A&P Theme Essay Example
The story I am writing about is that is written by John Updike called “ A&P”. I believe the story is in relation to the immature judgment of adolescents in the 1960’s.
A&P is a story about a young boy, Sammy, who has a job at a local grocery store, the A&P. Sammy works the register and always observes the people walking into the store. On a particular day, Sammy is caught of guard by a cluster of girls wearing just there bathing suits. This caught Sammy’s attention because there were no close beaches and he couldn’t figure out why they were dressed like that. While they were wandering around the store Sammy’s couldn’t keep his eyes of them. Once the girls proceed to the checkout, the manager of the store for being improperly dressed approached them and asked them to leave. Sammy felt that the encounter with the manager was unnecessary and discomforting to the girls and decides that it time for him to quit his job. Sammy’s decision to quit his job at the grocery store shows his development from an immature teenager to a person who will take a position for what he believes in no matter the consequences.
The elements of fiction and style that I decided to use were “theme”, “setting”, “plot”, and “style”. Foremost, I chose “theme” because I believe as confirmed in Elements of Fiction, “ a theme is a generalization about the meaning of a story” (1057). An important theme in “A&P” is that of choices and effect. All the major characters in the story make a choice and undergo the consequences of the choice. The end results of these choices are not always perceptible to the characters. Sammy makes the most observable and painful choice, and on some level he is sentient of the consequences. When he quits his job, he knows that this conclusion will have ramifications in his life that will last along time. Because he has stood up for something on belief, he knows life will be very complicated for him. Also, with the teenage girls decision, I don’t think the
A&P is a story about a young boy, Sammy, who has a job at a local grocery store, the A&P. Sammy works the register and always observes the people walking into the store. On a particular day, Sammy is caught of guard by a cluster of girls wearing just there bathing suits. This caught Sammy’s attention because there were no close beaches and he couldn’t figure out why they were dressed like that. While they were wandering around the store Sammy’s couldn’t keep his eyes of them. Once the girls proceed to the checkout, the manager of the store for being improperly dressed approached them and asked them to leave. Sammy felt that the encounter with the manager was unnecessary and discomforting to the girls and decides that it time for him to quit his job. Sammy’s decision to quit his job at the grocery store shows his development from an immature teenager to a person who will take a position for what he believes in no matter the consequences.
The elements of fiction and style that I decided to use were “theme”, “setting”, “plot”, and “style”. Foremost, I chose “theme” because I believe as confirmed in Elements of Fiction, “ a theme is a generalization about the meaning of a story” (1057). An important theme in “A&P” is that of choices and effect. All the major characters in the story make a choice and undergo the consequences of the choice. The end results of these choices are not always perceptible to the characters. Sammy makes the most observable and painful choice, and on some level he is sentient of the consequences. When he quits his job, he knows that this conclusion will have ramifications in his life that will last along time. Because he has stood up for something on belief, he knows life will be very complicated for him. Also, with the teenage girls decision, I don’t think the