’s Short Story A&P Essay, Research Paper
bjbjt+t+
John Updike once said, “Man lacks grace because he has retreated from responsibility into sensuality.” Sammy, the protagonist in Updike’s short story, “A&P”, is a perfect literary representation of this quote. During the course of “A&P”, he runs from every responsibility he has, just to make himself feel better. He gets distracted from his duties at work and makes mistakes because he is busy gawking at some girls, and he ultimately quits those duties simply to try to impress those girls. Even though Sammy is nineteen, he is not mature enough to hold to his own responsibilities. Rather, he runs from them to retreat into his own sensuality.
“In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits”(Kennedy 13). This is how the story “A&P”, and subsequently, Sammy’s shirking of his duties begins. The usual customers at the store where Sammy works are “sheep”(Kennedy14); they are old, dull people that would not cause a distraction for a nineteen year-old boy. These girls, however, are something new in Sammy’s work routine. Throughout the entire story, Sammy is focused on these girls. When they enter, he begins to describe one, “She was a chunky kid…”(Kennedy 13). As they walk through the store, he notices miniscule details about the girls and even makes generalizations on what their personalities are like. “There was this tall one…the kind of girl others think is very ‘striking’ and ‘attractive’…and then the third one…She was the queen…but you got the idea that she had talked the other two into coming in here with her”(Kennedy 13). He watches them walk “against the usual traffic”(Kennedy 14), and wonders why they are at the A&P, because “it’s not as if we’re on the cape”(Kennedy 14). When finally the girls stroll over to the checkout counter, he is distracted ten fold more than before. “Now her hands are empty…and I wonder where the money’s coming from. Still with that prim look she lifts a folded dollar bill out of the hollow center of her nubbled pink top. The jar went heavy in my hand” (Kennedy 15).
All through this story, Sammy follows these girls, pondering over their persons and personalities, when, all the while, he is supposed to be concentrating on his job. He is standing behind a cash register in the A&P, a grocery store. He is not there to gawk at people walking through; he is there to make sure that the customers coming through are served to the best of his ability. However, the second that something appealing walks through the door, Sammy forgets his responsibilities and begins to retreat into the sensual. When the girls first walk in, he is supposed to be checking out a customer, but is distracted by a “sweet, broad, soft-looking can”(Kennedy 13). As a result, he rings up a box of HiHo Crackers twice, and the “witch” who brought the crackers up the aisle begins to argue and yell at Sammy. Instead of simply admitting his small mistake, he insults the woman, inferring that “it made her day to trip me up. She’d been watching cash registers for 50 years and probably never seen a mistake before”(Kennedy 13). All the while that Sammy was watching and thinking about the girls, he could have been doing something productive. Instead, he waits until the girls come to check out to do anything having to do with the store again.
When the girls walk up to his register, Sammy is definitely still distracted. He fumbles around with the one jar of “Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks in Pure Sour Cream”(Kennedy 15) and the dollar bill that Queenie hands him. Unfortunately, Mr. Lengel, the Manager, walks in at the same time that the girls are checking out. He walks over and announces to them, “Girls, this isn’t the beach”(Kennedy 15). Queenie begins to protest, but Mr. Lengel keeps on, “giving the girls that sad Sunday-school-superintendent stare.” Even through this, Sammy is distracted by the girls. When Queenie speaks, Sammy “slid right down her voice into her living room”(Kennedy 15). He begins to picture her family waiting for the herring snacks, all the while Mr. Lengel reprimanding the girls for not being “decently dressed.” When Mr. Lengel finally lets the girls go, Sammy says “I quit’ to Lengel, quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch”(Kennedy 16). Even after the girls leave the store, Sammy’s mind is still on them. “You didn’t have to embarrass them”(Kennedy 16), he says to his manager. His physical distractions are gone, and he still continues to live for what feels good to him.
This entire story focuses on how Sammy fits the quote that began this essay. Every move he makes throughout the story is a retreat from responsibility into sensuality; what makes him feel good. He does not take one responsibility seriously after the girls walk in to the A&P where he works. Rather, he only does things that make him feel good. Staring at the girls, wondering about their lives, quitting his job: all of these things he did because it felt good. It felt great to watch those bathing suits meander through “the cool of the A&P”(Kennedy 14). It was pleasurable to daydream about their personalities and lives. Certainly it was self-empowering to say the words “I quit”(Kennedy 16). The girls’ “unsuspecting hero”(Kennedy 16). Sadly, Sammy’s few minutes of pleasure land him on the street, looking for the girls, and searching for what to do next.
Другие работы по теме:
A Clean WellLighted Place Essay Research Paper 2
A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Essay, Research Paper Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois July 21, 1898. He died in 1961 at the age of 63. Hemingway is known to be one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. He has written more than one hundred short fiction stories, many of them are well known around the world.
