Sammy's Coming-of-Age in John Updike's "A&P"
This essay analyzes the character of Sammy in John Updike's short story "A&P," focusing on the motivations behind his decision to quit his job at the grocery store. The paper argues that while Sammy's initial impulse is to impress three girls and position himself as their hero, his choice to follow through with his resignation — even after the girls have left — reveals a deeper process of maturation. By examining Sammy's attitude toward authority, his impulsive bravado, and the absence of any external reward for his action, the essay presents Sammy as a well-rounded, relatable character whose moment of teenage defiance marks an important step toward adulthood.
- Introduction: Sammy's Fateful Decision: Sammy quits to impress girls and defy authority
- Teenage Rebellion and the Rejection of Authority: Sammy's defiance of Lengel signals adolescent growth
- Heroism Without an Audience: Sammy acts bravely with no reward or witness
- Sammy as a Well-Rounded Character: Impulsive act makes Sammy a relatable character
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The essay uses direct quotations from the primary text to ground its interpretive claims, granting the argument textual authority rather than relying solely on assertion.
- It balances two layers of Sammy's motivation — the surface impulse to impress the girls and the deeper drive toward independence — demonstrating nuanced character reading.
- The conclusion connects Sammy's single impulsive act to a broader theme of adolescent growth, giving the analysis thematic resonance beyond the story's plot.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates close reading of a fictional character by moving from specific textual evidence (Sammy's words, gestures, and choices) to broader thematic conclusions about adolescence and self-definition. This technique — anchoring interpretation in scene-level detail before generalizing — is a foundational skill in literary analysis.
Structure breakdown
The essay is organized into two analytical paragraphs preceded by an implicit introduction. The first paragraph establishes the dual motivation for Sammy's resignation and the significance of his not turning back. The second paragraph evaluates Sammy's heroism in the absence of any audience or reward, concluding that this quality makes him a relatable and fully realized character. The work cited entry follows standard MLA format for an anthology source.
Introduction: Sammy's Fateful Decision
In John Updike's short story "A&P", Sammy quits his job because he wants to make a good impression on three girls who have entered the store. He is young and forming his own views about the world, so it should come as no surprise that he finds Lengel's attitude toward the girls overly strict. Lengel's demand that the girls cover their shoulders prompts Sammy to think, "That's policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency" (Updike 1420). Here we see Sammy adopting the typical teenage stance that all adults are trying to ruin every teenager's life.
Teenage Rebellion and the Rejection of Authority
Sammy quits primarily to impress the girls, but an underlying reason is his desire to stand up against overbearing adults like Lengel. Yet there is more to his decision than impulsive bravado. When Sammy has the opportunity to turn around and return to the store, he does not. Even after Lengel makes a pointed remark about his parents, Sammy still chooses to hold to his convictions. He understands what quitting means and does it anyway. The fact that he continues to walk out the door even after the girls have already left indicates that he is growing up — becoming, in a sense, an adult. Sammy does become the hero he wants to be, whether or not the girls ever realize it, simply because he had the courage to follow through with his impulse.
Work Cited
Updike, John. "A&P." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1981, pp. 1416–1421.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.