Character Evolution Sammy from John Updikes A and P Story - Book Report/Review Example

Running Head: Character Evolution Character Evolution - Sammy from John Updike's A&P Short Story (Style: APA) ID 19714 Order No. 246738 23 October 2008 Abstract There are many events that occur in our day to day life, but not all of them are significant. However some events are never forgotten because they result in the learning that changes the personality, the way of life, and most importantly, the thought process of an individual. The primary effect of such an event is that a new character within the inner self of the individual "evolves" that helps the individual to align towards a better path in life purely from the perspective of the individual himself or herself and the situation in which he or she is brought up. This paper presents the analysis of such a character Sammy from the famous short story by John Updike's A&P who experienced an evolution of a more responsible individual after an event that occurred during his normal, business as usual work hours at his work place on a summer afternoon. The paper presents the chain of events that caused the evolution of a new personality of Sammy in accordance with the Causes and Effects theory. Table of Contents: Introduction: Changes in our life do not happen abruptly. Every change is a result of a number of causes that accumulate over time. The causes result in change of mindset in gradual manner thus resulting in small, intermediate, effects that finally results in a major decision that causes the major change at some stage. The time taken to reach the stage of the major decision and hence the big change depends upon the speed of accumulation of the causes and the intermediate changes. This fact has been presented very well in John Updike's one of his best known short stories, "A&P". This story was first published in the New Yorker on 22 July 1961 on pages 22 through 24 (Salvidar, Toni. 1997. pp1). The story is about a young boy, Sammy who works in A&P Grocery Store located at about five miles from a Beach colony in New England. Sammy is Nineteen years old and has got this job due to a relationship between his Parents and the Manager of the store, Mr. Lengal. The story is written as a narration by Sammy himself. An event pertaining to three girls, who entered in the store in bathing suits and started shopping, changed Sammy's life. The store manager Mr. Lengel warned the girls pertaining to their way of dressing stating that it was against the store policy and they should at least have their shoulders covered when shopping in the store. Sammy didn't like the behavior of the store manager and abruptly quit the job. This paper presents an analysis of the accumulation of causes & intermittent effects that might have resulted in the abrupt decision by Sammy which in turn resulted in a major change in his character, thought process and hence his life. The Causes and Effects Theory: An event occurs because of some explicit or hidden causes. Every event may result in some effects that may either result in causes to trigger further effects or else result in a major change altogether depending upon at what stage of the chain the event has occurred. An example of Causes and Events Chain is presented below: This process essentially is a methodology to analyze a chain reaction that links a chain of events one after another in an accumulative fashion such that at some stage a major decision is triggered resulting in a major change (Cause and Effect explanation. Available at http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/k12programs/ciss/8_step/dwnld/7.pdf). This process is widely used to carry out "Root Cause Analysis" of a major incident or change that might have occurred due to a series of cascaded events whereby an event may have occurred due to the causes of the previous events. In human psychology, an event may lead to accumulation of causes that in turn may result in the emotional turbulences in his or her mind which may lead to further effects. At some stage, the mind starts behaving like a pendulum oscillating between two decision points - one in favor of the thought process and another opposite to the thought process. The flip-flop between "Yes" and "No" at last leads to a sudden change in the state of mind resulting in a decision in either the favor or opposite to the thought process. It is the emotions that give the mental strength to the individual to take the decision and abide by it. The Cause and Effect phenomenon is linear in this context as time is a major factor that keeps the chain intact. Sometimes it might take years for an individual to take a decision because he or she might be taking a "utilitarian approach" such that the individual is a great analyzer and is considering all possible impacts before a decision is taken. It takes a long chain of effects and causes for the individual to arrive at a decision which projects the level of maturity that the individual possesses. An example may be pertaining to divorce by a couple who have been sensible to the relationship for a long time but finally had to take the decision because circumstances didn't allow them to protect the same. (Velasquez et al. 1996. available at http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html) On the other hand, the people who either take a "rights approach (decision to protect the rights)", "the fairness or justice approach (decision against an unfair approach)" or a "virtue approach (decision to protect idealism)" may end up taking major decisions, abruptly after a small chain of effects and causes. The decision maker may treat the decision as "Moral" but from the world's perspective, such decisions are normally treated as immature or childish as the decision makers are not able to objectively justify the rationale to the rest of world. This is the reason that most of the analysis of Sammy's story treats his decision as unwarranted and immature. In the next section, an attempt is made to present the mapping of the events described in the short story with the causes and effects theory such that the decision making by Sammy can be analyzed objectively. (Velasquez et al. 1996. available at http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html; MacDonald, Chris. 