John Updike was a celebrated American author. Below you will find links and videos that help tell the story of Updike, his work and its lasting influence.
This from the New York Times upon his death in 2009: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/books/28updike.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
An article that describes a man who rooted through Updike's trash and what he found: Updike's trash is everyone's treasure.
This is a link to the website of what was uncovered: http://johnupdikearchive.com/
Below are videos and questions related to "A&P"; answer each question in the comment section below in well written and thought out sentences. Then, reply to at least one of your classmates answers with your thoughts on their responses to the questions.
Studies have linked reading fiction to greater levels of empathy. Here is a video of Updike discussing his writing style as well as empathy.
1. How does this relate to "A&P" With whom is he empathizing in the story?
Here is an interview about "A&P" and a reading of the story:
Listen to this interview (you may skip the reading of the story if you wish), and then answer the following:
2. It is said that "A&P" is very American," How is this story a story of American life?
3. How are women viewed in this story? Are there any stereotypes present? What does Updike reveal about Sammy through his view of the girls?
4. What is Sammy's view of society? Provide examples to support your opinion.
5. Is Sammy a hero? Why or why not?
6. Lengel says, "You're going to feel this for the rest of your life." What is it that Sammy going to feel for the rest of his life according to Lengel? Do you think he feels what Lengel is talking about?
7. Why is Sammy's life going to be so hard?
8. What has Sammy learned by the end of the story?
1. In the story, Updike is empathizing with the girls because Sammy is telling the story from his point of view, and we see that he believes that it was not fair of Lengel to reprimand them in front of the whole store. If we were empathizing with A&P (Lengel) then we would see the girls’ dress as inappropriate and embarrassing, but we see them as innocent, doing one’s mother a favor.
ReplyDelete“A&P” could be considered American because of the casualness of the girls breaking the rules and class difference. They fight back with Lengel because they believe they can, because they see themselves as being a part of a higher class. They walk in the store even though they most likely know that they should not be doing that. This makes it American because they feel free to do as they wish and do not feel restricted.
2. Women are viewed as the “main attraction” because Sammy’s full attention is on them while hey are in the store and he mentions how other people look at them as well. He describes the girls in great detail and even forgets what he had rung up with his costumer because he is only focused on the girls. Yes, there are stereotypes present, the “boy chases girl” and the “boy trying to save the day to impress the girl.” Sammy is portrayed as a bored teenage boy, getting excited at the sight of three girls in bikinis-average behavior for a boy his age.
3. Sammy looks at society with immense class differences, for example when he sees the girls are buying herrin snacks, he paints an image in his head of suited men with cocktails. He thinks back to his own life when his family has people over and sees only lemonade or cheep beer.
4. I do not think Sammy is a hero because he did not do any good except lose his job. He stood up for what he believed in, but nothing came out of it. He could be considered a hero to himself for thinking he did what was right, but the girls ended up leaving: never even saying a word to him. In the end, he did not get what he wanted, the girls, but he did what he thought was right.
5. I think that Lengel means Sammy is going to regret losing his job for a foolish reason. Sammy almost automatically regrets his decision but does not have the will power to take it back because “once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it”(20).
6. Sammy’s life is going to be hard because he got the job because of his parents’ connections, but he probably will not be able to find another job.
7.Sammy learns that he did not accomplish anything by trying to help the girls. All that he did was lose a job that he needed because he did not know how he was going to get another job.
Molly, I totally agree with your response to number four. I think it's cool that he did what he thought was right, but it didn't really get him or anybody else anywhere so it doesn't make him a hero.
DeleteI numbered my answers incorrectly- after my first answer is another couple of sentences and that's my #2.
Delete
Deletekaufga18September 9, 2014 at 5:03 PM
Molly, I think you did a great job on answering these questions! It looked like you really got a feel to the story and understood it well. I agree with pretty much everyone of your answers. Good job!
Molly, I agree with your #4. Even though he thought he was doing good, he got nothing out of it.
