A&P

A&P The A&P John Updike uses Sammy’s attitude toward the people and the town along with the setting of the dreary atmosphere of the A&P to exhibit his change from a young, immature boy to a man who is finally ready to experience the fruits of growing up. Sammy’s attitude toward the people and the town is consistently negative. The locals, which he describes as being “north of Boston-where there’s been people in this town that haven’t seen the ocean for 20 years” go on as if their lives are a meaningless, mediocre array of events, and Sammy doesn’t believe that this is the way to live. His life takes a sudden turn when the girls came along. Such rebellious behavior as going down the aisle the wrong way or wearing a bathing suit into the store instantaneously seized Sammy’s attention. The locals, as well as Sammy’s manager, were bewildered to see such unconventional behavior. These rebellious girls, Queenie, in particular, seemed to hold a certain fascination over him, as he goes into great detail over the girl’s looks. He sort of sees them as objects, and doesn’t give much respect to them. As the story progresses, Sammy is not bitter toward them, but actually seems to become more fond of them. sammy, way, life, girls, setting, job, young, town, toward, story, progresses, people, over, manufactured, change, sunshine, store, rebellious, manager, man, locals, lights, going, fond, finally, community, behavior, ap, wrong, world, witness, wearing, unseen