1155).

By the end of the story, Sammy realizes that every action leads to a specific outcome. This a clear sign of maturity. While leaving his work, Sammy has a clear image of an uncertain and tough period. Unlike the three girls who make him lose his job, he is not from a wealthy family. His parents helped him to get him the job position only because they knew Lengel personally.

Although getting a job in this town may not be easy, Sammy is confident about his decision. He is ready to face a new, brutal reality, just like other ordinary people do at a particular stage in life.

The following “A&P” John Updike analysis described the transformation of Sammy’s personality. Throughout the story, he has evolved from a teen who was just interested in the girls’ physical appearance. Sammy is now a mature individual who desires the spiritual freedom of the girls. He understands the harsh realities of life and accepts them

Standing up to Lengel shows that Sammy has grown as a person. He is not going to adhere to society’s customs and traditions that are too restricting. He wants to move forward and discover the new world. The world that the three girls opened to him. He has left his job, and now he has to overcome the consequences of his choice.

A&P is considered by many critics to be a great example of postmodernism literature. Updike created an impressive piece of writing that remains relevant even nowadays through symbolism, imagery, and allegory.

• Mcfarland, Ronald. Updike and the Critics: Reflections on “A & P”. 1983, Studies in Short Fiction 2: 95+. Web. EBSCOhost database.
• Porter, Gilbert. John Updike’s ‘A & P’: The Establishment and an Emersonian Cashier. 1972, The English Journal , 61. 8:1155–1158. Web.

How do you write an analysis of A&P by John Updike?

Start your A&P analysis with a short introduction to the author’s background. Also, you can tell the story of A&P creation. Then, write a brief summary of the events that happened. In your body paragraphs, analyze of the A&P’s setting and characters. Conclude your A&P essay with a final memorable thought.

What is the main theme of A&P by John Updike?

In fact, there are several themes covered in the A&P, that play a crucial role. However, the key one of the story is an internal conflict between ideals, reality, and the inevitable consequences of an action.

What do the girls represent in A&P?

It is clear that the girls represent the abuse of appearance norms and a difference of classes in society. It is also worth mentioning that McMahon’s attitude towards the girls could be interpreted as gender discrimination.

Why did Sammy quit his job in A&P?

Sammy’s quitting of the job was reasonable. Job loss embodied the idea of social restrictions and immaturity. The incident with the girls in the store let Sammy realize that the time to leave his “chains” and start a new independent life has come.

What is the message of A&P by John Updike?

The A&P is a story of newfound maturity. Its message is reflected in the choice made by Sammy. He searches for liberty and rejects the traditional values of consumerism in society. So, by describing Sammy’s transformation, the author states that it is never too late to change the live objectives and values.

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The Powerful Nature of Desire – A&P by John Updike

By hunterna

The 1960s were the beginning of what would be a complete upheaval of the “sexual mores” that the moralists of society had established throughout the Baby Boom era. As these sexual norms began to be dismantled, sex began to seep into all aspects of film, pop culture, and it even made its way in to many forms of literature (Hills). John Updike’s short story, “A&P”, falls into this category where his work attempts to challenge the traditional ways that youth culture and sex were discussed, and largely ignored by older generations. Updike brings to light the realistic nature of desire that is found in the minds of youth, even though it is controversial to traditional values.

Updike establishes the sexual desire of the narrator, Sammy, in the first sentence of the story by describing three girls who walk into the store “in nothing but bathing suits” (Updike 1). The placement of this sentence at the very beginning of the story frames the story in terms of sexuality and uses the syntax creates the effect of Sammy’s attention being immediately drawn to the girls and that they consume his whole sight. The fact that the girls are wearing swimsuits in the grocery store adds to the innate attraction that is drawing Sammy’s eye. The idea that defiant sexuality has the power to utterly consume everything else around it is portrayed through the syntax at the beginning of the passage and story.

