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In the story A&P, the author John Updike introduces to us a young man named Sammy. This young man of 18 works in the local A&P of a small town. Sammy foolishly walks away from his job to impress a very good-looking young girl. I feel that Sammy made a very bad spur of the moment decision. Most people do not just up and walk out from their jobs, especially when they have very limited opportunity like Sammy. Sammy comes from a small town where everything you do and do not do is everybody's business.
Not only will Sammy be a topic of discussion as the boy who quit his job to show face to a group of rich beach girls, but he will also be establish a certain reputation with the businesses in town. He no longer has a job so he obviously will have to get a new one. Naturally the local owners are going to wonder how dependable he is as a worker when at his last job Sammy quit to impress some girl in a bathing suit. Obviously Sammy is foolish. Any person would be foolish for doing what he did. In the working world you cannot just quit for stupid reasons.
When you have a job you need to be responsible and dependable in order to keep it. Possibly the most important thing about Sammy's situation is that his quitting really would haunt him for the rest of his life. His boss, Level, even reminded him of this fact. Sammy's job at the A&P was not just a side job to earn a little spending money. It was almost his career. He was small town boy who was most likely from a low-income family.
His job was a means of support for himself and his family. The easiest way to understand his situation is to think about the people who work here at Washington College as our cleaning ladies or dining hall workers. This is not a summer job to earn a little cash. It is a job that they need to keep to support themselves. Those people will probably live here in Chestertown for a very long time if not for the rest of their lives. So any jobs that they might be holding are ones that they hope to keep and move up in.
This was Sammy's situation. John Updike wanted us to view Sammy for what he really is. He did not want the reader to view him as a hero. He wanted us to see Sammy as a grocery boy who, even though he needed his job, quit to impress a girl all because she was pretty.
Not all people would have done what Sammy did, but what he did is not very unique. He is a typical immature boy who does not have a lot of reality in his life when he really should. He should have been aware of the importance of his job. Sammy could be viewed as a hero for sticking up for queen if she had been aware of what Sammy was thinking.
Queen was not thinking that she needed to be stuck up for and she defiantly did not even notice Sammy. For her it was just a stop in the A&P without the correct apparel on. For Sammy it was a life changing moment. There is no way that what Sammy did can be considered heroic. He acted on impulse and made a command decision that would change his life. At the time Sammy thought that what he did was a good thing.
However, years from now when he is in another minimum wage job he will wonder why he walked out that day and if he had not where he could have went with his job. Sammy acted like most foolish teenager's act: on impulse. This is no excuse for what he did though. He was in no way heroic to that girl and he acted very foolishly.
This goes along with what John Updike wanted us to see in his story. He wanted us to be aware of Sammy's situation and of the impact his decision would have on his life. This story is about real life. Many people are in Sammy's position and have to take on an awful lot of responsibility at a young age.
While that is not very fair that they have that much to deal with so young, it does not change their situation. Sammy did not know the impact that his decision would have on his life. Unfortunately, like all, sometimes we need to learn the hard way. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on John Updike Small Town
