A & P

A & P is hard for me to dissect. Even though I have read it before. I think that Sammy represents boys and working class people because he seems exasperated by his surroundings. He acts like the A & P is the most boring place in his entire life, yet it is keeping him alive because it is providing his income. 

His descriptions of the girls is interesting; it makes me wonder how boys think of me. He really objectifies the girls, mentioning one of their butts as a "sweet can". He almost is repulsed by them; except for Queenie. He talks about her like he is not even worthy to look at her, and yet she is drawing attention to herself in the way that she hold herself. She walks like she never walked barefoot before, and her bathing suit straps have fallen down her shoulders. Sammy is entranced. 

The encounter between the girls and the manager is so awkward, it jumps off the page. I have never had an experience like that, but I can only imagine the embarassement. And Sammy embarasses himself by trying to be the girls' hero by quitting just out of their earshot. He realizes that by quitting, he compromises the rest of his life; he hinted that his family is not so well off, unlike the family of the girls who drink martinis and dress fancy.

This story has an undercurrent of social inequalities and the gaps in the classes. Sammy is a representation of a bigger societal struggle.