An Ounce Of Cure Analysis

Words: 631
Pages: 3

Teenagers in the 1960’s chose to make a different choice about their lives than what was

expected of them, because they knew that society needed to change. Despite the consequences,

they rebelled from social conformity through art and literature, such as in the short stories A&P

and An Ounce of Cure. Because of their persistent movement, we are able to choose our own

paths in life today, without social persecution.

Prior to and during the 1960’s, those who strayed from what was considered a “normal”

path in life were treated harshly be society. Consequences of this nonconformity were job loss,

shunning from one’s community, and a harder life in general. In A&P, Sammy feels the need to

stand up for the bikini-clad girls who were shunned, but his boss threatens him by saying
…show more content…
In An Ounce of Cure, the narrator gets caught

drinking alcohol once, and her reputation is ruined. The narrator says, “…my clients melted

away like that last April snow.... (Munro 23)”. She loses her babysitting clients, is made fun of in

school, and is still affected years after high school. Adolescents at this time knew that this type

of shaming was wrong, and that someone needed to make a change.

With this knowledge, they made a choice to stand up against the unfair treatment of not

just them, but every individual before them who was relegated to a life they didn’t want. They all

made a choice not to conform, such as Sammy and the girls did in A&P. They instead rebelled

from conformity that authority figures demanded of them. The girls who stroll around the store

show their defiance through their choice of dressing, which is deemed inappropriate by their

Sidney Ashton