John Updike’s “A & P” is one of his most famous short stories.  His masterpiece is the series of Rabbit novels; but in terms of anthologies, you’re liable to run into “A & P.”  That said, his work, as you might imagine, is getting less respect.  I noticed it was introduced in an AP textbook accordingly: 

“In his novels and short stories, many of which were first published in the New Yorker magazine, Updike often reflects the religious, economic, societal, and marital conflicts faced by middle-class white men.”

Oh.  So it’s not that Updike is one of the greatest writers of the 20th century; he’s “a middle-class white man.”  Nice. 

Anyway, “A & P” is a short story which might be classified in the coming-of-age genre, which begs the question, in what way does the protagonist learn or grow?  In my estimation, the protagonist Sammy learns implicitly from his misguided action; namely, quitting A & P for a completely lost and pointless cause. Perhaps Sammy imagined he would ingratiate himself to the girls by declaring, “I quit,” as though he couldn’t think of any other way to get into their orbit other than sacrificing his living in the process. 

Sammy might see his boss Lengel as a stifling authority figure; he might think of him as a fuddy duddy.  But he is wise to the way the world works in a way which Sammy’s impetuous action shows that Sammy does not understand–yet.  

What is this secret knowledge?  To put it simply, think before you act.  Think with your head, not your…

A group of girls have the audacity and perhaps poor judgment to go to the A & P in their bikinis, which under the fluorescent lights tends to make it all the more scandalous–or enjoyable from the perspective of Sammy.  They are confronted by Lengel, who suggest that they lack decency in doing so.  One of the girls, whom Sammy has nicknamed Queenie, responds indignantly: 

“We are decent.” 

This seems to be the point at which Sammy becomes sentimental and loses his head. Lengel tries to talk sense to him, tries to get him to reverse course: 

“Sammy, you don’t want to do this to your mom and dad.” 

It’s all well and good that Sammy might have liked to have a look at some beautiful girls in their bikinis while working the cash register. But after all, Lengel had a point, it’s just not appropriate attire for a grocery store. There was no great moral point that Sammy had after all.  It suggests a different culture, one in which honor and decorum are more important than they are now.  Quitting would not only be an unwise and mindless decision, it would even bring dishonor onto Sammy’s family (which, again, suggests that honor was there in the first place). 

Once Sammy has quit and left the store, perhaps thinking himself a hero for the moment, he notices that actually no one cares about his act of self-sacrifice: 

“I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course.” 

He looks back in the A & P and sees his manager having dutifully taken his place, perhaps feeling a little guilt and regret by this point.  Lengel does his duty, Sammy has not.  Stokesie, Sammy’s coworker and foil, accepts his responsibility.  With a wife and two babies, Stokesie has his eye on becoming a manager at A & P, an ambition that Sammy finds ridiculous.  In fact, Sammy holds the whole town in contempt, as though it is mired in conformity and mediocrity.  However, one senses that he will soon receive a comeuppance. 

Then Sammy realizes that the world is not run by childish whimsy.  Rather, it is an unforgiving place of adult responsibilities, hence the last, chilling line of the story: “…my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.”  

Works Cited

Updike, John. Advanced Language & Literature For Honors and Pre-AP English Courses. NY: Bedford, Freeman & Worth, 2016, Pg. 455-459

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