A&P: A Story of Initiation - Essay Example

A&P A Story of Initiation Outline I. Introduction Introducing the and the story. 2. Thesis: “A&P” is a story of initiation. “I felthow hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” – a young man grows older. A young man starts perceiving and seeing girls as an adult He realizes how similar men are (“Stokesies married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell thats the only difference”), and, at the same time, what differentiates them – responsibilities they undertake. He is becoming independent in his choices and decisions, and takes personal responsibility about his life. II. Body II.1. Changed perception of the opposite gender. He starts perceiving and seeing girls as an adult. The main character notices himself forget about everything while watching the girls. “I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not”. He is enjoying watching the girls II.2. Realization of belonging to a certain social group, realizing his social role He realizes how similar men are, and, at the same time, what differentiates them – responsibilities they undertake. He compares himself with his married colleague “Stokesies married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell thats the only difference” He notices they percept the girls in a similar way, so realizes that he is a member of a certain social group – of the men of his age. II.3 Growing older means becoming independent He is becoming independent in his choices and decisions, and takes personal responsibility about his life. Though he understands his parents will be disappointed, he chooses to defend own principles. “Lengel sighs and begins to look very patient and old and gray. Hes been a friend of my parents for years. "Sammy, you dont want to do this to your Mom and Dad," he tells me. Its true, I dont. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture its fatal not to go through with it.” The young man is protecting his dignity and detaches from parents III. Conclusion “A&P” is a story of initiation – a story of a boy’s becoming a man. “A&P”: A Story of Initiation “A&P” is a story written by John Updike in 1961. Though from the first sight it might seem to be just a description of the events that once took place in a department store, in reality, the author’s message is different. “A&P” is a story of initiation. It is a story that shows that some day everyone has to grow up and become an independent and responsible for one’s actions adult. “A&P” is the story that, using the main character as an example, shows how people, growing older, start perceiving and viewing an opposite gender differently, realize their belonging to certain social groups, and start being independent and accountable for own decisions and actions, no matter what they may lead to. As a result, we realize, as the main character notices, “how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter” (Updike). In the course of the story Updike’s character is watching the girls that came shopping in bathing suits. However, he does not just look at them – he watches them as a man watches beautiful and attractive women. He looks at them as a grown up man, having forgotten about everything else. The mind of the young man takes notice of all the details of the girls’ look and behavior, and, as a result, is unable to switch back to the prescribed tasks and usual perception. “I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not”, writes the author. It shows that he is not just watching the girls, he is also enjoying this process, and his thoughts are totally captured by the show. Even the accident with an unhappy lady-customer does not change the flow of the boy’s thoughts. After the situation is smoothed his thoughts and attention go back to the three young women. In the process of observing the girls he also notices how other employees of the store are reacting. As a result, he starts to think and realize how similar and, at the same time different, men are. In addition, his analysis leads the young man towards the understanding of the fact that what differentiates men are the accountabilities and responsibilities they undertake. This understanding comes as a result of comparing oneself to his married colleague: “Stokesies married, with two babies chalked up on his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell thats the only difference”. So, though these two men lead different lives and carry different responsibilities, they still are similar in the way they percept the opposite gender. Consequently, they both are the members of one social group – youngsters whose thoughts get instantly captured by the look of young women. At the same time, though they share their views on women, the two men are also the representative of two different groups of people – one is married, and the other is not. Therefore, the main character is more free in his actions and decisions. These thoughts, however, do not remain just thoughts. The young man realizes that growing older means becoming independent. He is becoming independent in his choices and decisions, and takes personal responsibility about his life. Though he understands his parents will be disappointed, he chooses to defend own principles. “Lengel sighs and begins to look very patient and old and gray. Hes been a friend of my parents for years. "Sammy, you dont want to do this to your Mom and Dad," he tells me. Its true, I dont. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture its fatal not to go through with it.” Here we see the process of the boy’s becoming a man: the young man is protecting his dignity and detaches from parents. The parents, in their turn, stop being as authoritative for him as they were before. He is not afraid to disappoint them any more. His new – more mature and adult – vision sets him free from the restrictions that are usually set upon teenagers. A boy has become a man. So, Updike’s story has not simply taken a snapshot of the events that took place in the store. It has told a story of initiation – a story of a boy’s becoming an adult. As stages of this process, we saw how the young man started viewing girls as an adult, how he realized that he belonged to men, not children, of the world, and how he got free from the influence of parents and bosses that treated him as a child. As a result, he became a grown up independent and responsible for his deeds man. Even if all the above stated was not pictured as elements of his thoughts, it was reflected in his actions. The main character of the story chooses to leave his job, and this deed becomes the first step in his adult life, which, as he understands, is not to be as simple and easy as his previous life under the caring wing of the parents. Reference: Updike, John. A&P. Tiger-town.com. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. Read More