Social Class in A & P by John Updike :: essays research papers

In the story, A&P by John Updike, the learner identifies the differences of social classes between Sammy, a checkout work and Queenie, a wealthy girl that visits the store. Though non from the same class structure, Sammy is compelled to interact with the girl, however fails in doing so because she is considered privileged. As the student begins his essay, he points out that Sammy is part of the lower class structure. He is an eighteen-year-old boy who is working as a checkout clerk in an A&P in a small New England township five miles from the beach (2191). While working an afternoon shift on Thursday, he notices these girls in nothing but bathing suits (2191) enter the store. It is in this scene that the student begins to identify the differences between the group of girls and Sammy. As the student develops his essay, Sammy begins to compare the girls to other customers in the store. From houseslaves in pin curlers to an old politica l party in baggy gray pants (2192 ), Sammy negatively characterizes customers in rail line to the leader of the girls, Queenie. To Sammy, the girl is someone that is not from their town. She is everything that every girl envies and wants to be. In contrast to Sammy, she will spend her summer vacationing while he spends it working. It is clear to Sammy that their worlds are different, however it is also obvious that he would uniform to explore hers. The story unfolds when, Lengel, the stores manager (2191) confronts the girls because they are svelte inappropriately. To Sammy, it is a moment of embarrassment and in defiance he lay off his job. The student suggests that in quitting, Sammy challenges social inequality and is a person who is arduous to