A&P by John Updike

Siren Peralta
Prof. Raquel Corona
English 102

  2. At the end of the story Sammy says, "I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter". What does he mean? What do you think he learned from his experience?  Do you believe this is a "genuine" statement made by the narrator? Why or why not? Why would the writer have the character make this huge declaration?. 

      The short story A&P by John Updike, the narrator Sammy said "I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter". This mean that he realized the decision he made was the wrong one and it was not worth going through the trouble, after all he ended up making a point to himself and the girls because they left the supermarket and didn't stopped to say thank you or anything. Even though Sammy thought that the manager's actions were wrong and embarrassing. Because he shouldn't react the way he did just because they were wearing a bathing suits. He didn't perceive it wasn't the right time to quit so he continued with the action.  It was only then he realized when he looked back at Lenge. What I think he learned from his experience is that there's always the right time and moment for everything, and that wasn't the moment for him to quit like that. Also that he won't make such a mistake like that, it turned his life around in just one day. For a lady he didn't even know. He will think twice now when making any decision, he will use his time to find a new job because he now knows life is going to get harder. Yes I think this is a "genuine" statement made by the narrator because right after he was walking away Sammy became aware of what an error he was making, and for such reasons. I think the writer made the character make such a huge declaration, one because the writer was in a similar situation in which he was the one who quit a job, for encountering a situation were he didn't like how the manager was treating a costumer or any other action. Right after he quit he also realized like Sammy what a bad decision he was making. Or two because we all know, this is real life circumstances people go thorough and he was interesting in writing it, and making that last and most important point viewable.