Analysis of Sammy in A&P by John Updike

Teenagers typically find themselves going through the motions of doing what they're told once they are instructed to do so. In adherence to societal norms, teenagers begin to feel as if they blend in, and nothing is particularly special about them. John Updike was able to write a coming-of-age story in which his main character, Sammy, is thrust into adulthood rather quickly over a spontaneous decision. Through Sammy’s thoughts, intense observations, and his actions, we are able to see his deep dissatisfaction and his yearning to stand out from the crowd.

Examination of Sammy's Character in John Updike's A&P

Sammy is simply the conventional average young boy who works at his town’s local A&P store. From the beginning of the story, we can see that Sammy is very self-opinionated, sarcastic, and includes a keen empirical sense that lends insight into the deeper meaning of the story. While Sammy contentedly describes everything around him, we get a sense of how he sees the world and how he perceives things. Most of the story involves Sammy describing three women who enter his store. Immediately, we see Sammy’s intense fascination with these random three women, thinking he’s just being an ordinary young boy. However, Sammy goes beyond the surface details to gather insights about the people he observes. One of the women he studies a little more intently, becoming fascinated by her. He points out how “She was the Queen” and how she naturally seemed to lead and catch anyone’s attention in a second. What intrigued him the most were the bathing suit straps. Clearly, this intrigued Sammy in a very sensual way, but they are also clues that he uses to construct an image of her inner life. Once he hears all of the women speak, his imagination begins to spark about the women, as he is able to assess Queenie and the girls’ social status.

Sammy’s focused observations and descriptions reveal his own prejudices and blind spots. For instance, Sammy’s honest and lustful ogling of the women reveals a certain immaturity, and he is dismissive and scornful of the A&P customers, seeing them as “sheep” and “house slaves” (Updike, 1961). He’s equally dismissive of his coworker Stokesie, whom Sammy sardonically presents as an unimaginative drone. The irony of Sammy’s sense of superiority throughout the story is that he realizes that, in the eyes of Queenie, he must appear just like everyone else in the store. His sole desire to set himself apart from them is to prove that he is different from the rest, leading him to quit his job. We begin to see the desire to be more than who he really is by the subtle hints he gives out as he observes the women. One example is when Queenie talks about learning about herring snacks, we see Sammy slip into the typical dream of how marvelous it would be to join in on her family’s parties. Only to bash his family down by saying, “When my parents have somebody over they get lemonade and if it’s a real racy affair Schlitz in tall glasses” (Updike, 1961), showing his deep desire to live a sophisticated and complex life. Sammy resents his parents for not being able to give him a life of wealth.

Although his parents try hard to give him a good life by getting him the job at A&P, Sammy still doesn’t think it's adequate, and he wishes he could live a fun carefree life. Sammy makes this resolution near the end of the story, as Lengel tries to deter him from quitting his job. The real problem that lies here is Sammy’s deep desire to stand out from the crowd. Sammy thinks that it would be “fatal” for him not to complete the gesture of quitting over Lengel’s treatment of the women because the gesture in question has become, for Sammy, a way to be acknowledged by the women. By quitting, Sammy hopes to enter into Queenie’s world, a world where he will be able to experience things like sophistication, youth, and beauty—values that were contrary to what A&P held. Sammy feels that if he does not go through with quitting, he will forever be stuck at A&P, learning to conform, to submit to authority, and to perpetually maintain a sense of shallow materialism. Sammy, however, realizes that he is in a lose-lose scenario. He can either forfeit his self-identity and what is considered his social norm or quit his job, not knowing what is to come in the future.

Sammy finally makes his dramatic gesture but soon realizes that he must live with the consequences. Sammy says, “I quit” because he wants the women to notice him and becomes nearly devastated when he walks outside to “look for my girls, but they’re gone, of course” (Updike, 1961). His choice seems unfavorable in the eyes of the reader when Sammy is left by himself with no adoration or praise from the women. Sammy is left feeling guilty for his monumental decision to quit his job, especially for women who didn’t even give him the time of day. Sammy’s desire for Queenie begins as a young man’s natural interest in a pretty girl that ends up as a deep need to escape his job at A&P and even his own life. Queenie’s carefree world of endless freedoms and sophistication makes Sammy hunger for opportunities beyond his life’s experience. In saying, “I quit,” Sammy is attempting to signal that he is ready for a significant change in his life. Sammy is through living his average life and uses his stance as a way to show that he is ready to build a new life for himself, one in which he desires. Right after his decision, we see that Sammy immediately regrets what he has done. After Lengel snaps at Sammy, asking him if he really wants to do this to his parents, Sammy answers in his mind, “It’s true, I don’t” (Updike, 1961), showing the beginning of his regret for his decision. He goes on to elucidate how once you’ve already made a decision, it’s hard to go back and change it without looking like a coward. Sammy’s pride is evident here. Although Sammy knows what he is doing is a mistake, he can’t make himself take back his decision.

In the last sentence of the story, we see Sammy looking back through the window of the store, noticing that Lengel was in his “...place, checking the sheep through” (Updike, 1961). Sammy realizes that the only people who succeed in this world are those who conform to the rules. Through the window, Sammy is able to see that Lengel’s rigid temperament matched perfectly with his actions. Sammy connects this harshness of Lengel’s look with the harshness that presently awaits him in his future. In the end, we see Sammy’s true dissatisfaction. Sammy was not able to change his life in the drastic way he wanted, but he was able to learn a little about himself. Sammy was able to see a glimpse of what kind of person he really is, a part of him that would affect him negatively in the years to come.

Conclusion

Updike's story allows us to see the constant chain of dissatisfaction in our lives. Sammy did feel as if his life was boring and dull, but the moment he quit his job, he soon realized a new sense of dissatisfaction. Sammy received the consequences he would have to deal with at home for quitting the job his parents got for him, and even more so, trying to find work again in the village. His rash decision to quit his job for women who had no idea he was even there shows the human tendency to want to be noticed and loved. Humans were created to be in relationships with other humans, and when they are devoid of that attention, they often end up doing something drastic in order to get even a little bit of attention. Updike used Sammy to connect with his readers in a way that makes us realize that we all have a deep desire to be known by the world, but if we let that desire consume us into neglecting the good things we already have in life, it can ultimately destroy us.

References:

Updike, J. (1961). A&P. The New Yorker.