John Updike’s A&P
In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits. I’m in the third check-out slot, with my back to the door, so I don’t see them until they’re over by the bread.
John Updike
And so begins John Updike’s most famous short story, A&P. The entire text of Updike’s story can be found here.
My brother drives a taxi in Tampa and keeps a popular blog, and one of the things he writes about on occasion is John Updike’s A&P. I hope he doesn’t mind that I took the following from his blog:
Remember when every city had an A&P supermarket? I remember as a little kid riding in the cart while my mother would grind her own coffee — the A&P special 1844 blend. This was way before Starbucks and home coffee brewers. She used a peculator, which was about all there was. Fresh ground coffee was a big deal back then and I remember how great it smelled. I did not drink coffee; that was for grownups.
I picked up this man the other day at the airport and took him to his beautiful home on the beach. It turns out he was a writer for the New Yorker and he seemed interested that I had a blog. For some reason I told him that the only short story from school that I remember reading was John Updike’s A&P. I told him that Updike’s story reached me in an archetypal way.
A&P is a story about a young man named Sammy who works at the local grocery store. His job is sort of boring, but the people who shop there are even more boring. One day these three girls in bathing suits walk in to buy some snacks. Sammy notices them, but not in the primitive way that young men look at Girls. These women represent something more profound. Updike details the people and items that are purchased in the store including a record bin with Tony Martin Albums. When the girls leave, Sammy quits his job and runs outside to join the girls, but they are gone.
John Updike is telling us that people follow predetermined rules, a set path, and similar habits. The individual has no role in this society, and any attempt to escape these set customs will be dealt with. The nonconformist is the one that will change the World. There is very little individualism in society and we behave in ways that are merely a product of our environment.
Follow your own path. I always have.
What follows is a short film based on Updike’s coming-of-age story. Actor Sean Hayes does a passable job of portraying the young Sammy. Amy Smart plays an excellent Queenie. What I like about this film is that it captures the class differences between the grocery clerk and the country club girls.
Click on the arrow below and listen to a short lecture on A&P from a college professor:
By Tom Fasano on February 10, 2009 – 10:03 pm
Posted in Literature | 6 Comments »
By
Jennifer on Mar 16, 2009 | Reply
Thank you so much for this. This is just about the greatest thing!!! It really clarifies things up alot. Great effort! Very well appreciated!
By
Mr. Fasano on Mar 16, 2009 | Reply
Jennifer, glad you found the A&P page. Always happy when I hear from readers who benefited from my blog . . . Drop by again.
By
Tough Fan on Aug 21, 2009 | Reply
This was some pretty terrible acting and not too mention the characters were so shallow. No depth to them like in the story at all.
By
ashley on Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
whos sammy? the casher person?
By
Tom Fasano on Sep 28, 2009 | Reply
Yes, Sammy is the cashier.
By
Loren on Feb 23, 2010 | Reply
I thought the film captured the gist of what is being portayed as far as the setting goes and of the characters John Updike decribes. I was a little disappointed because Updike uses plenty of descriptive words and action in the film that was not portrayed at all. This film didn’t capture Updike’s language as best as it could have.