Authors Way of Illustrating the A&P Store - Essay Example

An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing In A&P, the illustrates the store akin to a 50's "Leaveit to Beaver" sort of setting. This is a setting where everything appears ordinary and gray. The environment is not positive and the three girls Sammy sees appear like the most amazing entertainment he has ever faced in the store. For instance, Sammy explains the stacked packages, the florescent lights, and the checkerboard cream and green rubber-tile floor (Kennedy and Gioia 2). The grocery store is the ideal setting for this narrative. This shop allows the girls to stand out even more compared to where they would otherwise. Even if, they are in swim suits, it is almost like the idea of public nudity in a commercial environment is what made the girls seem disgusting. John Updike explains in detail what a boy's obsession can cause him to do. The author also does what each and every short story writer attempts to do, and that is illustrate the customers and setting with great detail, whereas providing the characters names, which subtlety illustrate their traits and lets the person who reads make guesses on Sammy's motivations for his quitting. The author’s way of illustrating the A&P store also echoes the qualities of the town and the "sheep" like manners, which Sammy discusses in the narrative. Sammy compares the clients with sheep, which signifies that they live together, as well as do all things together (Kennedy and Gioia 2). Where one "sheep" goes, the others follow as they look the same. Sammy illustrates these individuals and how they reacted when they saw Queenie. He used words such as jerk, hop and hiccup to describe them (Kennedy and Gioia 2). The boy argued that one could set off dynamite in A & P and the citizens would by large keep checking oatmeal off their lists and mumbling "Let me see", before applauding the act. There was no doubt that such acts overwhelmed the people of A&P. Even a few slaves in pin curlers looked around to ensure what they had seen were correct. This was after pushing their carts past the site. This explains their sheep like manners very well. Sammy is accused of quitting his job for purely immature reasons. Sammy, in reality, quits his job, not on a basis of ideals, but instead, as a means of pretension and trying to amaze the girls, especially Queenie, but his, as seen later in the story, motive go way deeper than that (Kennedy and Gioia 3). He was looking for a sense of individual gain and satisfaction. Through taking sides with the girls, Sammy briefly goes up in the social class ladder to meet their standards, as well as the standards of the upper-class. He was clearly near the bottom of the social class ladder, a position where he was very sad. His dead-end occupation at the A&P grocery store, where lower class people are the main customers, was not a place he considered that he belonged (Kennedy and Gioia 3). Sammy desired to be an associate of the household where the father, along with the other men, walked around in trench coats and bow ties plus the women put on trendy shoes, serving on their plates herring snacks on toothpicks off a huge glass plate as they all held drinks the different attractive colors with olives and sprigs of mint in them. Sammy knew that Queenie came from this type of background, one that was extremely diverse from his. When Queenie was being mistreated by Lengel, Sammy remembered of the place where he worked (grocery shop), a place where the people who run the A & P looked very crummy. Queenie’s family was in the social class, which Sammy envied so much and desired to become a part of (Kennedy and Gioia 3). Therefore, Sammy gave up his job to show to himself, perhaps to other people, that he belongs in this "place." Giving up his job is his first step in reaching his objective (Kennedy and Gioia 4). He was clearly enchanted by the girls from the moment they entered A & P. Sammy was not attentive on the other two girls, but Queenie amazed him. He might have even considered liking Queenie, but any normal, 19 year old male would do the same thing after seeing such astonishing beauty as is described. The average male, however, on the other hand, would not quit his job and create such chaos if first impression was the only reason. How concerned could he, in reality, be? In attempting to figure out Queenie’s character, Sammy asks a rhetorical question of whether people really think it is a mind in there or simply a little buzz similar to a bee in a glass jar? This is indication that he was more fascinated in the asking the question compared to in his likelihood of winning Queenie’s heart. Sammy giving up the job was an absurd and spontaneous move. Had he taken his time to mull over his actions prior to carrying them out, he would have noticed how unwise he was being and would not have given up his job (Kennedy and Gioia 4). However, Sammy’s aggravation and weakness nature had been building for a long period of time. He had to act out and such as situation was his best chance. Sammy’s lust for Queenie was not only physical, but he also desired to be of her type, and this was his best chance. In conclusion, Sammy gives up his job for reasons, which run much deeper than just astonishing a couple of girls. The boy did not essentially want Queenie, but instead, he desired her way of life. He envied and admired the girls for their social status and that is what he was after. Sammy might have quit as a way of protest. It might be his means of saying that he does not desire to be one of the sheep of the town. For instance, when he quits he considers that he is doing the right thing since he thinks a wrong deed was done. Therefore, rather than staying, he just assumed the consequences. He mainly quits his job and his good name for females who, at the end, vanished on him. Work Cited Kennedy, Joseph X and Gioia, Dana. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition (12th Edition). New York: Longman Publishers, 2012. Print. Read More