Hemingway And Theme Essay Research Paper Ernest
Hemingway And Theme Essay, Research Paper Ernest Hemingway uses many themes and subtle nuances, to bring his short stories alive, with imagination and adventure. These short stories all revolve around certain things that are present in each of his stories. In Another Country, The Big Two Hearted River, and Indian Camp, all contain similarities, which are sometimes very evident, and very subtle.
A Farewell To Arms Finial Thinking Essay
, Research Paper A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is a thought provoking anti-war novel. Hemingway?s powerful descriptions and direct realism almost moved me to tears by the end. He is an effective writer, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading his work.
Old Man And The Sea Essay Research
Paper Evaluation In Hemingway’s novels, he puts ordinary men through extraordinary situations and forces them to show valor, strength, courage, and weakness. Strength is admired in men. Weakness in a man is often looked down upon. Both however, are characteristics that all men show. A man’s strength or a man’s weakness alone does not define who he is.
Night And A Farewell To Arms Eliezer
And Frederic Essay, Research Paper In Night and A Farewell to Arms, the reader follows the characters of Elie Wiesel and Ernest Hemingway through their personal struggles between love and war. In Night, Eliezer faces malnutrition,
The War Ridden Soldier Essay Research Paper
Throughout the world many individuals believe love is the cure for everything. In the novel, A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story between a nurse and a war soldier. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War one. Hemingway develops this theme by means of characters, tone, and setting.
The Snows Of Kilimanjaro Essay Research Paper
"The Snows of Kilimanjaro" "?The Marvelous thing is that it?s painless,? he said. ?That?s how you know when it starts?" (Hemingway 3). A dying man in the middle of the African Safari, is the concept of Ernest Hemingway?s, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro." Hemingway, in this story more than any other of his works, used himself and his life experiences to create a great piece of literature.
Narrative Shift Hemingway Essay Research Paper Narrative
Narrative Shift -Hemingway Essay, Research Paper Narrative Shift Hemingway s characters often turn to primitive rituals for comfort. (Donaldson, Vol. 13 in Literary Criticism) It is at this primitive point in each character when Hemingway employs a narrative shift or shifting the narrator s description through another characters point of view.
ERNEST MILLER HEMINGWAY Essay Research Paper Ernest
ERNEST MILLER HEMINGWAY Essay, Research Paper Ernest Hemingway was one of America?s favorite authors his writings touched the lives of those who read his books everywhere. He put a lot of emphasis on his experienced, and adventurous life into all of his books. He truly shows how one writer?s life can be another?s entertainment without being too personal.
Ernest Hemingway 2 Essay Research Paper A
Ernest Hemingway 2 Essay, Research Paper A person can easily recognize Ernest Hemingway s writing style by his simple sentence structure, clear dialogue, and the hopelessness of his characters. Soldier s Home , Hills Like White Elephants , and A Clean well-Lighted Place are perfect examples of three short stories that easily define his unique style.
Ernest M Hemingway Essay Research Paper Ernest
Ernest M. Hemingway Essay, Research Paper Ernest M. Hemingway Do you ever ask yourself what makes life meaningful? For American novelist and short-story writer Ernest Hemingway, it was courage. The characters in his works might not win, but they always live and die bravely. Hemingway told it how it was and didn’t hold anything back.
Use Of Heroes Essay Research Paper Hemingway
Use Of Heroes Essay, Research Paper Hemingway’s Use of Heroes in A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway has the tendency to use his heroes in some unheroic ways. At first the hero may seem obvious, but later on it is discovered that the true hero is not who it seems to be. In A Farewell to Arms Hemingway uses the true hero to guide the main character into becoming a hero, but fails miserably.
Hemingway Essay Research Paper NonFiction Book ReportThe
Hemingway Essay, Research Paper Non-Fiction Book Report The book Ernest Hemingway and his world was written by Anthony Burgess and it was published in 1978 by Charles Scribners Sons. Its main concept is about the life of Ernest Hemingway and how he differed from his fellow writers in being a very strong man of action.
Hemmingway Essay Research Paper Hemingway Hero
Hemmingway Essay, Research Paper Hemingway Hero’ is the foundation for the main charater in all of Hemingway’s stories. The ‘Hemingway Hero’ is always a man, more so, he is a rough, woodsy type; a real man’s-man. He drinks, he hunts, and he acts first then asks questions later. He goes from one woman to another, and women are good for little more than reproduction. (Shoemaker) He has hopes, dreams, convictions and beliefes which he strictly follows, but he does not talk about them.
Hemmingway Essay Research Paper His books are
Hemmingway Essay, Research Paper His books are seldom read today, and his legend almost a faded memory. But in the 1930s and 1940s Ernest Hemingway was a literary idol–and role model for young writers who imitated his sparse prose and adventurous lifestyle. Fame came to Hemingway early; while in his twenties he wrote The Sun Also Rises, a novel about American expatriates in Paris.
Ironic Cycles Essay Research Paper Ironic CyclesIn
Ironic Cycles Essay, Research Paper Ironic Cycles In The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway uses irony and symbolism to illustrate how a group of Americans and English expatriates lived life. They try to forget the war and restore a sense of meaning to their lives, which he would have liked to do. Hemingway s attitudes are expressed in the book, including his idea of, emphasize the optimistic idea of progress of life s cycle.
