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The book, A& P is known to depict a number of themes in so far as the world of power, struggles and fame is concerned. From the moment the two girls set foot in A&P, we see them attract the gaze of every man who fall prey for their sexual display, a theme that could well be demonstrated by their power of sexual attraction to the opposite sex. In as much as the girls try to make their point of nonchalance, they are aware of the men who track their every step. Their being in position of power is thus depicted by the girls not acknowledging the men’s interests in them. To illustrate this, the girls are able to inspire affection and desire but do not in any way subject or succumb to it. Though the ladies seem to come from low social statuses, they thrive in their strategies that seem to work so well on employees at the A&P stands. More baffling is the fact that they are able to get the better of the unyielding Lengel who seems to express some shreds of tenderness and extent of interest.
We however get to note that Lengel discovers the girls’ strategy and attempts to discredit them through lessening their powers by so blatantly confronting them while calling on their unbecoming behavior. He goes ahead and reminds them that they are pretty aware of their inappropriate attire while telling them off that the place they were at was far from the beach. One of the ladies, Queenie, who appears to boast of more success than the other, claims that they are decent and that it, is Lengel who seems to have lost his cool.
Much as it depicts Lengel discrediting the girls, it is apparent that the girls call the shots in this section of the book, (A&P, pages 164-168). They have inspired the men to have piggish actions, staring at the girls while throwing lewd comments at one another, their responses seemingly triggered by their sexual hormones.
The girls are in bathing suits as a show of their disregard of the social norms that guide the small town. Theirs is to demonstrate their deliberate provocations and their attempts to get men they come across. The use of A&P as a title of this book is in reference to the post American war periods where consumer goods flooded the market and the period in which people perfected the art of advertisement.
Conclusively, there is the prowess of observing and gleaning insights in the book. When Sammy is reprimanded for the mistake he commits, Sammy is quick to ridicule the woman dubbing her a with, a thought that he comes to seem sorry for as he realizes that he has an internal problem that he must sort out as a matter of urgency.
References
McFarland, R. E. (1983). Updike and the Critics: Reflections on" A&P". Studies in Short Fiction, 20(2), 95.
Saldivar, T. (1997). The art of John Updike's" A&P". Studies in Short Fiction, 34(2), 215.
