'Checking Out' A&P

Part I of Essay
In John Updike's short story "A&P", the use of characterization and setting help to propel the reader into the somewhat conflict-ridden mind of Sammy, the protagonist. Where Sammy is and who he is surrounded by cause him to rebel against something with very little thought ....

Part II of Essay
.... of the job. Also, this A&P lies in a very formal, conservative town, five miles off the beach. Despite this closeness to the beach, some people in the town "haven't seen the ocean for twenty years" (482). This town, and this A&P, like the people in it, are boring and stagnant. The characters in this A&P are the most persuasive external factor in Sammy's internal conflict. The reader arrives at the scene to find Sammy ringing up a "cash-register-watcher", whom he describes as being "a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbon ....