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In the Fifties, this prosperity gave way, for the first time, to a distinct youth culture of rebellion and disregard for authority, documented in films (Rebel Without a Cause, 1955) and books (The Catcher in the Rye, 1951) that likely influenced Updike's "A&P," a story about conformity and questioning authority. Despite the prosperity of the postwar era, however, a significant minority of ...
- Plot Summary Plot
Three girls walk into the A&P in their bathing suits, as...
- Summary & Analysis
Summary. Analysis. Three girls in bathing suits walk into...
- Themes
The narrator, Sammy, is 19 years old and inhabits an...
- Quotes
Quotes - A&P Study Guide | Literature Guide - LitCharts
- Characters
Stokesie. Stokesie is another checkout clerk at A&P....
- Symbols
Symbols - A&P Study Guide | Literature Guide - LitCharts
- Growing Up
The narrator, Sammy, is 19 years old and inhabits an...
- Sex, Gender, Power
Sex, Gender, Power - A&P Study Guide | Literature Guide -...
- Plot Summary Plot
Summary. Analysis. Three girls in bathing suits walk into the local A&P grocery store as Sammy, the nineteen-year-old narrator, rings up the groceries for a woman in her fifties he describes as " a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows." Sammy is distracted by the sight of them – first seeing a "chunky" girl wearing a ...
Stokesie. Stokesie is another checkout clerk at A&P. Although he's only a few years older than Sammy and jokes around with him at the store, Stokesie already has a wife and two kids to support. He hopes one day to manage the A&P. Need help on characters in John Updike's A&P? Check out our detailed character descriptions.
Upload them to earn free Course Hero access! This study guide and infographic for John Updike's A&P offer summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text. Explore Course Hero's library of literature materials, including documents and Q&A pairs.
- Point of View and Narration
- Symbolism
- Epiphany
The story is narrated by Sammy, a checkout clerk, in the first person. Hisvoice is casual and personal. His informal speech emphasizes his uniquecharacter and tendency to challenge authority. Slang terms, such as describinga dollar bill that had “just come from between the two smoothest scoops ofvanilla I had ever known,” paint him as a typical tee...
“A&P” is filled with symbolism. The HiHo crackers Sammy rings up serveas an exclamation. When he rings them up a second time, it's as if he's saying“Heigh-ho! Something unusual is happening!” and an older woman scolds him forit. The other shoppers are depicted as “sheep” mindlessly wandering up and downthe aisles, eventually filing into the chutes ...
An epiphany is a moment of sudden insight triggered by a seemingly ordinaryevent. For Sammy, what starts as a routine day leads to a profound realization:“I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” This concludingstatement in “A&P” is the result of witnessing a minor incident where threegirls, dressed inappropriately, are scolded f...
Full Plot Summary. Three teenage girls, wearing only their bathing suits, walk into an A&P grocery store in a small New England town. Sammy, a young man working the checkout line, watches them closely. He appraises their looks and notes even minute details about the way they carry themselves. He also speculates about their personalities and ...
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Publication. Published in. The New Yorker. Publication date. July 22, 1961. " A&P " is a tragicomic work of short fiction by John Updike which first appeared in the July 22, 1961 issue of The New Yorker. The story was collected in Pigeon Feathers in 1961, published by Alfred A. Knopf. The work is frequently included in anthologies. [ 1 ][ 2 ]
