Setting and plot effects in John Updike's A and P

¶ … setting of the story by John Updike, "A&P" in the book fiction Literature by Kennedy, Gioia. 10th edition and its effect on the plot.

Setting in John Updike's a&P

The central theme of John Updike's short story a&P is related to a few of the most important social - economic changes brought by the twentieth century. The setting of the story in a modern supermarket, and also the very title of the story show that the focus is on the nature of the American society, as a consumerist, homogenous, non-individualist society. This kind of society is described in Updike's short story, where the two antithetical worlds - the artificial one, of the supermarket, and the natural one, of the beach, are opposed. The contrast of the two worlds is emphasized by the point-of-view from which the story is told, that of Sammy, a teenage clerk who is not able to pinpoint the differences between them, but who intuitively rebels against the consumerist, stiff society through his "heroic" gesture, of quitting his job, and in defending the girls in front of the manager. Thus, the setting of the story is symbolic: it emphasizes the stark contrast between the artificial and the natural, two distinct worlds for which the two worlds are opposed by the abrupt beginning of the story, with the entrance of the girls represented as a breach in the monotony and artificiality of the supermarket: "In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits."(Kennedy and Gioia, 128) the naive description of the girls, as given by Sammy has its special symbolism. First of all, the name that he gives to the girl he prefers of the three, Queenie seems to intimate of a different world, maybe a fairytale one. Thus, besides Sammy's revolt, there is a second, that of the girls, especially Queenie, who is not only in her bathing suit, but also has the straps of the suit down, increasing the sense of freedom that the general appearence of the girls gives. Further description of the girls defiance is supported by their "going against the usual traffic " of the shop: "The sheep pushing their carts down the aisle -- the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or anything) -- were pretty hilarious. "(Kennedy and Gioia, 128)

Sammy sees the other shoppers for what they are - not individuals, but as the components of a system, a mere " herd," their personalities limited to the very automatic gestures and directions imposed by the "shopping list": "You could see them, when Queenie's white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on they pushed. I bet you could set off dynamite in an a&P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering 'Let me see, there was a third thing, began with a, asparagus, no, ah, yes, applesauce!."(Kennedy and Gioia, 129) Queenie's "white shoulders," bare and indicative of purity, are the symbol of the natural, uncensored by social rules world of " the beach," whereas the " consumers " are symbols of the automatic drives of production and consumption of the capitalist society. This symbol of the natural bareness in Lengel's remonstrance to the girls, who tells them to come next time " with their shoulders covered." Also, the automatic language or "music " of the cash register is the perfect expression of the automatic supermarket life.