Delete2. It is said that "A&P" is very American," How is this story a story of American life?
DeleteA&P is very American in this story because it takes place in America around Boston. It also is written in English which is a common language spoken in America. A&P's also only ever existed in America.
3. How are women viewed in this story? Are there any stereotypes present? What does Updike reveal about Sammy through his view of the girls?
In this story women are viewed on how they look. Sammy describes the as certain names so the main leader is nick named "Queeny".
4. What is Sammy's view of society? Provide examples to support your opinion.
5. Is Sammy a hero? Why or why not?
I think Sammy is a hero. I say this because he quits his job at A&P knowing he will disappoint his family by not keeping his job. But Sammy now has his door wide open and can figure things out in his life by himself now.
6. Lengel says, "You're going to feel this for the rest of your life." What is it that Sammy going to feel for the rest of his life according to Lengel? Do you think he feels what Lengel is talking about?
I think Sammy feels a sense of freedom and he now has a chance to change his life around.
7. Why is Sammy's life going to be so hard?
Sammy's life is going to be so hard because he is so cynical and he judges so fast.
8. What has Sammy learned by the end of the story?
Sammy has learned how to become a man, i feel that he knows what he wants to do with himself now.
Molly, I agree with your response to number five... I think that Lengal knew that Sammy desperately needed that job. He wanted to give Sammy a second chance to keep his job. I think that the quote from the story that you chose, perfectly described the reasoning behind why Sammy went through with quitting.
DeleteJohn Updike Short Story Questions
ReplyDelete1. In this video, John Updike is talking about who he tries to empathize in his short stories. He says that he tries not to write like an author, but to try and write about what his brain develops. This video relates to “A&P” because in the short story, his message to the reader in this story is class differences. The story empathizes people like the check out man, stuck in a class of life where other people are embarrassed to be with you, or they embarrass you because they are in a higher class than you. In this video, John talks about how he comes about showing which side of the story to empathize, the protagonist or the antagonist.
2. It is said in the video that “A&P” is a very American story. This is true because it was set in a time where social classes were divided and herring was 49 cents a jar. “A&P” also was considered and American short story because within the small details of the story, it was clear that it was placed in America. The fancy herring snacks were a key detail in the story that showed it was a time in America.
3. In this story, women are viewed to be very reserved and conservative, except at the beach. John Updike recalls once seeing a woman in a supermarket and he was very shocked at seeing that. He said that he wouldn’t have thought twice about it if she was at the beach. The notion of public nakedness was where his story had started. Updike reveals Sammy through his ideas of girls because as before said; it was a time where women had to cover their shoulders in order to be well respected.
4. Sammy’s view of society is that he knows there are social divides in the classes of wealth. When Sammy quit from his job he said “we weren’t embarrassing them, they were embarrassing us,” was the epiphany for me. I realized that Sammy knew he had less money than the girls and that there was a huge social divide between them. He compares their fancy herring snacks and drinks that look like water with olives and mints in them to his comic strip cups and less appetizing snacks held at a get-together.
5. I believe that Sammy is a hero by quitting his job. It shows the reader that although there is a social divide between the girls and the people working at the A&P, he puts aside the differences they have and stand up for the girls and what they stand for. I also believe that he is a hero because women in this time period weren’t as well respected as they are today, and didn’t serve a big role in life. For a boy to stand up for a bunch of girls is being a hero. Although he didn’t save their lives, he did something that the girls and his manager will never forget.
6. When Lengel tells Sammy that he is going to regret quitting his job, I think that he means that Sammy and his family desperately need the money that Sammy is getting from working at this store. I think that Sammy will most likely regret quitting, but in the end, he had a purpose to quitting and that was to prove a point to Lengel so I think Sammy will be satisfied with his decision to quit working at the A&P.
7. I think that Sammy’s life is going to be hard because being in a low class; his family relied on the income he brought in from working at the store. Although it may be hard for Sammy to find a new job, quitting his job was what he had to do to get the message across about setting differences aside and helping each other out.
