A Perfect Demonstration of a Customer Conditioned Society - Literature review Example

Introduction “A&P” is a short story written by John Updike, the famous poet, novelist and literary critic. The story was published in the New Yorker in 1961. Updike was hunting plots and characters for writing short stories when he was stopped by an A&P grocery store. He was wondering why anyone has not written a story on A&P store till then. He was surprised to see a woman entering in the grocery store in a bathing suit right in the middle of the town. Updike enjoyed the funny situation and build up a whole story on it which has been tickling millions of reader since then. The story incites many questions when a reader reads to it like should everyone be given the right to dress up according to their wish or it is better to follow some social norms about dressing sense while moving in the society. Different critics have given different kind of opinions on the story; Porter called the story a perfect demonstration of a customer conditioned society on the contrary Peden asserts that A&P is nothing but nonsense depicting the thoughts of a clerk on looking at girls in a bathing suit (Mcfarland 95). In this paper, the main focus will be on Sammy’s decision on quitting a job and the factors which influenced his decision. It will also be discussed that whether Sammy’s decision was rationale and what thought process lead him to take such a decision. The story consists of few main characters including Sammy (the narrator) is the checkout clerk working in the grocery store. He is young 19 years old boy who is cynical about his customers and at the same time romantic. Stokesie is Sammy’s colleague who also works at A&P checkout. Lengel is the store manager and the person who criticize the girls who were having indecent getup in the store. The three girls (Queenie, Plaid and Big Tall) who entered in the store in bathing suits were the central characters (Bentley 121). The story although is a comic fiction but it provokes many thoughts and ideas to the readers. The description is given by Sammy about the socio economic division of people by comparing his parents and Queenie’s parents show the mindset of the working class boy. Her father would be standing in ice-cream coats and bow ties with other men and the women holding herring snacks and drinks while my family would have lemonade in tall glasses. It also shows the responsibility of Sammy who is recalled to him by Lengel when Sammy quit the job. Lengel reminded him that his parents won’t like what he has done. Sammy you should not do this to your parents. Lengel also warned Sammy by saying that he is going to for the rest of his life. Updike has also tried to show the authority and rights of different people in the society. Out of them Lengel who was the manager showed his authority by warning the girls as he was the caretaker of the store. It is our store policy that the customers must be decently dressed. On the other hand, Sammy who did not like the way Lengel criticized the girls publically showed his right of protesting against Lengel’s act by quit the job. I quit the job, said Sammy to Lengel. You were not supposed to embarrass them in front of everyone. The story also shows aspect of feminism liberty where Sammy acts a feminist protester and argued with Lengel on women rights to be dressed up the way they want. Although there are a number of unique characteristics related to the story A&P such as its humorous way of presenting a scene, funny dialogues, explicit theme and bold description, here the Sammy’s decision of quitting a job will be analyzed. What made him take that decision? Was his decision rationale and what do other critics comment about Sammy’s decision. In order to evaluate Sammy’s decision and understand his thoughts, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis of his character as depicted by Updike in the story. Sammy is a 19 years old boy who is working in an A&P grocery store in a small town. He seemed bored and lazy while commenting on the customers who were coming to the store. He was observing them and naming them as ‘sheep’ or ‘scared pigs in a chute’. When he saw the girls he got suddenly interested in their attire and their confidence. He observed very minute details about the girls and named them accordingly. The most dominant girl among the three caught his attention and he named her Queenie (Saldivar 10). Later in the story it is found that Sammy had the same complexes which a lower class boy could have. When he looked at the girls he also got inspired by their richness and assumed that they must be belonging to the upper class of the society. Her father would be standing with other men in coats and bowties and mother wearing sandals and holding herring’s snacks with drinks color of water with mint and olives in it. Updike has clearly illustrated the social class of Sammy’s family through Sammy’s job status, his explanation of feasts at his family and his concerns about his future. This also contributed in increasing his interest in the girls particularly Queenie. He made a guess about her social class through her confidence, the way of dressing, her grocery and the way she responded to Lengel’s criticism. It appears that this class difference was one of the major reasons behind Sammy’s decision of quitting a job. Sammy thought that due to having high status in the society the girls should not be treated badly by Lengel. This might raise a question that if the girls would be poor then how would have Sammy’s responded to the situation created by his manager. Sammy’s explanation on the physical attributes of the girls and detailed observations showed that he was nothing but merely a teenager. The way he portrays the girls does not show that he respects them or have any sense of nobility in him. He was as lustful as any other men. His impious ogling of the girls showed that his indifferent and contemptuous to the patrons coming in the A&P store. As he called them names, the sheep were pushing their carts down the aisle. He also made fun of Stokesie and Lengel which shows that he has no social respect for any one. The reason he quitted the job does not based on any moral conduct, what he wanted to get noticed by the girls and become their hero. Some critics have explained this decision of Sammy as his nobility and coming to age. They assert that by this act Sammy has shown a sign of dignity and a mature behavior (Daniel). However, by thoroughly analyzing Sammy’s character this does not prove to be true. As soon as he noticed that the girls did not hear him say that he has quitted his job as a protest for them, he felt low. It was not noble gesture or social protest rather initially Sammy got interested in the girl Queenie mainly because of his rich family background. After quitting a job he wanted to share the luxuries of rich life imagining himself with Queenie and his parents. By quitting his job Sammy is trying to indicate his keenness in the modern society and his wish to transform his living style (Kirszner and Mandell 24). This decision made by Sammy also shows that he is so immature that he did not even think once about his parents when he left his job. Although Lengel, his old family friend warned him not to do a mistake and also that his parents are not going to appreciate his