Idealism In A & P By John Updike

A&P is a popular short story written by the American author John Updike, who is famous for the attention to the concerns, passions, and suffering of average Americans in his fictions. In this story, the protagonist Sammy is a young man who works as a clerk in A&P grocery. On a hot summer day, he sees three young women about his age entering in the grocery barefoot and wearing only in swimsuits, to purchase herring snacks. Sammy accepts the behavior of three girls, and even appraises them sexually. But when Lengel, the strict and rigid manager in the grocery, notices the girls, he requests the girls to leave the grocery because he considers their clothes inappropriate. Sammy thinks the girls are treated unfairly so he chooses to quit his job. I think the story show conflicts between idealism and reality within the characters in 1950’s America. I will explain more details in the following paragraphs.
Sammy is a 19-year-old teenage boy, who lives in a boring town where people do not care much about what happens around them and only follow the traditions. As Sammy says, “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering applesauce!” But Sammy is different. He does not want to be as dull and obedient as them. He longs for an …show more content…
The customers are described as “sheep”, implying their docility and indifference. They are members of “the System”, getting used to their everyday life. Sammy knows how they live and therefore, wants to make a change. The manager is not only the manager of A&P grocery, but also the keeper of “the System” and the tradition. He is kind and gentle to others, but sticks to the policy and principles. When Sammy asks to leave, though there’s “a kink in his eyebrow”, he still tries to persuade Sammy to stay. He represents the tradition of the

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