8. By the end of the story, Sammy learns that sometimes you need to sacrifice things in life that may have an importance to you in order to receive the outcome that you want to see.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOlivia,
DeleteIt's really interesting that you believe Sammy is a hero. I like how you argued that he stood up for the girls, even when they weren't really respected back then. Great Job!
Sammy is a hero!! He is courageous, and he stood up for what he believed in, even if no one stood with him. I agree with you completely on #5
Delete1. Updike is empathizing Sammy's feelings with the girls. He did what he thought was right to say something to Lengel and not just let the girls get screamed at. Lengels feelings were that he did not think it was okay for the girls to walked in dressed like that so, he did what he thought was right.
ReplyDelete2. A&P was said to be very American. That could probably mean that there are many different people in America that do strange things (like walk into a mini mart only wearing a bathing suit) than other parts of the world. Also that American people are some what heavier than other people in different parts of the world and, two of the girls that walked in were heavy.
3.Women are viewed in this story as inappropriate because they just walked into a mini mart with barley anything on. One stereotype in this story is that Sammy might think there hot right away because there pretty much not wearing anything.. But, sometimes guys don't think girls are "hot" right away because of what there wearing. Updike shows that Sammy is a typical teenage boy that has his eyes on girls that he think are attractive right away.
4. Sammy looks onto society as in different classes. For example, he said at a party his parents would serve lemonade and he sees that the girls are buying herrin snacks. So, he thinks that if they were at a party it would be fancy with servers and cocktails.
5. I think Sammy is a hero because he stuck up for the girls that were in there. The manager Lengel was yelling at the girls for being inappropriate for coming into the store dressed like that, So, Sammy stuck up for them buy telling Lengel there not doing anything wrong, Unfortunately Sammy lost his job for doing a good thing for other people.
6. Sammy's life is going to be hard because he just lost his job and it might be hard to find another one.
7. Sammy learns that he did not do any good for himself by talking back to his boss and sticking up for the girls.
Grace, I agree with your answers to #6 and #7. Sammy got his job because of his parents and yes, it's going to be hard for him to find another. For #7 I agree because he only lost his job.
Delete1. Updike was sympathizing with the girls in the story. We know this because Sammy sympathizes with girls and the story is told from Sammy's point of view.
ReplyDelete2. "A&P" could be considered American for a variety of reasons. First, it embodies American life at the time in America. It takes place at your typical American supermarket. Also, there were class differences in society at that time and there are very obvious class variations in the story as well. For example, I believe that the girls most likely understood that it would be inappropriate for them to wear nothing other than their bathing suits inside the supermarket. Yet, the girls are very nonchalant about breaking the rules. This is most likely because they believe that they are superior to the employees of the supermarket due to their differences in class.
3. Women are viewed in two different ways in this story. Sammy seems to admire the girls and look up to them. He is unable to stop looking at them with awe. He demonstrates respect for the girls by sticking up for them. But, he also has an adolescent and rude outlook towards the girls. This is prevalent when he questions whether or not girls even have brains.
4. Sammy looks at the world from various perspectives. He sees the world through the eyes of a young boy. He also then places himself in the girls shoes, so much so that he is seeing the world through their point of view. He is extremely concerned that the girls are being embarrassed by Lengel because he is looking from their point of view. Sammy also recognizes that there are numerous social classes and that he has much less money than the girls. For example,Sammy imagines “Quennie’s” living room during a party. He imagines her snazzy herring snacks and drinks and then goes on to compare it to a party at his house consisting of cheap beer served out of comic strip cups.
5. I do not think that Sammy was the hero in this situation, although he wishes that he was. It is admirable that Sammy stood up for what he thought was right and tried to tell Lengel to let the girls check out. This is very special because most men did not respect girls in this time period and for a 19 year old boy to quit his job in honor of some girls is very rare and courageous. However, his efforts were completely ineffective and unsuccessful. Therefore, he is not a hero.
