There are many different interpretations of Sammy’s role in A&P. T here are several that have been considered but the one that I have picked is the is Sammy a Womanizer by trying to lead the girls in to licking him or is he just quitting to become more successful than working at an A&P for the rest of his life like his manager has done. In the short story “A&P” by John Updike its main character Sammy didn’t cross the line on being a womanizer. From the moment the three girls “Queenie”, “that chunky one”, and “the tall one”- entered the supermarket he acted like a normal typical man, Sammy couldn’t keep his eyes off them.
So much in fact that the girl’s were a big distraction, ” I stood there with my hand on a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not”. He watched the girls every movement as if they were the only thing that mattered to him at that time; “the girls had circled around the bread and were coming back” and then they all three of them went up the cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinks-crackers-and-cookies aisle.
From the third slot I look straight up this aisle to the meat counter, and I watched them all the way” . The three girls obviously had his undivided attention. He deeply and metaphorically describes every striking detail about all three of them. With the chunky one he notices that her bathing suit is new; “it was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp and her belly was still pretty pale so I guessed she just got it “.
And a tall one, with black hair that hadn’t quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes and a chin that was too long-you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very “striking” and ” attractive”; and Queenie, “She came down a little hard on her heels, as if she didn’t walk in bare feet that much”. Although he describes the three girls in extreme detail, you can tell that he’s really interested in Queenie. The way she looks, the way she’s dressed, the way she carries herself, the way she stands out between the other two girls.
The longer her neck was, the more of her there was. ” and “She kept her eyes moving across the racks, and stopped, and turned so slow it made my stomach rub the inside of my apron” His infatuation towards Queenie is clearly evident. The argument was made that Sammy is a womanizer. Whoever feels that way might think that way because of what he said about the chunky girl “with a good tan and a sweet soft-looking can”. He was just being a guy noticing everything about her. He compared the can to the chunky girl’s face.
He kept it clean and to himself. It’s also evident that he’s not a womanizer when the girls got to the meat counter, “All that was left to see was old McMahon patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints. Poor kids I began to feel sorry for them”. Sammy admired their beauty, McMahon acted like they were objects, and Sammy saw that and that’s why he felt bad. Sammy also quit his job because of the way they were treated. Actually he did it to impress the girls.
He didn’t have to, he could’ve told Lengel he was joking, or he could’ve acted like he didn’t even say anything because Lengel wasn’t even sure of what Sammy said, but “it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it. “. “The girls, and who’d blame them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say, “I quit” to Lengel quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch me, their unwary hero. “. After Sammy noticed that the girls didn’t notice what he did, or maybe they noticed and didn’t care, he must’ve felt stupid.
He knew he did the wrong thing, giving up his job for girls he didn’t even know, because he said that he knows how hard the world was going to be hereafter, but at least there’s one less lesson to learn. The line of being a typical man and a womanizer. There are many other mistakes that are made in today’s world about men that are not look good upon us but, we can not help it. Women tend to get a little confused when making their judgments about men, whether it’s an honest compliment about our looks or a vulgar disgusting remark, sometimes we get the two mixed-up. Therefore, Sammy, “A&P”‘s main character, womanizer, but a typical man.
