John Updike's A&P

In John Updike's A&P he conveys many points that contrast each other. The short story takes place in a grocery store five miles from the beach. When on a typical day three girls in their bathing suits walk in. Working in the grocery store is a young teenage boy. This boy is the narrator and main character. John Updike provides lots of details about the store and about the strange teenage girls.  The store is very much what I would expect it to be as a reader, but the girls are out of context. It is not surprising that the teenage boy is interested in the girls in bathing suits.  But it is odd, however, that at the end of the short story the main character quits his job because he thinks the manager embarrasses them. I wonder if this was just a way out of his boring job? 

When reading I was thinking about why the story was so random. The beginning grabs you in and makes you want to read more. Then it is not very clear where the story is going and the ending is very surprising and abrupt. Overall I really enjoyed reading this story because it was so unpredictable. 

Favorite Passage:

"The girls, and who'd blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say "I quit" to Lengel enough for them to hear, hopping they'll stop and watch me, their unsuspected hero.  They keep right on going, into the electric eye; the door flies open and they flicker across the lot to their car, Queenie and Plaid and Big Tall Goony-Goony (not that as raw material she was so bad), leaving me with Lengel and a kink in his eyebrow."

Why do you like it?

I like this passage because it shows why Sammy is making the decision to quit his job.  He is quitting his job because he wants to impress the girls.  It is also interesting in the way he describes the three girls by what they look like.  

What purpose does it serve?  

The passage that I chose is important because it shows the real meaning behind why Sammy does not want to keep his job.  The passage is a transition in the story from describing the girls walking through the story and why the girls become important to Sammy's life.  Until this point in the story it is not clear that the girls are going to make a difference to Sammy's life.