6. Lengel says to Sammy, "You're going to feel this for the rest of your life". This is very true because Sammy's job at the supermarket was most likely his primary career path. When he is older he may not be as successful as he could have been if he had not quit his job at the supermarket.
7. Sammy's life is going to be very hard because he quit his job. Sammy clearly did not go to college and his job at the supermarket was probably going to be his career for the rest of his life. He got his job at the supermarket through connections with his parents and the manager. It is obvious that finding a new job will be a challenge. Also, Sammy will have to face his parents who will be furious that he quit since they are friends with Lengel.
8. At the end of the story Sammy learns that he did not truly achieve or accomplish anything at all. He recognizes that he no longer has a job simply because of a decision that he made in the heat of the moment. Plus, he was unable to change anything about the situation and he did not even speak with the girls.
I would agree with the way that you stated number four. It was a well thought out argument!
Delete1. During the short story, A&P, we see how Sammy empathizes the girls because he believes Lengel is being unreasonable and treating them unfairly. His biased opinion in the girl's favor is based on how they look, not the situation, which is not decent to Lengel.
ReplyDelete2. A&P is considered a story of American life because of how it shows the separation of the classes. The girls are just too good for Lengel and the store, so they feel free to break the rules and stand up and argue to back up their point. They do not own the store and are not free to do whatever, whenever, but their social status and how they were raised, makes them feel superior.
3. In this story, the women are viewed as a distraction from the day. They three girls are analyzed, judged and graded for how they look (The 'chunky' one, the 'tall' one, and the 'queen' one). Within a few minutes of walking in, the girls are stereotyped by their looks. There are other stereotypes in the story also like "Boy tries to please girl" and like Molly said, "Boy chases girl." Updike reveals Sammy is a typical nineteen year old boy who wants to impress a group a girls which is normal for a boy around his age.
4. Sammy has a very negative look on society and considers all the shoppers sheep, comparing them to "scared pigs in a chute" because they all are just followers. He also is one to paint pictures in his head as we see when the girls are buying the Herring Snacks and he is brought into a world with finely dressed people and expensive wines.
5. Sammy is not a hero, even though he may believe he is. By quitting his job, he lost the money he was being payed and didn't even get to pursue the girls. In the end it was a lose-lose for Sammy.
6. I think Sammy will feel regret. It is obvious that his family doesn't live lavishly or have much money, and the extra few dollars being supplied by him from A&P, helped them get along. Without the job, Sammy will either have to rely on his parents to make enough money for all of them or get a different job, that probably is much worse. Sammy understands what he has done after the fact and has a pit in his stomach of regret.
7. Sammy's life is going to get so much harder, because he will have to find a new job to support himself and it will mostly likely be much worse.
8. By the end of the story, Sammy has learned that he was fruitless and stupid to give up his job to support the girls when they were the wrongdoers. Now he is forced to try to find a new job if he can find one at all.
Anabelle-
DeleteI really liked how you described the female stereotypes present in the novel. I did not even think about how the way the girls' appearances were described can be seen as stereotypical. I agree!
1. In the story, A&P, Sammy is empathizing with the girls because he knows that Lengel was not being reasonable with the girls' situation. It is based off of opinion because of the different character that we would be empathizing. If we were empathizing Lengel, the story would be different. This relates because John Updike says he tries to empathize with every character he writes about.
ReplyDelete2. This story would be considered American because of the distinct class difference. It shows that the girls could easily break the rules and fight against Lengel. They feel as if they can do what they want and when they want, which makes the story seem more American.
3. In this story, women are viewed as if they feel like they can do whatever they want. There are many stereotypes because they are all judged by their appearance immediately. They are considered rude for walking into the supermarket with only bathing suits, while they were just trying to do a mom a favor. Sammy seems as if he is the boy who gets excited to see three good looking girls walk into his supermarket when he doesn't expect it.
