Motherhood is developed as a central theme in this story because the story focuses on Emily and what she was like when she was growing up as told by her mother. Her mother tells of how she had to send her away so she could work and send her to nursery school so she could work also. Emily's mother blames herself for Emily's lack of ability to learn and her self-esteem. The sotry tells of how Emily was raised by her mother.
I am not a mother but my mother was 15 years old and a sophomore in high school when she had me. I can somewhat relate to Emily. My mom had to put me in daycare when she went to school for the last three years of high school. My mom also worked a part time job so I was in daycare then. I don't remember a lot about it but she said she hated leaving me at daycare because she didn't think I was taken care of the way I should have been. She would often miss school so that I wouldn't have to go to daycare. After my mom graduated high school she stayed at home with me and had two more children.
My mom like Emily's mom did miss out on more of my childhood then she did on my siblings. Emily lived in a different era then I, but our mother's had somewhat similar situations. Emily's mother had to work and my mother had to finish high school and work.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
A&P Comments
In the story A&P by John Updike, Sammy is pressed to deal with 2 major conflicts; human vs. self and human vs. human. In the beginning of the story he expresses his discontent with his job, his boss, the customers and his future.
He tells us the story of his co-worker, which dreams of being manager of the store and how that isn’t really what he wants. Sammy refers to the customers as “flocks of sheep”, all pushing carts around the store mindless of there surroundings letting us know that he is unappreciated
When he notices the girls walking around the store, without a care or concern about what others thought, I think it gave him a sense of hope. When the manager approaches the girls about how they are dressed, they seemed embarrassed. However I don’t believe that their embarrassment was caused by how they were dressed but by how the manager was talking to them. Before they entered the store, he was on the road to do the job that was expected of him. Sammy has always been forced to meet the expectation of his boss and his family, but what does he really want for himself?
I think that seeing the girls stick up for themselves, when the manager is expressing his distaste, gives Sammy the courage to quite. I also think that he is trying to impress the girls, showing them that he is worth their attention, not just a cashier. The gesture of setting down his apron and bowtie, making sure to let us know that they belong to the store, it a major turning point of Sammy’s life. He has set his future in motion, not knowing what it will bring, and will never be able to return to the mindless past.
Throughout the story he is basically telling us that he is not happy and does not know what the future of this job would be. Know he has to contend with the decisions he has made, learn not to think of what would have been and look towards the future.
He tells us the story of his co-worker, which dreams of being manager of the store and how that isn’t really what he wants. Sammy refers to the customers as “flocks of sheep”, all pushing carts around the store mindless of there surroundings letting us know that he is unappreciated
When he notices the girls walking around the store, without a care or concern about what others thought, I think it gave him a sense of hope. When the manager approaches the girls about how they are dressed, they seemed embarrassed. However I don’t believe that their embarrassment was caused by how they were dressed but by how the manager was talking to them. Before they entered the store, he was on the road to do the job that was expected of him. Sammy has always been forced to meet the expectation of his boss and his family, but what does he really want for himself?
I think that seeing the girls stick up for themselves, when the manager is expressing his distaste, gives Sammy the courage to quite. I also think that he is trying to impress the girls, showing them that he is worth their attention, not just a cashier. The gesture of setting down his apron and bowtie, making sure to let us know that they belong to the store, it a major turning point of Sammy’s life. He has set his future in motion, not knowing what it will bring, and will never be able to return to the mindless past.
Throughout the story he is basically telling us that he is not happy and does not know what the future of this job would be. Know he has to contend with the decisions he has made, learn not to think of what would have been and look towards the future.
Conflicts in A&P
There are two types of conflict in the story, A&P, written by John Updike.
First, there is a human vs. human conflict. When the three girls walk into A&P in just their bathing suits, there's sort of an unspoken conflict between them and the rest of the customers in the store. "There was no doubt, this jiggled them [the other customers]" (221). The "houseslaves" (221) obviously did not agree with the way the girls were dressed. It seems as if there was some sort of tension in the air: the customers horrified of the way the girls are dressed and the girls trying to hold their own and stand up for themselves. This conflict is resolved when the girls leave the supermarket.
Another human vs. human conflict is when Sammy tells Lengel that he wouldn't have had to embarrass the girls and that he quit. Lengel tells Sammy that "[he] doesn't think [he] knows what [he's] saying" (223) and that Sammy doesn't want to do this to his mom and dad.
I think that shortly after Sammy tells Lengel he quits he regrets saying that. He knows how hard the world is going to be, and how hard it will be for his mom and dad if he doesn't have a job. Lengel tries to persuade Sammy to stay. Sammy deals with a conflict within himself when he's trying to decide whether he should really quit or not. But, he says, "It seems to me that once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it" (223). I think that this was his deciding factor. In a sense, part of the conflict is resolved when he takes his apron and bow tie off and walks out of the store, symbolizing that he quit his job. The conflict isn't resolved when the story ends, however, because Sammy doesn't what the future will be like as a result of quitting at the A&P.
First, there is a human vs. human conflict. When the three girls walk into A&P in just their bathing suits, there's sort of an unspoken conflict between them and the rest of the customers in the store. "There was no doubt, this jiggled them [the other customers]" (221). The "houseslaves" (221) obviously did not agree with the way the girls were dressed. It seems as if there was some sort of tension in the air: the customers horrified of the way the girls are dressed and the girls trying to hold their own and stand up for themselves. This conflict is resolved when the girls leave the supermarket.
Another human vs. human conflict is when Sammy tells Lengel that he wouldn't have had to embarrass the girls and that he quit. Lengel tells Sammy that "[he] doesn't think [he] knows what [he's] saying" (223) and that Sammy doesn't want to do this to his mom and dad.
I think that shortly after Sammy tells Lengel he quits he regrets saying that. He knows how hard the world is going to be, and how hard it will be for his mom and dad if he doesn't have a job. Lengel tries to persuade Sammy to stay. Sammy deals with a conflict within himself when he's trying to decide whether he should really quit or not. But, he says, "It seems to me that once you begin a gesture it's fatal not to go through with it" (223). I think that this was his deciding factor. In a sense, part of the conflict is resolved when he takes his apron and bow tie off and walks out of the store, symbolizing that he quit his job. The conflict isn't resolved when the story ends, however, because Sammy doesn't what the future will be like as a result of quitting at the A&P.
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