Analysis of John Updikes A&P Short Story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of John Updikes A&P Short Story - Essay Example The character of Sammy in the story is replete with ironical undercurrents and a sarcastic and mocking tone towards the things. Sammy who serves as a young checkout clerk at an A&P store though being hateful of a lot of his colleagues and superiors, in a way is ironically subservient to the same sense of compliance and duty. During his cynical and intense monologue, Sammy evinces a more than average dejection for Stokesie, who is from a middle class background, married and merely aspires to crawl high up the corporate ladder or the traditionalist like Lengel, who is happy bidding his time haggling about a cabbage lot or festering behind the confines of his office door. However, the readers could discernibly identify the verbal irony inherent in Sammy’s monologue in the sense that Sammy is himself serving as an ordinary checkout clerk at the A&P story, a plight that he vehemently abhors and detests in his colleagues and superiors. Hence, in a way, one could see that there is a wide gap between what Sammy says what he actually means and what he is really doing at the store. Sammy’s monologue in the short story A&P also depicts ample inherent verbal irony in his attitude towards the young girls in the bathing suit. One could amply discern that the girls do unleash the suppressed bestiality and savageness in young Sammy’s consciousness (Greiner 93). When the leader of their group, Queenie comes to Sammy to pay for her shopping, Sammy blatantly ends up being a victim to indecorous reveries like touching Queenie’s breasts or cheeks. In fact, Sammy goes on to register that Queenie’s breasts are, â€Å"two perfect scoops of ice cream (Updike 313)†. The monologue going on in Sammy’s mind more than amply conveys to the readers that he harbors visible carnal feelings and a sense of lust towards the girls. The readers to a great extent assume that Sammy has an irreverent and indecorous attitude towards the girls in the bathing suits.