Conformity In A & P

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John Updike is an American writer who is known for depicting typical situations within middle-class, small-town life(Britannica). He wrote “A&P” to share a message about conformity in American society. In summary, John Updike uses a scene to express the thoughts and feelings of being “on the fence” about something. This is depicted by the scenario in which Sammy had to decide whether he was going to conform to society, or break the social norm. He could either continue his job to make an income and be an adult, or quit the low-income job and continue “being a child” under his parents’ financial support. The story begins when three girls walked into the store where Sammy was employed. Both an underlying sexual desire for the three girls and the building realization that he did not want to work at A&P forever led him to take “heroic” action upon watching a confrontation between the girls and his manager. Throughout the story, John Updike used satire and the themes of “youth” and “desire” to show how the …show more content…
The two cashiers watched the girls and both mocked the girls in a sexual way when Sammy admitted, “Stokesie's married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that's the only difference. He's twenty-two, and I was nineteen this April”(Updike). This shows that the boys are close in age, yet portrays that Stokesie is stuck working at A&P while Sammy still has a chance to go out and do something else with his life since he is not settled down; it emphasizes Sammy’s “youth”. It also provides contrast by showing that Sammy is single as opposed to being “tied down” like Stokesie and hints at Sammy’s desire toward the girls. Sammy mentioning that Stokesie is married subtly shows how Sammy justifies his desire for the girls, since he is young and

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