Impulse
Sara Otto
Intro to Literature (MTWR, 8AM)
In Class Writing Assignment on “A & P”
July 8, 2013
Professor Sullivan
Word Count: 916 Impulse
The short story “A & P” by John Updike is a corky and humorous read. The casual, self-venting, adolescent depiction of an absurd event that unfolded in a small town grocery store is a peculiar and yet entertaining read for all audiences. The theme of this story has to do with adolescent stressors, choices and consequences, and standing up for what one believes is right. The way the author uses the point of view of the young adolescent sales clerk to describe the characters and setting in the story is simply genius. The author’s use of similes, metaphors, and imagery describes the setting and characters in a way that reflects the narrator’s stage in life. In doing this, the story flows perfectly with the three themes presented above. In the story, the author describes the scene from the point of view of a 19 year old sales clerk working in a small town grocery store. First he describes the narrator’s object of interest and other characters in a similar fashion with the use of imagery and similes. “She was the queen. She didn’t look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs.” And also, “With the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her, this clean bare plane of the top of her chest down from the shoulder bones like a dented sheet of metal tilted in the light. I mean it was more than pretty.” As one can see, it is described in a way that depicts the psychological and uncontrollable sexual awareness that a young adolescent boy is bound to experience. The short story is also written in a limited point of view to emphasize this point even further.
The author describes the setting using metaphors and similes saying:
“The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle – the girls were walking against the usual
Intro to Literature (MTWR, 8AM)
In Class Writing Assignment on “A & P”
July 8, 2013
Professor Sullivan
Word Count: 916 Impulse
The short story “A & P” by John Updike is a corky and humorous read. The casual, self-venting, adolescent depiction of an absurd event that unfolded in a small town grocery store is a peculiar and yet entertaining read for all audiences. The theme of this story has to do with adolescent stressors, choices and consequences, and standing up for what one believes is right. The way the author uses the point of view of the young adolescent sales clerk to describe the characters and setting in the story is simply genius. The author’s use of similes, metaphors, and imagery describes the setting and characters in a way that reflects the narrator’s stage in life. In doing this, the story flows perfectly with the three themes presented above. In the story, the author describes the scene from the point of view of a 19 year old sales clerk working in a small town grocery store. First he describes the narrator’s object of interest and other characters in a similar fashion with the use of imagery and similes. “She was the queen. She didn’t look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs.” And also, “With the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of the suit and the top of her head except just her, this clean bare plane of the top of her chest down from the shoulder bones like a dented sheet of metal tilted in the light. I mean it was more than pretty.” As one can see, it is described in a way that depicts the psychological and uncontrollable sexual awareness that a young adolescent boy is bound to experience. The short story is also written in a limited point of view to emphasize this point even further.
The author describes the setting using metaphors and similes saying:
“The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle – the girls were walking against the usual