FREE ESSAY ON A&P, UPDIKE

A&P, UPDIKE

"A&P" by Updike
Gone are the days that humans could live impulsively, only taking physical pain and
pleasure into account when making decisions. Or so one would like to believe. In a
display of sheer innocence and ignorance, Sammy, a grocery clerk at the A & P, managed to
revert back to the original behavior patterns of his ape-like ancestors. One cannot
possibly predict the future of Sammy, given his own illogical and irrational behavior.
But one can, through a careful examination of Sammy's life, determine that Sammy is just
a naive, young man whose impulsive acts, partly as a consequence of his upbringing,
compel him to participate in a cause not worth fighting for, instead of using his talents
for more constructive purposes.
No matter how much Sammy tried, he could not transcend the rational barriers of his
evolutionary counterpart, the ape. From the moment that Sammy first gazed upon those
three young women in bathing suits to his outburst and subsequent resignation, Sammy was
not able to separate reason from basic sexual instinct. Sammy first makes the comment,
The longer her neck was, the more of her there was, and later says, From the third slot I
look straight up this aisle to the meat counter, and I watched them all the way." After
hours--perhaps even years--of being deprived of the sight of a beautiful girl, Sammy gave
in to the natural animal tendency to observe and pursue a member of the opposite sex. It
was of no consequence to Sammy that he did not even know the three girls and had not seen
very much of them. Sammy's only overriding desire was, simply put, sex. Sammy made no
effort to rationally think about what he was doing; instead, he acted on an impulse
stemming from the most primal instincts. When the three girls walked into the A & P,
Sammy was no more a rational being than Adolf Hitler was a humanitarian. He had only one
goal: do everything in his power to impress the girls, making sure they would not escape
the hallowed A & P without having awe-filled reverence for the grocery clerk named Sammy.
However, from the beginning, Sammy's idealistic dreams of renown had a sour taste to
them.
Sammy began his grocery clerk glory days as a victim of his own parents' over
watchfulness. His parents had known Lengel, the store manager, for years, and took it
upon themselves to get Sammy a job. Perhaps his parents believed that doing Sammy's dirty
work would somehow shelter Sammy from the so-called real world, or perhaps they merely
wanted the best for their son, and getting him a job was their way of giving Sammy what
they felt he was due. Whatever his parents' motives were, the end result was somewhat of
a loss of Sammy's independence. Given the circumstances surrounding the rest of the
story, it is not unreasonable to assume that Sammy had felt somewhat dependent upon his
parents and did not like that dependence at all. But he had never faced the right
circumstance that may have potentially given him a reason, or an excuse, to break his
ties with his parents and become truly independent. Lengel points out, Sammy, you don't
want to do this to your Mom and Dad . . . You'll feel this for the rest of your life."
Despite this warning, Sammy is more than willing to break the unwritten covenant he has
with his parents and attempts to become a single autonomous agent. He knows that he will
disappoint his parents if he decides to quit working, but he feels it more important to
stand up for and impress the girls. He has the goal of leaving his victimized life behind
him so that he can continue it without external impediment.
It is unfortunate that Sammy's lofty goals are not realized. The moment he steps out the
door of the A & P, I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course. There wasn't
anybody but some young married screaming with her children about some candy they didn't
get by the door of a powder-blue Falcon station wagon. Sammy must come to the harsh
realization that the big scene he made, the trusts and loyalties he compromised, and his
own hormonal imbalance have brought him nothing. His cause was, on the face, noble. Save
Maid Marion from the oppressive king. To Sammy it was as if he was actually going to
rescue these girls from the seemingly inevitable predicament they found themselves in.
But in reality, the cause was not noble at all. Sammy never really thought about being
the hero, at least nowhere else but his own misguided fantasies. He had been deprived of
the sight of beautiful women and could not resist the urge to play the 'clerk in shiny
apron-ware.' His newfound cause was a trite one at best. More than anything, Sammy wanted
to expand his mediocre achievement into some historical event. But he still ended up
seeing the girls walk out of the store, never to see them again. At least Sammy had found
a cause, but the least Sammy could do would have been to find a cause worth fighting for.
By his attempt to ensure the girls' satisfaction, Sammy went against any rational loyalty
that he could have had to his parents and his manager. He opposed the opinions of people
who were close to him, and he gained nothing.
Sammy did, however, find a talent. He rushed off into his goal without thinking, going
where angels fear to tread. Although his actions were drawn almost exclusively from
sexual urges, Sammy could become a good leader if he would become better disciplined. He
was not afraid to face the potentially adverse consequences of his actions. The principle
of his actions, even if they were just a response to a hormonal imbalance, remains noble.
He stood up for his belief despite what others said to him. Sammy concludes his thoughts
saying, His [Lengel's] face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an
injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to
be to me hereafter." Sammy realized, since he had disappointed those who were very close
to him, his life would be more complex and more prone to problems. Yet, he did not back
out of his actions and decide to stay at the A & P. He instead went on with his life,
realizing that the past should not be rewritten or regretted. For that, if nothing else,
Sammy should be commended.
Sammy's initial motives were driven by his own innate instincts and impulses of wanting
girls. Much of his motives were based upon his ape-like tendency to shed inhibitions and
seduce the female sex. The ability to judge, inherent in any human being, seemed to be
the only thing separating him from his evolutionary counterparts. However, as the
circumstances surrounding his actions were divulged, and Sammy began to really realize
what he was doing, his actions became nobler. One can learn from Sammy the importance of
not backing down once decisions are made, and to stand up for one's own opinions despite
what other people think. If one can disregard Sammy's initial ape-like motives that
stressed the importance of the sex drive, there is much to be learned from that
now-eminent grocery clerk. If people finally decide to stand up for what they believe,
themselves and the world would indubitably be bettered. Then, the world would run less
rampant with people who appear to have missed their fair share of natural selection, and
the world would be a much more spiritually sound place.
Bibliography
A&P, John Updike.