Better Decisions, Better Life Essay

John Updike, who is jazzn for his smart as a whip prose style and the sensual details in his stories, takes everyday tasks and gives a complete new perspective to it. Like in A&P, which is a narrative from the perspective of a nineteen-year-old boy working in the impediment line. even off though Sammy is just an average boy, nearlything significant happens that day at the grocery w arehousing. The story revolves around Sammys journey from adolescence to adulthood and his submission from the job at the grocery insert marks the major spay. Even though Sammys conscience disagrees with his decision, his need to escape the mo nonony of his invigoration drives him to take it. The author uses various symbols to present a gradual proficiency into Sammys decision in the end.As a teenage boy in a town in Boston in the 60s, Sammy did non have ofttimes going on for himself his responsibility was to earn some money to manage the household expenses. For his he had to work at the gro cery store. His co-worker Stokesie, who is only three years older than him, is married and has cardinal children. He hopes to become the manager of the grocery store and is the only new(prenominal) co-worker mentioned in the story. Sammy obviously feels a strong connection with Stokesie, as they both eye the bikini clad girls together. Also, he mentions that the only battle he can tell between Stokesie and himself is the number of years they are apart (Updike 531). tho from the tone in which Sammy talks about Stokesie, it is low-cal to see that he does non respect his co-worker as much. alternatively he feels as though he is looking into a reverberate of the future and he lives a life similar to Stokesies. Updikes objective was to portray Stokesie as the future reflection of Sammy.Although when the girls enter the grocery store dressed skimpily, they present Sammy with a whole new world. Sammy says you never know for sure how girls minds work, instead he imagines it to be a dinky buzz like a bee in a glass excite (Updike 530). He observes little details about any of these girls and ranks them on the rear end of his perception. The two girls he gives the position of followers were not given much thought, except for their swim suit colors and their build. still, the girl that he rank as the leader, or the Queenie, received most of his attention. Other than the color of her pig and bikini, he mentions how in that location was nothing between the screen of the suit and the top of her head except just her (Updike 530). Also, he notices that she held her head so gritty that her neck looked stretched, save he did not mind that because that meant the more than of her there was (Updike 530). This shows that Sammy is extremely intrigued by the girls, especially Queenie, that the more he could examine her, the more satisfied he would be. She was something different from his everyday experiences.The colors described are significant to the theme of the story. The girls were described to be wearing plaid green, quick green and beige bikinis (Updike 529,530). They are presented as a contrast to the bleak colors of the store. These bright colors represent a colorful and little-known province. Also, the floor of the grocery store is a checkerboard green-and-cream. Even though these colors are close to the colors of the girls bathing suits, the checkerboard grade dissolves the radiance of these colors against the curiosity in the girls itself. This was a new fact in Sammys life.After all, a grocery store check-out shop assistant does a job such as this mostly out of necessity. obviously Sammy has grown tired of rude customers. He describes one elderly feminine customer as a witch about fifty with rascal on her cheekbones and no eyebrows (Updike 529) when she caught him swiping one of her items twice. Sammy felt as though it merry her to correct him. He imagines people who come shopping at A&P to be sad souls. He describes s ome other female customers as houseslaves in pin curlers (Updike 531). Also, he designates the customers at the grocery store sheeps while narrating the story. He seems to address the herd mentality that people die hard to have to stick together when theres trouble. Clearly, he doesnt look up to this cowardly behavior. He complains about this since the bloodline of the story. However in the end he changes this attitude.Not only the customers and Stokesie, but Sammy does not respect the manager either. Although he has never been vocal about it, Sammy mocks Lengel in his head and accuses him of hiding behind the door labeled Manager all day (Updike 532).This shows Lengels gutless personality. When Lengel walks in on the girls checking out, he asserts his dresser and lets them know that they must dress appropriately in the store (Updike 532). It was the travel straw for Sammy and he quits his job, even after Lengel warns him about it (Updike 533). Lengels warning further shows tha t he has always taken the safer way and thats why he has never been able to stand up for his beliefs. Sammy did not want to be someone like Lengel, so he decides to assault free.When Sammy stands up for the girls, a part of him did expect some appreciation from them. But the underlying reason is much bigger than a simple convey you. It is about his freedom from the routine lifestyle that he was getting employ to. Continuing the life he had would eventually lead to the same prostrate life that Stokesie and Lengel had. Also, Sammys course of action changes through the story. In the beginning he would complain about the people he came across and worked with, but he had not ever taken any step to change that. Quitting the job was the major step that would change his life. Although, he may not have a stable job anymore, this decision has definitely make him a better person.Work CitedUpdike, John. A&P. 1961. Approaching Literature authorship + Reading + Thinking. Ed. PeterSchakel and Jack Ridl. 2nd ed. Boston Bedford, 2008. 529-534. Print.