Central Idea of A&P
...musing. The girls finish their shopping and come to Sammy to pay. At this point Lengel notices the girls and comes over to talk to them. This creates the major conflict of the story. Lengel scolds the girls for wearing their bathing suits into the store. The girls are embarrassed and Sammy is angered because he doesn’t feel that it was necessary for Lengel to do what he did. Partially in retaliation, and partially hoping to impress the girls, Sammy quits his job right then. The central idea of “A&P” is that you should think before you act because rash decisions may have unwanted consequences. Sammy quits because he is trying to impress the girls. “The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say ‘I quit’ to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.”(103) Sammy thinks that by trying to defend the girls and quitting they will be impressed. He doesn’t think about the possible long term affects of his decision. Lengel even gives him several chances to not quit but Sammy has made up his mind. Sammy’s decision to quit didn’t have the effect on the girls that he had hoped for. “I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course.”(103) When Sammy leaves he realizes that his rash decision may not have been the best. “Looking back in the big windows, over t...