Sammy is the nineteen year old narrator of John Updike’s short story “A&P,” who works at a local A & P grocery store as a cashier. The focus of this short story is Sammy’s particular experience when three young girls enter the grocery store one summer afternoon dressed in nothing but two piece bathing suits. Most of this short story revolves around how Sammy views these three girls and what he thinks about them. A lot is revealed about Sammy’s personal character from way he analyzes and observes the girls and even his other patrons. Sammy does not waste much time in analyzing all three girls and their unique traits, in fact, he is rather crude in the way he analyzes them. It becomes obvious that Sammy is a careless young man, and his actions and the way he narrates the story might lead some readers to believe that he a bit ill-mannered. There are many different words that can be used to analyze Sammy’s character, but the purpose of this paper is to choose three words that best describe Sammy and support these words with evidence from the story.
The first word that perhaps best describes Sammy is “ill-mannered” and he is somewhat ill-mannered. From the moment those three young girls clad in bathing suits enter the grocery store, Sammy’s attitude towards them seems chauvinistic and his thoughts about them are quite crude. From the moment they step foot into the store, he begins examining and inspecting the girls scrupulously and every inch of their physical appearance is judged by him. In fact, he actually makes up names for the three girls from judging their physical appearance or the way they are dressed and addresses them within his mind accordingly. For instance, he refers to one of the three girls as “the plump one in plaid, that I liked better from the back -- a really sweet can” (Updike). It is very demeaning of Sammy to think that the girl’s behind is more attractive than her face or appearance from the front. Along with thinking in a seemingly ill-mannered way, Sammy’s thoughts also seem a bit sexist. For instance, when the girl he has named “Queenie” pulls out money from the top of her bathing suit, Sammy narrates that the money came from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla I had ever known"(Updike).
Another word that can be used to best describe Sammy is “immature” and Sammy is indeed immature. While there are obvious examples throughout the story that prove Sammy’s immature, subtle clues of the fact that Sammy is an immature young man are also provided by Updike. As Sammy walks through the door after quitting his job at the store, he mentions that he is dressed “in [his] white shirt that [his] mother ironed the night before” (Updike). This shows that his mother is still taking care of him. As a nineteen year old young man, Sammy is more than capable of ironing his clothes, yet his mother ironed his clothes for him. Moreover, as the story nears its end while Sammy is quitting, he shows his immaturity by being unable to explain himself or why he is quitting. Instead, he just light-mindedly quotes a comical phrase, “Fiddle-de-doo” (Updike), claiming that it is his grandmother’s saying. What Sammy did was childish. However, then again, Sammy actually experiences the “initiation into maturity” (Updike) maybe for the first time, where he questions his old way of life and places his outlook for the future.
Perhaps, the most improbable word that could be used to describe Sammy would be “principled.” Many would beg to differ, and no doubt, Sammy is careless and ill-mannered, but he also appears firm and principled. When Lengel, the manager of the grocery store, scolds the young girls, Sammy seems to get upset, and he makes the decision to quit immediately without thinking twice. He is well aware that if he quits it will upset his parents, but he does not sway from his decision. Lengel even informs him that he doesn’t “want to do this to your Mom and Dad,” and Sammy replies that “It’s true, [he doesn’t]. But it seems to [him] that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it” (Updike), and he does. This shows the rigid nature of Sammy that he does not think twice once he has set his mind on something. Lengel tries to convince him that he does not know what he is saying, but Sammy calmly replies, “I know you don’t [] But I do” (Updike).
As mentioned, many other words could be used to describe Sammy, the protagonist of John Updike’s short story “A&P.” In fact, different readers might have their own individual opinions and views about Sammy. Some might say that he was careless and foolish, others might say that was selfish for quitting, not thinking about his parents, and that his decision was a mistake. Indeed, he did it for the girls and they just left without paying attention, so his effort was in vain. Yet, he realizes “how hard the world was going to be to [him] hereafter,” which shows that he is transitioning to maturity. The purpose of this paper was to use three words that best describe Sammy, and “immature,” “ill-mannered” and “principled” seem to do that quite well, as the evidence presented suggests.
Works Cited
Updike, John . "A&P." tiger-town.com. TIGER-TOWN. Web. 9 Dec 2012.
