"A & P"

John Updike's short story "A & P" is an interesting insight into the inter workings of a teenage male's mind. Throughout the work, Sammy shows signs of maturity and some utter immaturity. Updike uses the first person the first person point of view illustrate these qualities in his protagonist.

That Sammy says, or thinks, the things he does about the girls that come into the store shows that he has obviously not reached a level of maturity that society may deem acceptable. However, that he quit his job in the interest of upholding his own principles may prove otherwise. It can be argued that this is also a sign of lacking maturity, but I tend do disagree. Yes, Sammy may not have taken some important things into account (like not having a source of income after he'd made his decision) when determining the finality of his actions. But, to me, this is not a reflection of immaturity. I see this as an act of some integrity. Sometimes these things have to be disregarded when the sole aim is to act on one's principles. We would not be able to see this if we weren't allowed to see into Sammy's thought process. I think it is best shown when he says "... and my stomach kind of fell when I knew how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter." This is indeed an admission of maturity. Sammy knows what he did was hard, but, in his own mind, ultimately right.