Perception In John Updike's A & P

John Updike’s 1961 short story “A&P” is about a boy named Sammy who works at a grocery store called the A&P. Sammy lives in a town where exciting events are a rare occurrence, and he does not like living there. He wishes he had the courage to leave this town behind and live a happy life. While Sammy is working, three girls come into the store wearing only their bathing suits, which is uncommon for this small town. Sammy watches them very closely the entire time they are in the store, and when it comes time for them to check out, they go to his register. The manager comes over to the girls and questions them about why they are wearing bathing suits and he tells them it is against the stores policy. Sammy then quits his job, and the girls, ignoring …show more content…
He assumes that the three girls that walk into the A&P are these type of people, based on his critical perception of their appearances. He watches them extremely closely as they walk throughout the store. Every move they make, Sammy is watching and examining them. Initially, Sammy bases his opinions purely on their appearances and he is extremely judgmental. Sammy is drawn more to the girl that appears to be the leader of the group, whom he refers to as Queenie. He thinks things about her such as, “she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs” and “I mean, it was more than pretty.” (18). The reason the girls came into the store was to get some herring snacks for Queenie’s mother. When Sammy hears this, he immediately pictures what a small party or get together would look like for this girl, imagining, “Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks […] and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them” (20). He assumes that the party would be sophisticated and mature while his family would be drinking out of cups with cheap sayings stenciled on them, filled with lemonade. This is an example of how Sammy wishes to be a part of something like Queenie’s family, but deep …show more content…
Sammy obviously thinks that he is making a decision that will benefit him and his future, but he also knows that his decision will affect not only him. The reader sees that Sammy knows this because after Lengel tells him he doesn’t want to do this to his mother and father, Sammy agrees. He is not doing it to hurt his parents, but he thinks that this act is what will change his life. When Sammy walks out to the parking lot of the A&P, he is hoping that the girls will be there waiting for their “hero”. When he gets past the doors, he thinks, “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course.” (21). The few people he actually cared about impressing did not even care enough to thank him for standing up for them. Back in the store, things carried on as if nothing happened; Sammy says, “I could see Lengel in my place in the slot, checking the sheep through.” (21). Life immediately went on without Sammy, and all of the “sheep” got back to their scheduled routine. As Sammy stands in the parking lot, looking around, he is still reminded of what his future might look like. All he sees at that moment in the parking lot is, as he says, “[…] a young married screaming with her children about some candy they didn’t get […]” (21). After seeing this, and seeing the A&P move on so quickly without him the story ends with Sammy saying, “[…] and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard

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