Sammy Is Determined to Achieve His Target at Any Cost - Essay Example

A&P Thesis ment: It is the natural tendency of humans to look for short-cuts to make advancements in life; both in terms of seeking physical pleasures and financial success. Sammy is tested repeatedly The main character of the story appears to be its narrator Sammy. Sammy is a nineteen years old boy who is working as a checkout clerk at one of the grocery stores named as A&P. The owner of the store happens to be an acquaintance of Sammy as well. Sammy, who has a very different view regarding life, happens to be sensitive enough to take sudden decisions based on random incidents of life. In the given scenario, when Sammy sees that his employer is being rude to the semi-dressed soft spoken girl from a higher class of the society, he immediately decides to protest against such undesirable behavior. He is put to test when the girl shows signs of embarrassment and expects someone to help her. Although Sammy is unable to resist his employer directly to stop him from being impolite to the girl; he finds escape in demonstrating his seriousness by quitting his job at the spot. Sammy is again tested when his employer Lengel warns him of the possible disastrous consequences of leaving this job. Sammy however proves himself firm and steady by insisting on his resignation. At the same time, Sammy who is greatly impressed by the apparent beauty of the girl expects the girl to show some sympathy towards him by giving him an approving gesture; which he fails to get though. Here again he is tested for his stance. Again Sammy proves himself to be true by insisting to stick to his already made decision. Sammy is determined to achieve his target at any cost Sammy being the main character and narrator of the story appears to have a personality that is mainly driven by his desires and hopes for the future. He is not fond of the restrictions that the society poses, and he appears to be fighting against such restrictions on a conscious and sub-conscious level. He is fond of beauty and is creative enough to label appropriately the objects of his choice and liking. At the same time, he appears to be conscious enough in choosing people who can take him along towards success in life. This can be clearly seen by his choice of the Queenie; the girl who seems more rich and well-educated. He not only lustfully adores her existence in his store; but also gives her a clear signal of interest by leaving his job at the spot, despite knowing the troublesome consequences of this action. It also depicts his risk-taking behavior. Although he has never seen the girl before and is not aware of her relationship status, he takes his chance by opposing his employer who is a strong proponent of the norms of the society. Lengel in this scenario is the depiction of our social norms and going against his decision is an indication of going against the already prevailing system of the society. This also shows a level of honesty on part of Sammy; since Sammy is a proponent of accepting new ways of life and respecting other's independence and rights, he defends Queenie by objecting to his employer's behavior and is clear about his stance throughout the scenario. Lessons for characters Sammy's role as a narrator raises a few logical questions about the way he tells the story. Like all other narrations, it should be borne in mind that the words of the narrator are not always truthful. It is quite often seen that narrators often blend truths with their experiences to bring out a conclusion of their choice. In the given scenario, Sammy learns that taking risk in life should always be weighed against its potential benefits. Also, the norms of the society should be given due consideration to avoid conflicts of opinion and related problems in life. The employer learns the lesson that not everything in life is purchasable with monetary power. One should give respect in order to get respect. For people like Sammy, the monetary logic is of lower value than their objectives in life. Moreover, ladies should be dealt with softly even if they are blatantly wrong. Soft words may deliver more powerful a message than badly spoken words. Queenie learnt that she should be ready to tolerate foul words of others if she has no respect for the norms of the society. Being offensive to others by not reciprocating to the normally accepted values of the society means that she is exposing herself to the possible objection of others and this may have dire consequences. Moreover, such inviting gestures in public may result in opportunistic people getting attracted towards oneself. This may not be the purpose of Queenie, but she definitely attracted a person like Sammy who attempted to use her to achieve his life goals. Concluding remarks and theme of story The onset of the story is quite smooth and it appears that it will cover no special incident. However, as it progresses it illustrates the lust of its main character Sammy at first; later changing towards depicting bitter realities of life. The unexpected part is the behavior shown by Lengel, who happens to be the owner of the store and is not willing to accept what his eyes see in his own store. The girl's (Queenie) behavior depicts a confused state of her mind which is manifested as her being embarrassed. The story aims to highlight some of the disputed concepts of modern society. The theme is mainly focused on the universally accepted values of human society. Sammy is an insinuation of the greedy and opportunistic nature of modern society individuals. Although they are tied by financial constraints; yet they are not ready to accept this form of slavery. Deep within their mind lies the resistance to the well established norms of the society, and it is due to this resistance that they don't want to unleash any opportunity of life which may take them out of their miserable condition. Work cited Updike, John, and Etienne Delessert. A & P: Lust in the Aisles. Minneapolis, Minn: Redpath Press, 1986. Print Read More