The short story A&P is centered around the main character named Sammy, who is displeased with his current life, including his job and the people around him. As a teenager, he realizes that he wants a more adventurous life because he is living in a highly conservative and quiet town better suited for older individuals with families. His boring and repetitive work as a clerk is disrupted by the arrival of three girls, among which the lead named Queenie. The most important decision made by the protagonist is quitting his job to live his life as he wants because he is inspired by the girl’s impression of contrasting lives.
Firstly, it is important to note that the story is about a person who decides to abandon his family, group, and community because he does not feel a sense of belongingness due to internal goals. Although the biggest decision was quitting the job, it was the outcome of a series of previous decisions starting with displeasure with the boredom of his existence. For example, the narrator states, “it’s not as if we’re on the Cape; we’re north of Boston, and there’s people in this town haven’t seen the ocean for twenty years” (Updike 2). In other words, the main character is trying to point out that many inhabitants of the town are close minded and not adventurous because they do not even travel and live only within the town’s boundaries. Therefore, there is a clear state of motionless emptiness and apathy in the teenager’s everyday existence.
Secondly, the primary disruption to the boring life of the protagonist is the arrival of three girls. The story states, “In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits,” and “the third one, that wasn’t quite so tall. She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round” (Updike 1). It is evident that the narrator is highly descriptive in his detailed assessment of the girls, and he specifically focuses on the lead one with some elements of idealization. During the entire period of their presence in the store, he was the only individual who was not hostile or displeased by them. For example, when the manager tells the girls to come with their shoulders covered next time, other people present “had been showing up with their carts but, you know, sheep, seeing a scene, they had all bunched up on Stokesie, who shook open a paper bag as gently as peeling a peach, not wanting to miss a word” (Updike 3). In other words, these girls disrupted the normalcy by being provocatively open according to the town’s people’s standards.
Thirdly, the protagonist leaves his job as a clerk due to a complete reassessment of his life fueled by rather a quick and rash decision partly motivated to impress the girls. The text states, “the girls, and who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say “I quit” to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero” (Updike 3). Thus, it is clear that he had a desire to please the girls, especially Queenie, but the decision was mostly based on how he dislikes his job and the people around him. One aspect of his thought process was delusional, where he was falsely assumed to be part of the group. Therefore, he stated that he is quitting without a logical analysis rather than a visceral decision making or gut feeling. For instance, the teenager states, “they keep right on going, into the electric eye; the door flies open and they flicker across the lot to their car, Queenie and Plaid and Big Tall Goony-Goony, leaving me with Lengel and a kink in his eyebrow” (Updike 3). In other words, he wanted to leave with them and not be with the people around him because he did not feel a sense of belongingness at the store.
Fourthly, the protagonist reflects on his quick decision after he left A&P by looking back at the place where he worked alongside Lengel and others. He states, “I look around for my girls, but they’re gone, of course. There wasn’t anybody but some young married screaming with her children about some candy” (Updike 3). It is evident that he felt some form of disappointment with the fact that the girls left, and he was unable to talk to them outside the hostile environment of the store. However, he looks back at Lengel at his place as a clerk and realizes that he avoided becoming like him at the cost of future full hardships and the unknown.
In conclusion, the story demonstrates how minor disruptions in one’s repetitive existence can spark a notion of reassessment and major decision-making. The protagonist is introduced as a store clerk who works in the most boring and stale environment in his perception. He dislikes the place of work, the people around him, and even the town he lives in. The girls arrive, who shake his daily existence by making it clear to him that he needs to chase the life he wants to live even if it will come with challenges.
Work Cited
Updike, John. A&P. The New Yorker, 1961.