" A & P by John Updike"

First of all, why the hell is Sammy quitting his job?? That's the main question of this story, and If we can answer that then we'll unlock the key to the entire story. I understand that the job is repetitive, and he is probably bored. So much that he has made up a song to go along with the sounds of the register.  He seems to know the store well, as he can hyphenate in one phrase the "cereal-crackers-cookie" aisle.  This conveys how very familiar he is with the grocery store.  It might be important to note that they highlight his teenage voice and situate him as someone who has possibly been there too long as an employee. But still, why does he quit his job there? I think him looking at Stokesie being the married with two children and being at the store, has made him conscious of that not being the life he sees for himself. Sammy is hoping for bigger and better things, but Stokesie is one of the possibilities his life can take a turn for. Another possibility is that Sammy could turn out like Lengel, The boss, and a conservative Sunday school teacher. This doesn't seem to be the life that Sammy wants either. Though Lengel represents the wholesome conservative town that Sammy lives in, for a young man like Sammy, that life would be as boring as the job.  Queenie and the girls seem to grab his attention as they create a contrast between their lives and the life of the sleepy town that Sammy is a part of. Queenie buying herring snacks seems like a small detail, but herring snacks are expensive, so it shows that she is at a higher level financially than Sammy is.  Even Sammy thinks that they drink martinis at her house. He projects onto her a life that is refined and pleasant, and more interesting than his life. Then he said at his house they just drink out of these glasses with a logo on them. The life that he creates for her within his own mind is the one that he envisions for himself.

This is definitely a coming of age story.

You can go with a social acceptance vs societal expectations stance, or there is even a childish, sexist, disrespectful angle you can focus on here.

I’ll let you guys take it from here…