Ernest Hemingway Thesis Paper Essay Research Paper
Thesis Ernest Hemingway?s writing style mirrored the way he lived his own life. Ernest lived the way he wrote creating situations, setting scenes and events leading to their consequences. Hemingway leaves morals and conclusions to the reader. In his short story, Hills like White Elephants these writing characteristics can be illustrated by the following outline.
Existentialism In American Lit Essay Research Paper
Existentialism in American Literature “I must find a truth that is true for me, the idea for which I can live or die,” (Sfren Kierkegaard). Being the first acknowledged existentialist, Kierkegaard s ideas set the standards. Existentialist ideas are based mainly on the individual, his plights, and his confrontations.
Santiago Is Hemingway Old Man And The
Sea) Essay, Research Paper There is an old saying in the english language, “Every piece of writing is at least a little bit autobiographical.” This may be true in all cases, but it is clearly predominant in Ernest Hemingway’s “Old Man and the Sea.” It is evident that Hemingway modeled the main character, Santiago after his own person, and that the desires, the mentality, and the lifestyle of the old man are identical to Hemingway’s.
Nick Adams In Hemingway
’s Stories Essay, Research Paper The Nick Adams stories were my favorite of the collection because I got to know Nick through the reading. I started to understand Nick and I could anticipate the actions and feelings that he
Hero In Hemingway
’s Writing Essay, Research Paper Hero in Hemingway’s writing The Sun Also Rises The remarkable thing about the book was its liberal use of dialogue and how Hemingway used it to carry the reader through the book. There was no plot in the book in the sense that there was no twists, intrigue, or goals for any of the characters and the dialogue was the only thing that moved the reader through the book.
Earnest Hemingway Essay Research Paper HEMINGWAYErnest Miller
Earnest Hemingway Essay, Research Paper HEMINGWAY Ernest Miller Hemingway was born at eight o’clock in the morning on July 21, 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway received his formal schooling in the Oak Park public school system. The explosion knocked Hemingway unconscious, killed an Italian soldier and blew the legs off another.
Ernest Hemingway Essay Essay Research Paper Final
Ernest Hemingway Essay Essay, Research Paper Final Draft Hemingway Essay A good writer s objective is to say as much as possible as briefly as possible. This enables the thinking about the implications of the word s presented. Ernest Hemingway explained this idea in his iceberg theory of writing fiction in an interview for Paris Review: If it is any use to know it, I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg.
Ernest Hemingway Style Essay Research Paper Ernest
Ernest Hemingway: Style Essay, Research Paper Ernest Hemingway was a writer whose style was very different to that of most writers in his time. Instead of using more drawn out, overly descriptive writing, his stories were more of a “get to the point” style. This gave his works a much different feel and set them aside from what was common during his lifetime.
The Old Man And The Sea The
Old Man Essay, Research Paper The Old Man and The Sea: The Old Man Matt Shouse English 132 House Authors use many tactics to reveal a character’s personality. In the short
A Farewell To Arms Style Essay Research
Paper A Farewell to Arms: Style Critics usually describe Hemingway’s style as simple, spare, and journalistic. These are all good words; they all apply. Perhaps because of his training as a
Code Hero Essay Research Paper The Code
Code Hero Essay, Research Paper The Code Hero Robert Jordan has been defined as a Hemingway code hero. In Hemingway’s books, a code hero is usually male, as Hemingway’s books seem to have a similarity to Hemingway himself. These code heroes may have been previously wounded or gone through some sort of an ordeal, and so they could have a drinking problem, or a problem sleeping.
Poe Vs Hemingway Essay Research Paper Edgar
Poe Vs. Hemingway Essay, Research Paper Edgar Allen Poe (1809-1849) and Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) were both controversial and intriguing writers of their times. People in their time were
A Farewell To Arms Essay Research Paper 2
A Farewell To Arms- Essay, Research Paper A Farewell to Arms- The book A Farewell to Arms, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a classic about the love story of a nurse and a war ridden soldier. The story
An Interpretation Of Earnest Hemingway
’s Symbolism Essay, Research Paper An Interpretation of Earnest Hemingway’s Symbolism In order to understand symbolism, a reader must learn that it is a non-superficial representation of an idea or belief that goes beyond what is “seen.” Earnest Hemingway’s “A Clean Well-Lighted Place” uses symbolism to help convey the theme of Nihilism, the philosophy that there is nothing heavenly to believe in.
Cat In The Rain Essay Research Paper
Ernest Hemingway?s short story ?The Cat in the Rain? is, on the surface, a simple tale of an American couple in Italy. However, the reader soon realizes that this uncomplicated tale illuminates much deeper meanings. Of significant important is the author?s attitude toward the main characters. Hemingway?s attitude toward the wife, the Innkeeper, and the husband influences the reader?s perception of these characters.