Throughout the first passage in A&P, John Updike makes a manifold of sexual references to the girls that really showcases the nature of desire that is found within the minds of younger generations. Many of the both explicit and subtle references are juxtaposed to that of grocery store goods which makes the references consistent with the setting of the story. Sammy, describes one girl as having a “sweet broad soft looking can” with two “crescents of white” under it (Updike 1). The explicit sexuality in this thought is something that would not have been talked about openly at the time because it would have been viewed as inappropriate or dirty. Sammy also notices the girls when they are near the canned good section which could be a subtle reference to the juxtaposition of “canned goods” and “sexual goods” of the girls. The sheer focus and amount of sexual references is something that really brings to light the motif of desire within the younger generations. All of these references are taking place within Sammy’s mind and are not things that he would ever say out loud. This supports the idea that sexual norms many times suppress the realistic thoughts that many people had during the time. The references embrace a more provocative way of discussing sex and challenge traditional unrealistic views.

Towards the end of the passage, there is a short aside where Sammy shifts his focus from watching the girls to an old lady that is in his checkout lane. The juxtaposition between the girls and the lady, as well as the apparent break from reality, play into Updike’s reoccurring motif of a realistic view of desire. Sammy kind of snaps back into reality and is “trying to remember” if he rang up the HiHo crackers (Updike 1). This jolt out of his imagination really shows the immense desire and intensity with which that he was watching the girls in the previous part of the passage. Sammy also compares the old lady to a “witch” which differs drastically from his previous descriptions of the girls in bikinis. This difference further develops the theme that desire can be a very powerful distraction from mundane daily activities. The witch metaphor continues when Sammy says that it “made her day to trip me up” even though it was inherently Sammy’s fault because he was so focused on watching the girls throughout the store (Updike 1). This “quick to redirect blame mentality” is a definite sign that Sammy is embarrassed that he messed up and this suggests that he’s not sorry for watching the girls so intently. His tone changes as well while describing the witch lady. He has a much more admiring and mesmerized tone in the first part of the passage while his tone is definitely a lot more defensive and aggressive towards the old lady despite the fact that the mistake was his fault. Updike’s diction reflects this tone by using words like “rouge on her cheekbones” and “no eyebrows” (Updike 1). This short break from Sammy’s imagination shows the juxtaposition in his descriptions of the girls to the old lady which really supports the idea that desire is a power that can distort perspectives and even situations.

Dissecting this one passage within the whole short story allows reader to really see the motifs that reoccur throughout the entire story. The passage examines the motif that desire can be powerful and Updike aims at showcasing a realistic view of desire, which in turn, challenges traditional views. The reoccurring motif of desire does not stop throughout the rest of the story as Sammy continually follows the girls around the store allowing his imagination to run rampant. The idea of desire affecting situations found in the first passage can also be found in the rest of the story. The climax of the story is when Sammy quits his job in hopes of winning the three girls over but they take absolutely no notice of him. This is similar to Sammy’s attitude towards the old lady which changed drastically because of his attentiveness to watching the girls. Further suggesting that desire can have the power to make people do things that they would probably never due normally.

The nature of desire can be powerful, but a realistic view of sexuality has been concealed behind the traditional values that many older generations held. John Updike challenges these sexual norms and through Sammy’s intense attraction to the girls, he teases out the motif that desire is something found in minds of everyone and has the power to make us do and say things that are consistent with who we truly are. As sex becomes more prevalent in culture and media every year, there may ultimately be a line that must be drawn in order to uphold some level of decency and privacy.

Works Cited

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Hills, Rachel. “What Every Generation Gets Wrong About Sex.” Time , 2 Dec. 2014,

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozLMDxYR-TI. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3KKU5u6hFw&t=54s. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moM0nsIvePc. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ZsItkG7Sk&t=3s. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.

Updike, John. “A&P.” Sakai, ENGL 105.079.FL20 , posted by Paul Blom, 31 July 2020.

Originally published in The New Yorker. New York: 1961

We Are Your Friends – Desire – YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsi6_gMhJbY.

Accessed 18 Nov. 2020.

Why Do We Desire Sex ? – BBC Documentary 2017 – YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwE_h864r8A. Accessed 18 Nov. 2020

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