Book Report: "A&P" by John Updike
Note: If you haven’t ever read “A&P,” I encourage you to do so. It is a short read, and currently available to read for free here and here.
“A&P” is a short story by author John Updike. This first person narrative discusses a young man Sammy, and his experience when a group of scantily clad girls walk into the A&P store in which he works as a cashier, and ultimately spur him to quit his job.
Updike’s short story is typically met with a wide variety of opinions, as evident from its goodreads profile. A vocal majority strongly dislike the work, criticizing it for the misogynistic narrator Sammy, as well as seemingly lacking a good point. Some others consider the story tolerable, but nothing special. The apparent smallest group, including myself, consider “A&P” a classic, giving valuable life lessons in a small and entertaining package.
On the surface, it is completely understandable to consider that “A&P” is a shallow exploration of a teenage boy’s blatant lust over a group of girls, and his childish reaction to his employer’s enforcement of company policy. To objectify women the way that Sammy does is undoubtedly misogyny, if something that the majority of young men are guilty of at least some point in their lives. His description of these girls hinges solely on physical appearance, and how attractive they are to him, going so far as to call one “the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from the back -- a really sweet can.” And without digging down into Sammy’s motives for resigning, or examining the implications and ripple effects of that action, the story does lack obvious meaning or substance. However, with the willingness to consider the finer details of Sammy’s experience, any reader can find a sort of self-reflection in “A&P,” and ponder its relevance to the human experience.
Tension of the story builds as Sammy watches the girls walk around the store. He knows that their attire violates store policy, but his chief concern is appreciating their apparent beauty. The climax of the story occurs as the girls come through Sammy’s register to check out. Coincidentally, the store manager Lengel happens to step out of his office as the girls are at the register, and he confronts them on their attire. After some dialog, Sammy decides to resign from his position in defending the girls from Lengel’s perceived disrespect of the girls.
This pivotal action, as simple as it may be, contain a wealth of commentary on Sammy, his motives, and the reader by extension. The most obvious effect is Sammy’s newfound lack of employment, and subsequently the disappointment that his parents will surely feel because of his decision. While Sammy could look for another job, seek the forgiveness of Lengel and request his job at A&P back, or even deal with the consequences of unemployment, what Sammy cannot do is reverse his decision and bring his life back to a state before he chose to quit his job. What’s done is done.
If the key exchange in the story is Sammy’s resignation, some might argue that the entire text leading up to it may be unnecessary to the main point. After all, this dramatic exodus occurs quite near the end of the story. However, I believe the build up serves to emphasize the trivial nature over which Sammy decides to quit. In Sammy’s mind, it may be that he is a sort of white knight, upholding chivalry and defending the honor of these fair maidens against the disrespect of a definitively evil figure in Lengel. To the reader, however, we see that this is far from the case. Sammy finds the girls attractive, and quits in an effort to impress them and gain their attention. There is no undertone of chivalry to Sammy’s actions. He just wanted to improve his favor with the girls.
Motives aside, Sammy’s ability to quit his job on his own volition represents a sort of coming of age. When Sammy initially voices his desire to resign, Lengel points out that “you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad,” which Sammy then confirms that he doesn’t. However, just because his parents will be disappointed, does not mean that they can prevent Sammy from acting on his decision to quit. Sammy is old enough to work, he is old enough to make his own decisions, and he is thus old enough to quit his job (for admittedly immature reasons) and face the consequences thereof. As many sources throughout history have pointed out, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Sammy has the power to continue or end his employment, but he must wield this power with the responsibility to use it properly.
At the end of the day, Updike tells us through Sammy that we are able to make our own decisions, but we are consequently forced to deal with the repercussions and results of those actions. Not only did Sammy choose to tell Lengel that he quit, he also decided to follow through with the action. As Sammy himself pointed out, “once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it.” Whether we choose to fall in line and accept social norms or reject the status quo, we are responsible for our own behavior. Even if we react to stimuli, rather than carefully planning our tactics, we choose to follow through with an action or attempt to back out of the commitment.