attempt, he recklessly resigned from the place just in order to inspire the girls and become their hero. I said I quit to Lengel loud enough so that the girls can hear expecting that they will notice me, their unsuspected hero. This could be a thought of an immature, stupid and impractical boy with no sense of responsibility. Another aspect which should be addressed while discussing Sammy’s decision is, Lengel’s attitude towards girls to which Sammy protested. Considering the location of the store and social ethics it is suggested that Lengel was absolutely right in intimidating the girls. Being a manager of the store he was responsible for looking after everything in the store related to his clients as well the staff. Such dressing by the girls was disturbing the discipline of the store workers as they were ignoring clients and their tasks to watch out the girls. If the girls would be modestly dressed no one would have noticed them so much, not even Sammy. Although it is the right of every man and woman to get the dress up according to their wish but it is equally important to dress up according to the place as Lengel indicated, that it is not a beach. Lengel also commented that the indecent getup of the girls was embarrassing for the society. So, Sammy protested against something which is morally and ethically right. Lengel being a responsible person intimidated the girls so that they would not show up in such attire again in the store. Sammy on the other hand was getting fascinated by the partial naked appearance of the girls which was increasing his sexual lust and alluring him. There was no basis of Sammy’s protest and his decision of quitting a job is simply baseless (Wheeler 5). Sammy’s decision of quitting a job shows that he has not yet reached adulthood. He does not understand his responsibilities nor ready to accept the practical world challenges. He is driven by teenage charm and when he found out to become a hero in the eyes of the girls he made his move which also ended in vain as the girls did not even notice him. He wanted to give a shot to his life so he abruptly made the decision as he was already fed up with his job. This is the peak of immaturity because by making this decision he ended up jobless with the girls long gone. So, the message conveyed by the author as a result of Sammy’s act is not rational. Sammy which has been projected as a symbol of morality himself showed sexuality at the beginning of the story. The way Sammy commented and observed the girls based on their partial nudity do not depict any kind of moral or ethical conduct. Sammy defended the girls and protested against the manager in order to make them fawn over him on his courage. He wanted to get the attention of the girls so he is not justified in saying that the reason for quitting the job is humiliation of the girls by the manager. After resigning from a job in front of Lengel, he walked outside to check if the girls have been waiting for him but he was very much disappointed to see that no one was there to thank him, take is sympathy or fawn over him. In a minute Sammy realized what he has done and how difficult it would be to stabilize the things. As due to his emotional, unjustified and baseless decision he stands nowhere. Although Sammy wanted to show that the reason for quitting a job was to protest against the humiliation of girls but on assessing his conduct, perspectives and views it is apparent that his decision had no relation with morality or ethical social responsibility. Conclusion A&P is a story of a teenage guy Sammy who is a grocery clerk at an A&P store. Sammy showed a protest to an act of his manager which he considered as unethical and left his job. Evaluating various aspects of Sammy’s personality it was found that Sammy’s decision of quitting a job was governed by number of things. First of all his decision was not rational as it has no base. The thing he was protesting against was absolutely right keeping in view the ethical values of the society. Although everyone has right to be dressed up according to wish but there must be some code of conduct and dress code for hanging out in public places. Analysis showed that his decision was not based on moral character instead he wanted to use the moment as the jackpot considering that by doing this he would be noticed by the girls especially Queenie who will introduce him to the upper class. Sammy wanted to be ‘hero’ for the girls so they can get inspired. This is a typical teenage approach which Updike has presented in the character of Sammy who is immature, driven by emotions, irresponsible and hasty. The story does not show any factious thinking and characters rather it depicts real emotions of different characters in the story. Sammy belonged to such a social class form where he did not see the luxuries of life. By looking at Queenie he thought he could avail those luxuries if he got succeeded in inspiring her. Sammy was much unhappy with his job and the life style. He wanted to be a part of upper class form where Queenie came from, as Updike says she belonged to a place from where the people of A&P look very cheap. So by quitting his job Sammy might be thinking to prove that he did not belong to a society where freedom of dressing is not given. Sammy’s attitude showed that he has started to like Queenie because of her beauty, boldness and most importantly her background. He was not exceptional if he liked such a beautiful girl as described in the story. But no other men would have quit his job just to get noticed by a girl whom he has not even talked once. At one instant he commented on Queenie, Is it really mind in there or a buzz like a bee in a jar. This indicates that he did not even want to express his liking to the girl rather just wanted to show up in front of her. It is concluded that Sammy’s decision of quitting a job was an irrational, emotional and rash decision. If he would have taken his time in rethinking what he is up to, he might not have taken such a ridiculous decision. Sammy was struggling with his inferiority complex for a long time and the situation gave it a kick. He thought that this could be his chance to get out of the crap he is dealing with and shine out instantly. This also depicts an immature, teenage thought who wanted to reach the top levels of the society without doing anything or struggling. It was not Queenie he was after, nor interested to show noble gesture of protest, neither had any sympathy with the girls, it was his jealousy with Queenie’s social status and he quitted his job for making an attempt to gain it. Works Cited Bentley, Greg W. "Sammy’s Erotic Experience: Subjectivity and Sexual Difference in John Updike’s “A & P”." Journal of the short stories in English 43.1 (2004): 12-141. Daniel, H. Literature Circles: Voice and Choice in Book Clubs and Reading Groups. San Francisco: Stenhouse Publishers, 2002. Kirszner, Laurie and Stephen Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. London: Heinle & Heinle Publication, 2005. Mcfarland, Ronald. "UPDIKE AND THE CRITICS: REFLECTIONS ON A&P." Studies in Short Fiction 20.3 (1983): 95. Saldivar, Toni. "The Art of John Updikes "A & P"." Studies in Short Fiction , Vol. 34, No. 2 34.2 (1997): 1-15. Wheeler, David. John Updikes Short Story a and P - an Analysis. Cambridge: GRIN Verlag, 2013. Read More