Maturity In John Updike's Short Story A & P

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An initiation story is a story in which the main character is initiated into maturity. John Updike’s short story “A&P” is a classic initiation story as the main character, Sammy, initiates into maturity through the conflict imposed by the rebellious girls who walk into A&P in bathing suits. John Updike is able to achieve an initiation story through the use of internal monologue with the use of first person narrative and conflict to showcase Sammy’s transition from immaturity to maturity.
John Updike depicts Sammy as a judgmental character through the use of internal monologues, which then reveals Sammy’s immaturity. The narration of “A&P” is in first-person point of view, which allows the reader to have access into Sammy’s inner thoughts. Sammy’s internal opinion and interactions with the customers in the grocery store can be described as apathetic. His description of one of his customers as “one of those cash-register-watchers, a witch about fifty with rouge on her …show more content…
The conflict between Lengel and the girls initiated Sammy’s gesture to quit his job. While it may seem like Sammy quitting was to impress the girls, he told Lengel he quits even after he saw that the girls had continued out the door without looking back. Initially, Sammy’s quitting gesture seemed like it was to stand up for the girls but at this point it was for himself. Sammy built up the courage to stand up to what he believes in despite societal opinion. On page 96, when Sammy had realized what he’d actually done, he recognizes the difficulties he will face due to his actions and accepts “how hard the world was going to be to [him] hereafter”. At this point in the story, Sammy has transition from his youth to his adulthood. Sammy’s decision to quit his job may seem impulsive and illogical but it represents Sammy’s realization that he needs to stand up for what he believes
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