The begging of the A&P story is captivating
According to the standards that John Updike set for his perfect form of an interesting story, one would expect that his stories were built just according to his standards. A&P is one of the stories that takes the reader along from the beginning to the end and does skip any detail as John Updike would have expected from a storyteller. The follow of events in the story follow an order that makes the reader interested in reading each part of the story.
The begging of the A&P story is captivating and leaves the reader in a desire to know the ending of the story. The appearance of young ladies clothed in bath suits in a store that is not any near to the beach leaves the reader in suspense. Also, the first impression that the girls give to Sammy and Lengel gives a conflict that the reader is prompted to continue reading the story to have the suspense answered and the conflict solved.
The middle of the A&P story widens the knowledge of the reader’s knowledge concerning human activity just as John Updike would have expected. Conflicts always occur due to the different opinions that people have concerning the right behaviors. Sammy and Lengel differ in opinion concerning whether the young ladies were right to be on bath suits in public. The conflict creates uncertainty on Sammy’s future because Lengel is the manager and the correction made by Sammy does not go down well with Lengel.
The closing part of the story gives a sensation of the ending of the story started by the young women. The conflict that ensues ends with Sammy having an uncertain future due to his differing opinions from his manager, Lengel. Sammy resigns from his job wishing to win affection from the young ladies, who unfortunately do not recognize his presence.
In sum, John Updike follows his standards of a fascinating story in the A&P to the end. The story engages the reader in the first few sentences, creates a wider knowledge of human activities in the middle and ends by giving the outcome of the conflict created at the beginning.
Works Cited
Shafer, Ronald G., and John Updike. “John Updike Talks About Writing, His Life, and His Works: Vol. 57, No. 3, Spring/Summer 1995.” CEA Critic 80.2 (2018): 254-261.
Updike, J. (1961). A&P.