A&P by John Updike

The short story A&P published in 1961, is narrated with blunt first person observations through the eyes of Sammy, a 19-year-old A&P checkout clerk. Sammy conveys a typical male teenage post woman's liberation attitude when he describes in detail how the three girls look in their bathing suits when they enter the A&P. "In walk these three girls in nothing but bathing suits. There was this chunky one, with a two-piece. It was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp and her belly was still pretty pale.... There was this one, with one of those chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and tall one, with black hair that had not quite frizzed right.... "You know their kind of girl other girls think very "Striking" and "Attractive However, never quite makes it...She was the queen with "Long white prima-Donna legs."

The girls distract Sammy. Sam lives in a town located north of Boston, five miles from the beach. He is stagnant, not moving up in his life or his job and is ready for a change by the time the girls enter. The girls come into the A&P to buy a jar of Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks. The name of the snack the girls buy foreshadows the outcome. Lengel, the store manager and Sunday school teacher continously criticizes the way they dress. "Girls this isn't the beach." Lengel says to harass the girls until Sammy, having had enough of Lengel embarrassing them as they find out they are from a wealthy part of town. Sammy takes what he considers heroic action when he walks over to Lengel to announce he is quitting because of how they are treated. Sammy hopes that the girls will see him and walk out with him as their triumphant hero. Instead, Sammy notices they have left without another word before he does. Lengel tells Sam that he is embarrassing himself by quitting and Sam replies. "No, it was the girls who were embarrassing us." This is in content to the girl's indignation when they tell Lengel where they live after he confronts them about their bathing suits. Updike successfully shows our actions have consequences through Sammy after he takes the heroic stand on principle against Lengel who represents the judging of all society. Sammy realizes how his parents are not going to understand the sacrifice he has made for the girls and humanity and will only be disappointed and angry that he had made such a rash decision.