There are men out there that will get out of their way just to impress a girl. Sometimes men will go to extremes and risk losing their jobs just like the narrator of the story Sammy. In the short story “A&P” by John Updike. Sammy, who the narrator of the story, also who is a cashier at a supermarket called “A&P”, shows an excellent example of a man trying to impress a woman. His quick decision of to quit his job was a bad decision and will most likely have a big effect on him. At the beginning of the story the opening line of the story: "In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits" (Updike 234). The narrator, Sammy throughout the sstory expresses his thoughts of the customers that go in the store. Most of Sammy’s thoughts relay about three girls that walk into the store. Sammy immediately gets very sexually descriptive in a nineteen-year-old boyish way, "and a sweet broad looking can rear with those two crescents of white under it, where the sun never seems to hit" (Updike 234). Sammy apparently looks at the three girls that walked into the A&P only as sexual objects or also a boyish desire. It is easy to take misinterpret the story for a story of a boy who would do anything for example like to quit his job to "impress" just a girl.
Afterwards he complains about a regular, an old woman, a fifty-year-old "witch" as he calls her that has no eyebrows, who is patiently waiting to get checked out by Sammy. She immediately gets annoyed with Sammy because he busy drooling over the young thing which has just walked in the door (Updike 235). The first girl who walks into the A&P catches Sammy’s eye almost instantly which he describes her as a chunky girl with a two-piece plaid bathing suit on that showed off her "sweet broad soft-looking can" (Updike 235). As if staring at this girl’s backside wasn’t enough, Sammy also noticed "those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit" (Updike 235). Wonder how this girl would feel if she knew how intensely Sammy was scoping her out? That behavior, no matter what she was wearing, is totally unacceptable especially in a grocery store. Is Sammy at fault for not having any self-control? In his world it might be acceptable for a hormonal nineteen-year-old guy to check out a girl in her bathing suit.
For Sammy obviously, perfection wasn’t something he looked for in anyone, except maybe for the girl he referred to as "Queenie," who Sammy thinks she, "has the nicest two scoops of vanilla breasts" he has ever seen (Updike 236). If this girl was so perfect, why did he wonder if she had a brain or if it was just "a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar" (Updike 236)? Indeed, men will be men. this not just another sign that maybe Sammy is not very interested in the way a female thinks or feels, but only in how she looks? Yet he was in all his willing power to get out of his way to talk to that girl. Sammy believed that the only thing that goes through a girl’s mind a mother’s lesson on "how to do it, walk slow and hold yourself straight" (Updike 236). It seems as though Sammy has the "bee in a glass jar" kind of mind himself. As Sammy watched the girl "buzz" over to her two friends, it made his stomach rub the inside of his apron (Updike 237). Sammy also observed the women in the store turn away when they noticed the girls. At this point, Sammy views the rest of the women in the
November 12, 2013 Changing manhood From the beginning of time men always have try to beat the forces of nature, and navigate or squeeze a life living off the land. From the story ‘Out West’ we learn how the changing of society’s life has not just impacted men in general but how he provides for his family. “We were nearly two hours away from the nearest supermarket. And if we lived closer we still couldn’t afford it. We ate lamb all winter, raised it and butchered it.” These words from…
the constitution of Western countries, women and girls had always had more respectful thinking than the same female persons who grow up in Eastern countries, such as women in Middle East, Southeastern Asia, and the rest of countries around the world. Female or male who has more restriction than others? The interesting topic about the gender role is challenged us to think and explain its so much. We have to follow in some ways of women and men about their education, occupation, and social life, women…
and schools. When I enter a public school I see mostly women teaching different subjects and only a few men. When it comes to physical education, it is mostly men that are teaching. The principle of public schools is almost always a male; I have not seen a woman principle before. Women have always been viewed as nurturing, patient, calm and trusting. Since I could remember I have always had a female teacher in elementary and middle school, it was not until high school when males were teaching…
Odysseus and his men began their voyage back home to Ithaca. Troubles with the gods, however, delayed his arrival for yet another ten years. Odysseus fought through the hardships and always kept things in order. Because Odysseus is fearless, loyal, and very wise, he is considered to be a great leader and hero. Odysseus never fails to show his fearlessness. When he and his men arrive at the island of the Cyclops, Odysseus shows no fear toward the beast. After losing a few of his men to Polyphemus…
some examples of how we have categorized and respectively separate certain preferences between women and men. Ever since the beginning of times women has been identified as the weaker gender. The expectations of seeing women succeed in the workplace years ago was a very remote idea, the standards placed on women were very low, the position of women was substantially seen as inferior compered to men. Nowadays this old-school idea has started to diffuse along time, however we can clearly see how gender…
multitasking because they are trained to handle many tasks simultaneously. They need to balance their professional and personal life.The expectation of their families increases as they grow in age. Also women are better than men because they have a lot of patience to do multiple work starting from home to office. They are good at managing home affairs, relationships, office work and spending time with family. Now since all the doors have been opened for women to work…
Not To Be a Victim Victimize is defined as being singled out for cruel or unjust treatment. There are two main females characters in The Elementary Particles that are subjected to be victimized but was it brought upon themselves? Do they give the men the power which causes them to end up feeling victimized?. The women in this novel are look upon when needed wether it was sexual or emotional purposes for the most part it was more sexual then emotional. They understand there role and accept it, is…
Feminist Ethics Classical Feminism Classical ethics is the idea that women are the equal of men. This differs greatly from the commonly held beliefs that women are inferior when it comes to science and math, most physical sports, physical labor, or mental hardship. The “Einstein moment” that this idea wedged itself into mainstream thinking was when the 1982 book by Carol Gilligan was released, titled “In a Different Voice”. In the book she throws forth the notion that women morality lies within…
Victorian language, outdated, and always have some type of negative plot in it with a bad ending. There isn’t any diversity in the list. Most teachers used the Norton Anthology World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition in One Volume as a literature textbook (Source D). If all teachers are using the same textbook, every student is learning the same. If every student is learning the same, there won’t be a difference in how we think. Furthermore, most of the canon is written by white men and very few women. It would…
In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, friendship becomes very valuable early on. Lennie and George are seen as an odd pair since no two men usually travel together, but as the story goes on their friendship is what so many of the ranch workers long for. The characters that Lennie and George run into are hard and tough men but even though they put up walls against others, they want a friend just like Lennie has George and vice versa. We can see that the friendship Lennie and George bring to the story…
