John Updike’s descriptive excerpt, A&P illustrates the effect on, how three girls dressed in bathing suits catches the attention and affects customers and works in a small-town grocery store. Three girls walk in A&P capturing everyone’s attention especially the men’s. This excerpt illustrates the strong effect women can have on men, how the effect can be broken and how this effect can change one’s view on life. Updike demonstrates how women have a strong effect on men, by having Sammy describe how his male co-workers gawking over the girls. As soon as the girls entered A&P they had the everyone’s full attention. Well at least every guy. Sammy describes how the girls caught his eye, “The one caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece.” He continues to describe her as well as the other girl’s bathing suits, figures, skin tones and a few other features. As you notice the first attribute that caught his eye about the girls were the fact that they were in bathing suits. He explains how all the other guys are gawking including his co-worker Stokesie. “Oh Daddy,” Stokesie said beside me. “I feel so faint.” Sammy doesn’t forget to mention how another worker sized the girls up after their encounter with him. The girls have a powerful effect on the men in the store causing them …show more content…
The girls coming into A&P with bathing suits on was beyond the norm in Sammy’s hometown. The way the customers and employees acted to towards something new engrossed Sammy. The girl’s presence effected Sammy so much that he quit his job. He quit his job in honor of the girls but mostly for himself. He knew if he would have stayed at A&P he would end up like; Stokesie a twenty-two-year-old, married man with two kids and a dream to become the manager of A&P or Lengel a pretty dreary Sunday school teacher, who doesn’t miss much. Sammy wants a better life and quits his job to pursuit