4. Sammy's view on society would be based of the typical classes. A party for his family would be some lemonade and on special occasions they would have beer. He thinks the girls would have cocktails and servers if they were to have a party.
5. I do not think Sammy is a hero because he didn't affect any thing or didn't impact anyone. The girls could not have cared less that he quit because of what Lengel did. Although, he did do a good deed by standing up for the girls when he knew it was the best thing to do.
6. I think Lengel thinks Sammys life will be hard knowing he quit a reasonably good job, for no good reason. I think he understands what Lengel was talking about because one day he must realize that what he did wasn't worth losing a job.
7. His life will be hard knowing he could have kept his job and continued getting money for him and his family, but he chose not to because of three girls that caught his eye one day in the supermarket.
8. By the end of the story, Sammy learned that he was stupid enough to give up his job for three girls that he thought were being ganged up on.
1. In A&P, Sammy sympathizes with the girls becuase he thinks it was wrong for Lengel to humiliate them for wearing only bathing suits.
ReplyDelete2. A&P is considered a story of American life mainly due to the seperation of classes. The girls are too good for the store, so they don't listen to the rules. Also, the location is in an everyday American grocery store.
3. In this story, girls are viewed as a distraction, and they are also stereotyped. Sammy proves to be a typical teenage boy by trying to impress the ladies.
4. Sammy looks at the world in different classes. For example, when "Queenie" says she came in to buy Herring Snacks, Sammy thinks of her living in a nice home, having a party with rich, high class people.
5. Sammy thinks he is a hero for standing up for the girls, but he wasn't thinking it all the way through and was just trying to impress them. He threw away a perfectly good opportunity to get money, and he didn't even catch up to the girls. It was all for nothing.
6. I think Sammy will regret quitting because he and his family need the money. As he said when comparing himself to "Queenie" he isn't rich and could use some extra cash.
7. Sammy's life is going to get harder because he doesn't have a job anymore, and could be some time before he gets another.
8. By the end of the story, Sammy learned that quitting was a mistake. He left because he wanted to stand up for the girls and impress them, but they he didn't even talk to them. Also, Sammy couldn't even help the situation in the first place.
1. In A&P, Updike empathizes with the girls in the story through the perspective of the main character, Sammy. He achieves this by going into detail about Sammy's thoughts and reactions to the event involving the girls. For example, his empathy for the girls' embarrasment caused him to act in a specific way, which ultimately ends with him losing his job.
ReplyDelete2. Not only does this story take place in America itself, but it also takes place in a well-known supermarket from this specific time period, which in a way gives us insight into the economical and social behavior of Americans. Even though Sammy's decision to quit his job was impulsive and spontaneous, it could resemble America in that Americans have the right to stand up for what they believe. In this case Sammy was standing up for the innocent girls.
3. Women are definetly not seen as equal to men in this story, which is shown through various stereotypes. The fact that Sammy assumes their is a so-called "Queen" of the bunch can act as a stereotype. Another stereotype that is shown in the novel is that women lack the inteligence of men. Sammy makes a statement in the beginning of the novel about the small size of the female brain. The way he scrutinizes the physical appearance of the women is degrading and sexist, yet he proves that he does respect women as people at the end of the novel when he empathizes with them while they were being scolded by Lengel. With this evidence, I conclude that Sammy is no different then other boys his age in that he does not treat women the same as men, but the way he empathizes with them shows he cares for them in an undefineable way.
4. Sammy views society as a group of the same. When he looks around the grocery store he sees the same bunch of "sheep" doing the same things every day. But the story provides information on his cash register buddy, which makes me believe he is willing to view each individual human as a unique being when he makes an effort to communicate with them. Although, this does not apply to a pretty girl, as she will always a person-of-interest in his mind.
5. Sammy can be described as a hero, but he can also be described as someone resembling a villain. He is a hero in that he is willing to standup for the girls, but his intentions on why he stood up for them is the deciding factor of whether or not he truly is a hero. He could have been justifying his boss's cruel behavior, even though it came with a sacrifice, or he could have been looking for a date next Friday.
