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Famous Quotes Explained. 1. You never know for sure how girls’ minds work (do you really think it’s a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?). Sammy speculates on the mental processes of girls early in the story, at the height of his confidence. Condescending and arrogant, he assumes that if he cannot understand the ...
- Full Plot Summary
A short summary of John Updike's A&P. This free synopsis...
- Themes
One of the things Sammy comes to understand during the...
- Motifs
Brand names appear throughout “A&P,” setting the story...
- Symbols
The bathing suits that the girls wear into the A&P are an...
- John Updike and “A&P” Background
John Updike was born in Shillington, Pennsylvania, in 1932....
- Character List
The manager of the A&P. Lengel is a by-the-books manager, as...
- Full Plot Summary
Page Number and Citation: 189. Cite this Quote. Explanation and Analysis: Unlock with LitCharts A +. The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle—the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything)—were pretty hilarious. Related Characters: Sammy (speaker), Queenie.
- It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you. John Updike. Memories, People, Lovely.
- Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right or better. John Updike. Motivational, Inspiring, Education.
- I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards. John Updike.
- Living is a compromise, between doing what you want and doing what other people want. John Updike. People, Doing What You Want, Compromise.
Sammy sees the A&P customers as stuck in a rut they don't want to get out of. One symptom of that is focusing on their shopping lists and ignoring everyone and everything around them, no matter what. 3. There's people in this town haven't seen the ocean for twenty years. Sammy.
512 quotes from John Updike: 'It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.', 'Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them. ', and 'Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face.'.
by John Updike. A&P and Other Stories Quotes and Analysis. “He hoped she wouldn’t get too mad, because when she was mad he wondered if he should have married her, and doubting that made him feel crowded. It was bad enough, his mother was always crowding him.”. Here, Ace ponders how his wife will react when she finds out that he been fired ...
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Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “A&P” by John Updike. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
