Short Story Analysis on A P
“A&P” is a short story by John Updike that examines growing up, trying to impress the opposite sex, to stand up for something you believe in, life changes, and different social classes through the perspective of a teenage boy. “’A&P’ is a story of initiation, as a young boy moves from innocence (and ignorance) to experience (and knowledge).” (Peck 2) The character, Sammy, is a teenage boy who works in a grocery store in a little town, through Sammy’s point of view learn about the setting, tone, characterization, internal and external conflict, and the antagonist and protagonist of the story. ... The tone of the story is laid back. ... ’” (Updike 895) Towards the end of the story, things shift to a more serious tone. ... There is a break in the story where it is quoted to be the “sad part” where Lengel starts ripping into the girls about their clothing choices and that they weren’t dressed decently. ... ” (Updike 894) Stokesie is another checker at A&P; he is twenty-two years old, married, and has two babies. ... ” (Saldivar 216) The characters were put in the story for a specific reason; each character has a purpose. ... ” (Saldivar 219-220) There are two types of conflict in this story, internal and external. ... Lengel, who nearly kicks three girls out of the A&P for failing to comply with the ‘no shirt, no shoes, no service’ rule the established critical stance has placed Sammy in the position of ‘hero’. ... ” (Updike 898) Sammy is the protagonist of this story, “…nineteen-year-old narrator and protagonist, Sammy, feeling at the end both triumphant and sad, both winner and loser. ... In the beginning of the story Sammy was still in a boyish-state of thinking by the way he was describing those girls and checking them out. ... ” (Updike 894) By the end of the story, Sammy has grown-up a little; he goes from passive to of action. ... ” (Updike 898) The antagonist of the story would have been Lengel; he tries to convince Sammy not to quit without truly thinking about it. ... They seem to turn away from change and those who cause the changes or problems, “Sammy’s loneliness at the end of the story is the result of this gesture: the girls have taken no notice of him, but he has alienated himself from the town by presuming to judge its standards.