A + P Feminism

Feminism in the 1960s There is an apparent biased view against women in the short story “A+P” by John Updike. Society is male-dominated and women are discriminated against, whether they know it or not. Such a restrictive culture and societal views are indicated by the inner thoughts of the narrator, Sammy, who is the clerk at the supermarket. The interactions of three girls with the rest of the townspeople are documented in Sammy’s mind. Sammy’s descriptions of people, the dialect of the characters, and the actions that are noted converge to reveal the nature of the time and place of the A+P supermarket. The majority of the story takes place in 19-year-old Sammy’s mind. Here he describes, in detail, three girls in bathing suites, the men working in the store, and the townswomen shopping there. His mental voice flows and is constant, indicative that this is the norm for men to think in such a way. He first describes the townswomen as “sheep,” “pigs,” and “houseslaves,” not even having the decency to call them “women,” or “ladies.” Even going so far as to say their reactions to the girls “were pretty hilarious.” He sees the women as his source of humor. This is exemplary of society’s suppressive nature on the women in this setting. To be described as “sheep” means they are uniform – not just in how they look, but also in their mentality – and are herded, dumb, un-straying beings. This is what the patriarchy of the setting has reduced the women in society to being; after all, who herds the sheep? In a male-dominated society, it is no surprise that first words uttered are not from the lips of the oppressed. The first two lines of dialect are from the two clerks at the front of the store who have been gawking at the three helpless, scantily clad girls. It is also notable that the townswomen have no speaking parts either direct or indirect. The three girls, that the narrator is so preoccupied by, only speak once the story is already