John Updike’s story “A & P” describes a dehumanizing culture through the eyes of a nineteen-year-old store clerk named Sammy. On the day that this story takes place, three girls in bathing suits enter the store. These girls are eventually reprimanded by Sammy’s boss, Lengel, at which time Sammy abruptly quits his job and leaves the A & P. Sammy narrates the story using very specific words to describe the people and objects around him. These terms are not only very descriptive, but they frequently have a much deeper meaning, revealing much about Sammy’s personality and his frustration with the world around him. Although Sammy seems to only have a connection with the material items sold within the A & P, his word-choice reveals a secret longing for human interaction in a world where he is viewed as little more than the operator of the cash register.
Updike makes it clear that Sammy’s character has some sort of connection with material things. The young clerk is very familiar with items sold in the store and makes a point to refer to each of them by name. Instead of simply saying “crackers”, Sammy specifies “HiHo crackers” (1); instead of saying “canned peaches” Sammy says more specifically, “A pyramid of Diet Delight peaches” (4). Sammy even refers to one aisle as the “cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-rasins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle” (2). John Updike’s use of words is very deliberate. He did not include specific brand names, because this piece is sponsored by HiHo, nor did he use them to lengthen the story and meet a required word count. These items are described in depth, because they reveal a great deal about Sammy’s personality. He feels a connection with these things and is comfortable speaking about and thinking about objects. Sammy’s connection with material items is also used to emphasize the fact that he generally lacks close human interaction.
Sammy is around people all day...