John Updike's 'The Story Of An Hour'

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In the short story “A & P,” written by John Updike, Sammy quits his job at A&P primarily to be a hero, put on a show for the customers, and because he felt it was too late to turn back. After Lengel embarrasses the girls at the checkout and they begin to leave, Sammy tells Lengel he quits in hopes that, “they’ll stop and watch me, their unexpected hero” (Updike 144). Sammy’s primary reasoning for quitting is an attempt to impress the girls hoping they would be waiting for him. As the situation unfolds, Sammy makes the remark to himself, “One advantage to this scene taking place in summer, I can follow it with a clean exit” (144). He wanted the exit to be clean with no extra elements such as getting his coat knowing the customers were watching …show more content…
Mallard looks out the window, moves around in the chair, and talks to herself. As Mrs. Mallard looks out the window, knowing her heart problems death is foreshadowed as she felt, “There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully” (150). This gives the readers the felling of suspense not knowing what this thing actually is. Another example of death given in the story is as Mrs. Mallard moves in the chair her facial expressions continue to change. After whispering to herself Mrs. Mallard, “pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body” (151). When looking at Mrs. Mallards heart problems you can make the assumption that she might be experiencing heart trouble foreshadowing her death, but the author conveys it in a way that makes readers unsure. A key foreshadowing moment in the story is when Mrs. Mallard whispered the words, “Free! Body and soul free!” (151). These words can be used to represent her soul leaving her body, and her finally becoming free in terms of death. Looking at the moments in the chair, out the window, and from Mrs. Mallard her death is not so
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