Compare Short Stories - Essay Example

Compare Short Stories Introduction Krebs’s rejection of his community values and Sammy’s relationship to his supermarket job display a striking resemblance and both characters appears to be promoting notions that are contradictory to the prevailing realities of their surroundings. It appears that the authors of both stories have intentionally created situations in which the main characters of the story fail to conform to the norms.
Body
Krebs is disapproving of the way in which his society responds to the veterans of war and fails to understand why everyone around him is struggling for the same thing i.e. material assets. He regards every relationship to be driven by politics and fails to find any relationship that is purely based on love.
Sammy has been presented as a character that is very upset about the norms of his surroundings. Although he has worked at the super store for a considerably lengthy period of time as is reflected by the way in which he remembers “cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle” (Updike, 228), he finds the store extremely unappealing. This is partly due to the nature of behaviors of people that he encounters on daily basis, as well as the nature of business that his super store practices.
Conclusion
Taking a closer look at Krebs’s behavior regarding his community and Sammy’s perception regarding his superstore job, reveals that fact that both characters are dissatisfied with the prevailing system. The reason for this discontent appears to be the gap that prevails between their ideals and the reality. Both characters are in fact reflective of the feelings of people who are truthful in their stance and are yet subjected to unfavorable behaviors of the people surrounding them.
References
Updike, John. A&P.In Bishop, Margaret. Single Scene: Short Stories. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, Publisher, 2007. Print. Read More