In Grocery Store of Societal Discord: A Look at Updike's "A & P"

John Updike’s “A & P” is not merely a descriptive piece about three teenager’s scandalous outing to a grocery store. In the tale, three indecently-dressed girls walk into the local A & P, outraging the “regulars” of the store; however, the story that unfolds contains a social commentary about societal norms and authority. Updike’s descriptions and portrayals of his characters give us insight into his opinions. Furthermore, his use of the first-person through the character Sammy gives us a relatively innocent lens through which to view the story.

The first characters we are introduced to in the novel are the three girls: there is “this chunky one, with the two-piece,” the tall one who has the kind of appearance of someone who “never quite makes it,” and the Queen with her “long white prima-donna legs” (2). These girls are the rebels in the novel. They break societal norms by walking in a grocery store wearing nothing but there bathing suits even though they are five miles from the beach. The chaos, by the standards of a small grocery story, that soon follows provides a setting in which the true colors of the characters come out.

Updike’s negative portrayal of the “regulars” in the store shows a disdain for the “masses.” He describes one of the shoppers in the story as, “one of these cash-register-watchers, a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no eyebrows, and I know it made her day to trip me up” (1). Updike’s use of metaphor (“a witch of about fifty”) makes the character come alive and we can picture her exactly. She is not just an irritating, overly-made up, middle-aged woman, but a witch. Cash-register-watcher is our first glimpse into Updike’s opinion of the “regulars” in the store. He later describes them simply as “sheep pushing their carts down the aisle” (5), a possible reference to Orwell’s Animal Farm in which the masses on the farm are represented by sheep.

The description of Lengel, the store manager who is “pretty much dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesn’t miss that much” (12), shows a dislike of the power-hungry pseudo-authority figure who likes to throw his weight around. Lengel overreacts to the situation presented in the story and is unnecessarily rude to the girls. Although they should not have come into the store without clothing in the first place, Lengel’s behavior to them is overly harsh. He acts condescending, saying “we want you decently dressed when you come in here” (16). As readers, we can almost hear his voice dripping with aloofness. His treatment of the girls indicates a misuse of power in this situation.

From Sammy’s perspective, he is the hero of the story. He stands up for the girls by quitting his job after Lengel’s embarrassment of them. However, was his action really heroic? The girls have already been embarrassed at this point in the story; the damage has already been done. Sammy’s actions are more after-the-fact, and he has somewhat selfish motives: he wants the girls to notice him. He is representative of the social climber, going to drastic lengths (quitting his job) to be noticed. But at the end, the girls walk out of the store without even noticing his “heroic” act and give him little attention beyond paying for their herring snacks.

While Sammy is not necessarily the most reliable narrator (his opinions are clearly going to be told from the biased perspective of a teenage boy), he is a very astute observer, and his descriptions give us insight into the people he is describing, his own character, and the thoughts and opinions of John Updike. (610)