6. When Lengel says this, he probably means the lack of income Sammy's family is going to recieve because of his rash behavior. I think that Sammy does feel this because of the regretful and somber way he tells the story.
7. Sammy makes it clear that his family is not very wealthy when he makes the comparison between his imagination of "The Queen's" family and his own. Without this job , Sammy might not earn the extra money his family needs and in return he might recieve the anger of his parents and/or the financial effect his decision has on his life.
8. By the end of this story, Sammy learns to control his actions because he might create a foolish decision that results in a negative outcome.
hahah i liked your response to #5, i didn't really think of him as trying to suck up to the girls simply because they weren't even there to see him quit, but you are right because he did try to find them
Delete1. Updike's writing style is very colloquial in the story, so it adds to the suspension of disbelief that is created in the story. He attempts to make the readers sympathize with each character a little throughout the reading. He perhaps allows the readers to empathize with Sammy the most.
ReplyDelete2. The story "A&P" is described as a "very American" kind of story because it reflects the social differences of the American class system as well as the fight between the "everyday" working American (Sammy in this case) and the upper management, "corporate" positions (shown as Lengel).
3. Women are viewed in multiple lights in the story. You can look at the women from Sammy's perspective, as physically attractive but also requiring a "hero" to defend them. Or perhaps you can look at the girls through Lengal's perspective, as a group of rebellious teenagers who come into his store and attempt to make a mockery of it. Although the girls are pretty stereotypical, it should not matter as the importance of the story is derived from how Sammy treats them.
4. Sammy, much like Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye, has a cynical view of the world and expresses distaste for much of what happens in the story, ranging from his job as a whole to his store manager.
5. In Sammy's (and perhaps Holden's) eyes, he has performed the "heroic" act by, in Holden's words, not being a phony. He stuck true to what he believed, and even if he regretted it later, he followed through with his ideas. This makes him a hero, even if it's a hesitant one.
6. When Lengel states that Sammy will "feel this for the rest of your life," he is referring to Sammy quitting his job as a cashier. Lengel, more importantly, is trying to instill in Sammy's head that standing up for what he felt was right was the wrong thing to do, and that he will regret that mistake. However, I do not think that Sammy feels the same way. He shows very little emotion after looking back at Lengel doing Sammy's job at the register, so I feel as though Sammy is still proud of what he did to a degree.
7. Sammy's life will be challenging not because he will have to find another job, although that will be difficult, but because he has opened up a new way of thinking for his future. He now has to worry about class distinctions as well as wondering if standing up for someone is the right thing to do after all.
8. Sammy has not learned anything by the end of the story, except for the idea that he should think about every choice.
I really like the way you compared Sammy to Holden Caulfield. However, I also think it's important to mention how they are different- I believe that Holden's view stem from pure cynicism, while Sammy's view stems from his understanding of class difference. I also like the way you compared Lengal's view of the girls to Sammy's.
Delete1. John Updike mentioned that he always tries to bring empathy into his writing, and we see this through the characters of the girls in “A&P”. Sammy, the main character of the short story and whose viewpoint the readers are guided by, sympathizes with them, inciting that same feeling for us.
ReplyDelete2.“A&P” portrays itself as a classic American story because it makes the fine details of that time period very visible, such as the cheap cost of the herring snacks, supported by the setting of the small town with the local grocery store. It also defines the varying society standings between Sammy and his coworkers, and the girls.
3. Women are viewed in “A&P” just as they were in the mid 20th century- expected to be conventional by keeping a certain subtlety to their feminine appearance. The most obvious stereotype to me is the gawking reaction of a younger man to a female’s looks. Updike reveals that Sammy follows suit with this standard, and that he is very much an adolescent whose judgements and impressions are typical for his context.