2002. available at http://www.ethicsweb.ca/guide/moral-decision.html) Causes and Effects Chain in John Updike's A&P: In the short story, A&P by John Updike the events started when the three girls entered the grocery store in bathing suits. The first cause analyzed herewith is that Sammy, being a teenager and having an affinity towards opposite gender gets attracted towards their looks and outfit. The effect herewith is an emotional attraction towards the girl (whom he called Queenie) among the three whom he started liking as she was fitting perfectly within a framework of imagination that Sammy had in his mind. It appeared from the long description of the looks and activities of the girl (Updike, 1961. para1-6) that she was matching his dream girl. Hence the causes analyzed herewith are: The girls entering the store in bathing suits which is very unusual (kind of a change in the monotonous work life of the grocery store) Sammy didn't mind their attire because of his age, natural attraction towards girls and the outfit that he likes He has a much broader view of the world accepting such attire at any public place, enjoy the beauty and still not feel guilty (Bernardo, Karen. Available at http://www.storybites.com/updikeaandp2.htm). And the effects that are analyzed herewith are: Sammy starts feeling life in the store that otherwise had a very boring and monotonous way of working One of the girls fitting perfectly into a framework of Sammy's imagination Sammy gets so involved that he ends up describing the beauty and the activities of the girl to the utmost level of detailing (Updike, 1961. para1-6) Sammy developing an emotional binding towards the girl The next event happens when Sammy notices the expressions on McMohan's face. By this time the effects have accumulated to such an extent that they can become the cause of the next event. Sammy felt sorry about the girls when McMohan looked at them with such expressions. By this time Sammy had developed a sense of relationship with the girls (especially Queenie) such that he felt an inner sense of responsibility towards them. His new feelings are analyzed as the cascaded effects of the previous effects in the chain that got triggered due to McMohan's action as a cause. (Updike, 1961. para11) When the girls came to his counter to make the payment, the way his "Queenie" took out the folded dollar from her top charged his emotions to an utmost level. He described this as - "she proceeds to pull the dollar bills out of the hollow at the center of her nubbled pink top". He apparently was highly impressed with the unconstrained lifestyle of the girls and had probably decided to make Queenie a friend (or a companion for life'). The causes herewith are: The fearless gesture of the girls at a public place that gives indication of a lavish, high society life style; Sammy, being a young aspirant brought up in a middle class family is high impressed with their lifestyle Queenie's action when making the payment (Updike, 1961. para12) Sammy's already accumulated emotions for Queenie The effect is that his emotions reached the utmost height to the extent that he had almost "fallen in Love with Queenie". The next event is the major cause that finally triggered the decision and hence the change. The store manager came out and scolded the girls such that the girls hurriedly moved towards the exit after making the payment to Sammy. In the state of mind of utmost emotion, Sammy decided to become an ideal Hero for the girls and take a decision to "retaliate" against the "unfair behavior" of the store Manager. He spoke aloud about his decision to quit such the girls hear him (and probably wait for him outside to thank him and offer a ride or a cup of coffee or maybe, friendship). The effect herewith is Sammy's retaliation and the causes are his state of mind (with utmost emotions for Queenie) and the action of the store manager. The conversation between Sammy and his store manager, Mr. Lengel clearly indicates the emotions of Sammy that has resulted in the unilateral decision in his mind that Mr. Lengel was unfair with the girls. He probably couldn't think in this state of mind that the girls were unfair with everyone in the store to be there in such an awkward state, clearly lacking the dignity towards the society. Probably, Sammy might have realized this once the matured character of a growing responsible man in the society has evolved within himself (Updike, 1961. para13). He quit in haste in spite of the warning by his store manager pertaining to his parents. The causes here are the emotional state of mind, the passion to meet the girls outside the store and the Manager's action that probably was inhuman in his view. He rushed out only to discover that the girls have left. At this point, a new personality takes birth within Sammy. He must have felt like a stupid to take such a big decision affecting his life for someone who didn't even stop for him even after hearing about his resignation for their sake. His realization stating "my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter" indicates that a new character has evolved within Sammy (Updike, 1961. last paragraph). This realization must have led to a sense of responsibility in his mind triggering him to: Stand by the decision Look for a new job immediately Be more responsible in life for the sake of his parents and his own career Never take nasty decisions for someone else driven by an emotional avalanche. The chain of events and the cascade of causes & effects clearly present how the character of Sammy evolved from a teenage, innocent & emotions driven boy to a growing, responsible & analytics driven man. Overall, the original cause herewith is the girls entering grocery store in bathing suits and the final effect is the evolution of a new character in Sammy. All other effects & causes cascades are intermittent ones that build the chain between these two extremes. Conclusion: The evolution of a new character within an individual is a result of an event which is supported by a long chain of causes & effects and intermittent events acting as its logical predecessors. The characters in the events (like the girls) just act as the catalysts for this change. Some causes may be explicit but others may be hidden that needs to be brought to surface by carrying out logical analysis. An abrupt yet major decision by an individual has to be supported by a strong emotional avalanche that provides the necessary strength to the individual to execute the decision. In his short story, A&P John Updike presents a similar change in Sammy's life as a result of an abrupt yet bold decision. The events started with three girls entering the A&P grocery store in bathing suite which triggered a series of cascaded causes and effects resulting in a strong emotional avalanche within Sammy. The emotions at its highest peak were suddenly hurt by the action by the store manager Mr. Lengel that triggered a major decision by Sammy to quit the job. A few moments later, the emotional avalanche had passed away and there stood a much more matured individual deeply regretting his action but still demonstrating the strength to stand by his decision and begin a new life with determination and a gesture that is recognized and respected by the society. Reference List: Bernardo, Karen. (year not available). John Updike's A&P. retrieved on 23 Oct 2008. available at http://www.storybites.com/updikeaandp2.htm. Cause and Effect explanation. Available at Step Process 8 - It is not a curriculum - it is a methodology. Cause and Effect Chain Explanation. Retrieved on 23 Oct 2008. available at http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/k12programs/ciss/8_step/dwnld/7.pdf. MacDonald, Chris. (2002). Moral Decision Making - An Analysis. Retrieved on 23 Oct 2008. available at http://www.ethicsweb.ca/guide/moral-decision.html. Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab (OWL) (2008), APA Formatting and Style Guide, Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Updike, John. (1961), A&P. Retrieved on 23 Oct 2008. available at http://www.tiger- town.com/whatnot/updike/. Velasquez, Manuel and Andre, Claire et al. (1996). Thinking Ethically: A Framework for Moral Decision Making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Santa Clara University. retrieved on 23 Oct 2008. available at http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v7n1/thinking.html. End of Document Read More