Expect the unexpected
Expect the Unexpected
Many people in the universe get distracted with something they may want. This is no exclusion for Sammy, the supporter, in “ A & A ; P ” by John Updike. Sammy works at the A & A ; P food market narrative and he sees something unexpected while he is working. The unexpected distraction causes him to make thing he did non intend to make which causes him to believe about things at the incorrect clip and do errors that did non necessitate to be made. Updike examines and shows the impact of one ‘s environment based on one ‘s determinations as shown by Sammy ‘s actions that he has made in the narrative.
Throughout the narrative, Sammy thinks about three misss that walk into the A & A ; P shop while he is working. He gets distracted because of the fact that they are have oning merely bathing suits. While they walk, Sammy visualizes each miss up and down and seems to acquire phantasies while believing about them. This causes him to do a error while working at the check-out procedure line and the witch-like lady in her 1950ss gets huffy and give Sammy problem because he rang up “ HiHo ” crackers twice, “ I pealing it up once more and the client starts giving me snake pit. She ‘s one of these cash-register-watchers, a enchantress about 50 with paint on her zygomatic bones and no superciliums, and I know it made her twenty-four hours to trip me up… ” ( 16 ) . Sammy can non concentrate while believing about the three misss who cause his actions and his ideas to clash with each other in the incorrect manner. As it can be seen, Sammy ‘s concentration alterations every bit shortly as he sees something unexpected. His desires catch his heads and he does non cognize what to make as he is non able to believe directly.
Equally shortly as she finishes up with the lady, he starts to believe about the three misss once more and starts watching them as they go through the food market shop. He noticed one of the misss and dubbed her Queenie, because she seemed like she was the leader of the group as she was in front leading and noticed her the most. He names one of the other misss Plaid because she is have oning a plaid green two-piece bathing suit. He names the last miss Big Tall Goony-Goony because of the fact that she was large and tall. Sammy watches Queenie as she presented herself and noted her physical visual aspect. He describes her face, characteristics, how she walked, and how she goes through the isle and visualizes things. He still is in aghast how the misss are in merely bathing suits and was believing why they did non set on a shirt or some places. He shortly thinks about how he likes the organic structures on the misss and how thick they are.
As the narrative goes on, Lengel, the director, comes and confronts the misss and tells them that following clip that come into the A & A ; P food market shop that they should have on shirts and places. The misss thought that they were nice when they came into the shop but the director did non desire to reason with them stating that it is policy. Equally shortly as that happens, they seem embarrassed and looked like they were in a haste to go forth A & A ; P. Sammy tells Lengel that he did non hold to abash them like that. Lengel explains to Sammy that the misss were the one abashing the shop for what they were have oning. After that, Sammy says he quits in order to catch the misss ‘ attending as they hurry out the shop because he did non like the manner Lengel embarrassed them, “ The misss, and who ‘d fault them, are in a haste to acquire out, so I say “ I quit ” to Lengel quick plenty for them to hear, trusting they ‘ll halt and watch me, their unsuspected hero… ” ( 20 ) . Lengel ask Sammy if he is certain because Sammy knows that his parents will be really defeated to hear that he discontinue his occupation. Equally shortly as he leaves the shop, he ca n’t happen the misss anyplace. It is as if the misss left no presence of them coming to the A & A ; P. When Sammy looks back at the shop, Lengel is in Sammy ‘s topographic point pealing up the remainder of the points for other people, and at that point Sammy starts to believe what is traveling to go on here after and how everyone will handle him, “ Lengel in my topographic point in the slot, look intoing the sheep through. His face was dark grey and his dorsum stiff, as if he ‘d merely had an injection of Fe, and my tummy sort of fell as I felt how hard the universe was traveling to be to me afterlife… ” ( 20 ) . Sammy ‘s actions and his ideas collide which end up traveling at odds with each other which causes him to discontinue merely to acquire some misss attending which did non go on at the terminal.
Sammy like most other male childs thinks that they need to make something in order to catch some misss ‘ attending. Throughout the narrative, things did non travel the manner Sammy wanted it to travel. Actions and ideas interfere with each other doing him to do errors that did non necessitate be made. Not merely did he acquire a witch-like lady client to acquire huffy at him which causes her to give him hell but he besides quit his occupation so he can be noticed by the misss he admires which ended up non go oning. This can be seen as the struggle and the flood tide throughout the whole narrative. These actions Sammy makes cause him to do an impact on the environment and the people around him.
Work Cited
Updike, John. “ A & A ; P. ” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th Compact erectile dysfunction. New York: Longman, 2010. Pg.16-20.
Small, Anne C. , and Robert C. Evans. “ A & A ; P. ” Short Fiction: A Critical Companion,1997. 252-255. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 20 Jan. 2010.