4. Sammy’s view of society is black and white in connection to the differences in class. His imagination quickly jumps to an image of the “Queenie” and her parents in the elite lifestyle, then returns to compare his modest life with lemonade and cheap beer. He sees this all simply from a single purchase. Sammy is also very frank with himself in realizing that life will be hard for him, as he says after he quits his job. He is realistic in the sense that he does not see himself as an elite, and undertakes that recognition.
5. I do no think that Sammy was heroic in this short story. I think that he should not have given up his job on such an erratic decision. The girls do not know of his actions, in return helping no one. He even admits that this will make his life tougher, and will let down his parents. Although, this video does mention that Sammy may have quit to take a bigger step into the world and to make a statement against the authority figure, and is simply hiding behind the facade of the girls. I like this interpretation because Sammy then has a legitimate reasoning for his actions.
6. I think that Lengel says this as a last warning, as he understands that Sammy, who has not gone to college, has few job opportunities other than the A&P store. In the moment, Sammy does not feel any pressure of regret or of the consequences, as he continued to leave his job. There is a very good chance that Sammy will be facing that feeling when he tells his parents, and when he goes in search for Lengel’s line perhaps could be put in as a foreshadow to Sammy’s feelings by Updike, but we will never know because the story ends.
7. Sammy’s life will be difficult because he never attended college, so his career options will most likely be limited, especially in the small town where he lives. He will have to face these consequences, as it was his reasoning that lost him the job. He will also have to live with his decision, which will prove to be painful if his life truly does becomes tougher.
8.By the end, I think that Sammy effectively learned how to stand up to authority and to take strides in different directions, even if he may have stepped incorrectly. This is an important skill in life, for you become capable of being verbal about your true needs and wants.
1. Updike is empathizing with the girls in this story. Though Sammy finds them peculiar, they are not causing any sort of a disturbance. These girls are perfectly innocent, but Lengel doesn't see it that way. When Sammy quits at the end, it shows that he is standing up for the girls who had done no wrong, and that he empathizes with them.
ReplyDelete2. "A & P" displays that Americans have and had complete freedom. They had the freedom to walk half-naked into a crowded supermarket; embarrass people in a public place, regardless of class; stand up to their superiors; and stand for what they believe in.
3. Girls are viewed as objects of entertainment, not necessarily people. As Sammy says, "Do girls really have a mind at all, or is it just like a bee buzzing in a jar?". He does not respect them, but enjoys ogling at Queeny. Updike reveals that Sammy is just like any teenage boy, he likes seeing girls and thinking about them. Yet, the way Sammy quits at the end of the story shows that he is chivalrous, and he actually does care about how others feel, even girls.
4. Sammy knows that social classes are a large part of society. When he compares Queeny's family, who have fancy parties with fancy herring snacks and bow ties, to his family, who has lemonade and Schiltz, it shows that he knows how different these two groups of people are.
5. Yes, Sammy is a hero, because he stood up for people who had a hard time standing up for themselves. He sacrifices his whole future just to help some girls he didn't even know. That large sacrifice, however petty the cause, makes Sammy a hero.
6. Sammy is going to feel stupid for the rest of his life. He will feel stupid because he knows that he just gave up his only legitimate opportunity for a career, considering how small the town was, and how he didn't go to college (as far as we know). He will also feel the guilt of letting down his boss and his parents, which I think is what Lengel was talking about. Sammy knew what Lengel meant, and he feels guilty and ignorant, but he bravely sticks with his decision to quit.
7. Sammy's life will be hard because he will have the disappointment of his parents hanging over him for the rest of his life. As I said in the last question, he has basically no other chance for a good career. Poverty, guilt, and disappointment will hit Sammy pretty hard.
8. Sammy learned that he was stupid to quit, only to try and impress 3 girls who didn't even know him.
1. How does this relate to "A&P" With whom is he empathizing in the story?
ReplyDeleteThis directly results to "A&P" in terms of how he crafted his protagonist, Sammy. In this story, he is empathizing with the lower class, American public. By seeing Sammy's point of view, we realize the small range options for the future made available to him, simply because of the place he lives and his class.
