In the story "A & P", written by John Updike, the focus is on Sammy, a sales clerk at the local grocery store, and how he gives up his entire salary and current life to stand up for three young girls. The thought that Sammy is only standing up for the girls is because they are attractive and Sammy wanted these girls to hear him stand up for them. After the manager embarasses the girls very publicly about how "we want you decently dressed when you come in here", Sammy very loudly proclaims that he quits, but not quite loudly enough for the girls, who are leaving the store, to hear him (The Norton Introduction To Literature, 152). At this point, Sammy realizes that he gave up a good job, salary, and possibly his parent's pride, to impress a few girls.
The way that the writer has the narrator point out when things take a turn for the worst helps to move the story along. By using this style the writer makes it possible to skip over watching the girls walk around the store some more and get to the guts of the story. Also, the description of the girls, "sort of oaky hair...done up in a bun that was unracelling...a kind of prim face" gave the readers a wonderful picture of what the girls look like (150).
Updike, John. “A & P”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 149-154. Print.
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