“A&P” is a short story by author John Updike. This first person narrative discusses a young man Sammy, and his experience when a group of scantily clad girls walk into the A&P store in which he works as a cashier, and ultimately spur him to quit his job.
Updike’s short story is typically met with a wide variety of opinions, as evident from its goodreads profile. A vocal majority strongly dislike the work, criticizing it for the misogynistic narrator Sammy, as well as seemingly lacking a good point. Some others consider the story tolerable, but nothing special. The apparent smallest group, including myself, consider “A&P” a classic, giving valuable life lessons in a small and entertaining package.
On the surface, it is completely understandable to consider that “A&P” is a shallow exploration of a teenage boy’s blatant lust over a group of girls, and his childish reaction to his employer’s enforcement of company policy. To objectify women the way that Sammy does is undoubtedly misogyny, if something that the majority of young men are guilty of at least some point in their lives. His description of these girls hinges solely on physical appearance, and how attractive they are to him, going so far as to call one “the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from the back -- a really sweet can.” And without digging down into Sammy’s motives for resigning, or examining the implications and ripple effects of that action, the story does lack obvious meaning or substance. However, with the willingness to consider the finer details of Sammy’s experience, any reader can find a sort of self-reflection in “A&P,” and ponder its relevance to the human experience.
Tension of the story builds as Sammy watches the girls walk around the store. He knows that their attire violates store policy, but his chief concern is appreciating their apparent beauty. The climax of the story occurs as the girls come through Sammy’s register to check out. Coincidentally, the store manager Lengel happens to step out of his office as the girls are at the register, and he confronts them on their attire. After some dialog, Sammy decides to resign from his position in defending the girls from Lengel’s perceived disrespect of the girls.
This pivotal action, as simple as it may be, contain a wealth of commentary on Sammy, his motives, and the reader by extension. The most obvious effect is Sammy’s newfound lack of employment, and subsequently the disappointment that his parents will surely feel because of his decision. While Sammy could look for another job, seek the forgiveness of Lengel and request his job at A&P back, or even deal with the consequences of unemployment, what Sammy cannot do is reverse his decision and bring his life back to a state before he chose to quit his job. What’s done is done.
If the key exchange in the story is Sammy’s resignation, some might argue that the entire text leading up to it may be unnecessary to the main point. After all, this dramatic exodus occurs quite near the end of the story. However, I believe the build up serves to emphasize the trivial nature over which Sammy decides to quit. In Sammy’s mind, it may be that he is a sort of white knight, upholding chivalry and defending the honor of these fair maidens against the disrespect of a definitively evil figure in Lengel. To the reader, however, we see that this is far from the case. Sammy finds the girls attractive, and quits in an effort to impress them and gain their attention. There is no undertone of chivalry to Sammy’s actions. He just wanted to improve his favor with the girls.
Motives aside, Sammy’s ability to quit his job on his own volition represents a sort of coming of age. When Sammy initially voices his desire to resign, Lengel points out that “you don't want to do this to your Mom and Dad,” which Sammy then confirms that he doesn’t. However, just because his parents will be disappointed, does not mean that they can prevent Sammy from acting on his decision to quit. Sammy is old enough to work, he is old enough to make his own decisions, and he is thus old enough to quit his job (for admittedly immature reasons) and face the consequences thereof. As many sources throughout history have pointed out, “with great power comes great responsibility.” Sammy has the power to continue or end his employment, but he must wield this power with the responsibility to use it properly.
At the end of the day, Updike tells us through Sammy that we are able to make our own decisions, but we are consequently forced to deal with the repercussions and results of those actions. Not only did Sammy choose to tell Lengel that he quit, he also decided to follow through with the action. As Sammy himself pointed out, “once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it.” Whether we choose to fall in line and accept social norms or reject the status quo, we are responsible for our own behavior. Even if we react to stimuli, rather than carefully planning our tactics, we choose to follow through with an action or attempt to back out of the commitment.
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