2. Much of "A&P"'s smaller details suggest a plot line deeply imbedded within the everyday lives of American's of that particular time period. Such details include the general setting (the A&P), the typical "small town," and as Allegra Goodman said, the herring snacks costing 49 cents.
3. Women in this story are viewed in a very aesthetic sense, as none of the minds or ideas are revealed about the girls, as they are observed from a distance. There are definitely stereotypes involved, but they are forgivable coming from the point of view of Sammy, as stereotypes are virtually all Sammy knows about women; he can only make judgements on them based on what he already knows and understands. Updike reveal's Sammy's dominant qualities- naïvety and chivalry through his reaction of quitting his job on the spot after Lengel "dishonored" them. He is both naïve, because he acts solely on his dominant emotion rather than thinking about his long term future, and chivalrous because he simply wants to defend to honor of the girls who provided a beautiful spectacle to distract him from his dreary job,
4. It is evident that Sammy certainly acknowledges the class system, as it even elevates the girls to an even higher level.When Lengel confronts the girls about their indecency, "putting them in their place," Sammy is, in a way, offended that Lengel would dare to embarrass the beautiful, upper class girls that came into the store. This is essentially what causes him to quit his job in order to be the girls' hero.
5. Sammy's status of "hero" depends mostly on whose point of view this is considered from. It is evident that Lengel considers him simply a foolish kid who does not understand the gravity of his actions. However. Sammy himself believes himself to be doing a rather chivalrous deed be defending these girls, attempting to be their hero.
6.Sammy is probably going to be haunted by the fact that he threw away his career in order to pursue something that really had no future for him. Though the feeling is not immediate, it is inevitably something he will feel for the rest of his life, considering that the career options in his small town are extremely limited.
7. Sammy's life is going to be hard, simply because he threw away his future and his career for a false cause. His low class and small towns make other career options limited; therefore, his future has little direction.
8. Though one cannot be sure if Sammy has learned things which he will apply to his future, one would think that Sammy would begin to understand that his actions have gravity, and that things as valuable and delicate as his life and career options should not be sacrificed for a cause in which he has no future.
Your answer to number two really stood out to me. I hadn't thought of how everything in the setting represented the coming together of so many of the aspects of American life at the time.
Delete1. In the video John Updike speaks about how he writes characters different than he is and likes to find the greatest realism in his characters. In "A&P" Updike empathizes with Sammy as the worker who is bored but immediately perks up when some scantily clad girls walk in the door.
ReplyDelete2. "A&P" is a story about the American life at the time because it puts together many aspects of society. The register worker working his boring job alongside the carefree life of the girls, Sammy quitting on an impulse decision, and the older manager telling him that he would regret all show contrast and diversity in the lives of all these people happening at the same time.
3. Sammy mostly views the girls in the A&P like objects. This one is chubby, that one is tall; this one is the leader, those are just the followers. Sammy even compares their brains to "a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar."
4. Sammy's view of society is cynical. When he sees the tall girl, he immediately marks her as the type that "never quite makes it... which is why [other girls] like her so much." When the girls come to the register buy the herring, he conjures up a scene where people are living in luxury, while he has to live with his lemonade and cheap beer.
5. Sammy is a hero, but only to himself. A hero is someone who is able to push through adversity and make sacrifices, but Sammy only made a sacrifice to satisfy his own sense of justice.
6. When Lengel said this he probably meant Sammy would feel the regret from making the decision to quit for such a small reason and on so little thought. Sammy would think back feel how he felt when he decided to quit and decide it was not worth it.
7. Sammy's life will be hard because of his attitude towards little things that make him upset. If Sammy decides to quit every time a moral dilemma like the one in this story comes up, he will never get anything done.
8. At the end of the story, when he looks back in the window and his stomach falls, he realizes the mistake he made when he was caught up in the moment of Lengel admonishing the girls. He learns that he shouldn't make large decisions like quitting jobs on an impulse, on the spot.