A&P

Reading "A&P" by John Updike didn't inspire me. Being a grocery clerk of years past, I cannot deny the feeling of adolescent nostalgia. The only problem is, the drone feeling I had then when working as a grocery clerk was immediately revisited the further into "A&P" I endured. "A&P" is a short story, despite its dull reading that would make the reader think otherwise.

One important aspect of "A&P" that makes it a short story is the story of initiation. Initiation, as the character must undergo some kind of change that redefines his or her existence. The "A&P" protagonist is the young adolescent Sammy. Sammy finds himself at another mundane day as a grocery clerk, only to be interrupted from thought by the arrival of three young ladies into the grocery store he works at. He suddenly wonders from his daily duties and covertly watches three beautiful young ladies, wearing improper clothing, promenaded around through the store. When they reach his register, the store manager appears and reprimands them for their inappropriate clothing. Upon listening to his manager's remarks, Sammy's immaturity and youth get the best of him. He could of ignored the situation without involvement, but boyhood chivalry is wasted as Sammy self sacrifices his job in defense of the three young ladies:
"I said I quit."
"I thought you did."
"You didn't have to embarrass them."
"It was they who were embarrassing us."
Some may call it noble to defend those modern day "damsels in distress." Yet Sammy's actions became foolish, and after the fact, because the three young ladies were already out the door. Their reprimand, no doubt, will be the ridicule of their remaining events of the day. Sammy in order to protect their honor sacrifices his job. The reality of it all does not appear to him till the end. Upon realizing the consequences of his actions, he reminisces, "...my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter." After leaving the store, Sammy witnesses his former manager's "injection of iron" as he rang what used to be his register. A valuable lesson young Sammy learned as his "initiation" into maturity.