A & P

The story “A & P” by John Updike is about a young man named Sammy who works at a supermarket in the suburbs. His whole surrounding seems artificial. He seems trapped in a fake world, which he is not happy in. nothing seems to change day in and day out until three young girls walk in, in nothing but their bathing suits. Right away they seem to catch his eye especially one of them. To him they look real…what a person should be like. They are not trying to fake anything or follow the standards of the community. It a way I feel that he is not attracted to them physically but more visually. Being in that surround his whole life he admires the appearance of this young ladies. This does not last long as the manager of the store tells these girls that they are not dressed appropriately for the store. This is when Sammy quits. By quitting I think he rejected himself from the “norms” this society has set for him and went the opposite way. He does realize however that because he is still part of it this will be very tough journey that he will have to face on his own.