The question on John Updike's story, "A & P" is below.
In a paragraph of 350 to 500 words, discuss how Updike's use of description and action prepares the reader for Sammy's abrupt resignation in John Updike's story, "A & P".
To prepare for this question, review all literary paragraph must-haves and re-read the how-to-cite sheet and the how-to-integrate a quotation sheet!!
- present tense of the verb
- strong thesis which answers the question provocatively
- three strong examples
- clear explanations
- cite the quotations clearly and integrate the quotations, use page numbers
- use transitional words and phrases
- vary your sentence length
- use strong verbs: reveals, displays, emphasizes, depicts, deplores, portrays, illustrates, elucidates, exemplifies etc
- vary your sentence beginnings
- make it sound emotional and persuasive
Here is a sample grade 12 paragraph:
In John Updike's
short story, "A & P", the narrator, Sammy, discontent
with his menial job at a grocery store, abruptly quits. Updike
prepares the reader for the narrator's impulsive resignation through
the use of movement imagery, cynical views on societal norms and
restless internal monologue.Firstly, the
story focuses on the idea of movement. The image of feet and walking
is referenced multiple times throughout the story. When Sammy first
sees the girls enter the grocery store he takes notice of the fact
that, "they didn't even have shoes on". Continually
throughout the story the narrator talks about how the girls move,
describing the way in which they walk, saying, "she walked
slowly...putting down her heels and then letting the weight move
along to her toes as if testing the floor with every step." This
fascination with walking and the movement in general symbolizes how
Sammy has a lust to move, move out of his job and the constraints of
a conservative town. Moreover, when Sammy is interested by the fact
that the girls have no shoes on their feet, indicated by the
line, "her feet paddling along the naked over our checkerboard
green and cream rubber tile floor," this description illuminates
how the narrator views the bare feet as freedom and a sort of
non-conformity from the conventional dress and life. The second ways
in which Updike prepares the reader for Sammy's abrupt withdrawal is
by illustrating Sammy's discontent for society. During the story, the
young boy often refers to the customers in the store as animals by
saying things like, "...I got her feathers smoothed" and
"the sheep". Also, as the story progresses the narrator
degrades the citizens of the town more, while at the same time
putting the girl Queenie up on a pedestal. The vexation that Sammy
feels for the townspeople explains why he views the girls as symbols
of freedom. He almost idolizes them and even refers to them as "[his]
girls." It is clear that Sammy has a cynical view on the town
he lives in, when he talks about how silly it is that they live five
miles from the beach but people have not seem the ocean in twenty
years. He obviously sees the conservative townspeople as uninspired
and simple. He describes they as 'houseslaves' and 'bums' and often
criticizes their movements and purchases. This increasing irritation
with the people in the store, foreshadows Sammy's departure form his
job because of his prevalent and unwavering tendency to analyze
human nature. Finally,
Sammy's own personal struggle leads him to leave his job. The image
of the door
is referenced several times saying things like, "standing with
my back to the door", "...to scuttle into that door",
"if you stand at our front doors you can see two banks...",
"They keep going...the door flies open..." and "...didn't
get by the door...". This multiple use of this image leads the
reader to believe that Sammy is longing to go out the door and
escape. Sammy is contestant question thing throughout this short
story. He wonders what spelled do with their purchases, why the girls
move the way they do and often analyzes people's appearance. It is as
if he is questioning his own purpose and the role everyone else plays
in society. His dissatisfaction with his job and subsequent
resignation is due to his agitated thoughts. In conclusion,
within the story "A & P" John Updike prepares the
reader for the narrator's abrupt resignation by hinting to Sammy's
restlessness through the use of movement, doors and irritation with
society.
HOMEWORK:
Ensure that you have found the best examples possible to answer the question above. Reveiw the requirements of formal, literary writing. Decide how you will begin your paragraph.
