“A & P” by John Updike
Choose a vocabulary foldable and create–
must have room for word, definition, and
picture/example (13 words on next slide).
Literary Devices
Use literature books pages R1-R17 to define!
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Simile:
Metaphor:
Imagery:
Hyperbole:
Personification:
Onomatopoeia:
Alliteration:
Allusion:
Protagonist:
Antagonist:
Symbol:
Theme:
Tone:
Literary Devices
Write these terms on the left side of your paper. Use the
literature book to define them.
Simile: comparison using “like or as”
 Metaphor: comparing 2 or more things w/o
using “like or as”
 Imagery: vivid language; “word pictures”
 Hyperbole: like a simile; extreme exag.
 Personification: giving human characteristics
to something non-human
 Onomatopoeia: words that sound like what
they are (ex: buzz, zap, pow)
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Alliteration: same beginning sounds (ex: Peter
Piper Picked...)
Allusion: reference to something in history, art,
literature
Protagonist: main character
Antagonist: character that goes against the
protagonist; causes conflict
Symbol: something that represents for
something
Theme: main/overall message
Tone: the attitude the overall feeling of the story
Use a piece of blank paper to
create your own “Piece of the Pie”
John Updike
Quickwrite
foldable.
“A & P”
Summary
Post It Responses
Comprehension ?’s
Post it Note Responses (underline)
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Thinking/Reflecting
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Feelings
Connections
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Confused
AHA
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S= simile
M=Metaphor
P=Personification
O= Onomatopoeia
I=Imagery
etc
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John Updike (1932-2009)
* Choose 3 facts about Updike to add to notes
John Updike was born in Reading in
Pennsylvania, his mother encouraged him to
write. In his childhood Updike lived in an
isolated farm and he escaped to the world of
mystery novels.
Updike attended Harvard
Updike majored in English in 1954, and
contributed to and later edited the Harvard
Lampoon. He started as a cartoonist, but then
shifted to poetry and prose.
From the age of 23, Updike supported himself
by writing.
Updike has lived in New England, where most
of his fiction is set, and in Massachusetts,
about twenty miles from Boston.
He has become one of the most successful
American writers
"Dreams come true; without that possibility,
nature would not incite us to have them."
John Hoyer Updike (1932-2009)
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An American novelist, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic
Born March 18, 1932 in Reading, Pennsylvania
Received a full scholarship & attended Harvard-; graduated summa cum laude (English)
Following college Updike moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts (the basis for Eastwick in
the book and movie The Witches of Eastwick)
Most famous works is Rabbit Series
Received Pulitzer Prize for Rabbit Series
In his memoir, Self Consciousness Updike writes a letter to his grandsons Anoff and
Kwame, about the Updike family history, and asks that they not be ashamed of their
skin. (His grandsons are half black, their father being from West Africa.)
Updike has four children and currently lives in Massachusetts with his second wife,
Martha.
A large anthology of short stories from his literary career, titled The Early Stories
1953–1975 (2003) won the 2004 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
In 2006 Updike was awarded the Rea Award for Short Story.
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James Schiff, Review: "John Updike's Rabbit Tetralogy: Mastered Irony in Motion," Christianity and Literature, Autumn 2001, accessed 1-9-08
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John Updike Quotations
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"My mother had dreams of being a
writer and I used to see her type in
the front room. The front room is also
where I would go when I was sick so
I would sit there and watch her."
(2004 interview with Academy of
Achievement (source:
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Fans Bid Kid Adieu," The New Yorker, 1960)
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"Freedom is a blanket which, pulled
up to the chin, uncovers the feet." (The
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Coup)
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"Fame is a mask that eats into the
face." (Self-Consciousness)
"America is a vast conspiracy to
make you happy." ("How To Love America
(And Leave It At The Same Time)" [Problems And Other
Stories])
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"Suspect each moment, for it is a
thief, tiptoeing away with more than it
brings." ("A Month of Sundays")
"Gods do not answer letters." ("Hub Fans
Bid Kid Adieu," The New Yorker, 1960)
http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/upd0int-1))
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"He had met the little death that
awaits athletes. He had retired." ("Hub
Men are all heart and Women are all
body. I don't know who has the
brains. God maybe." (Rabbit, Run)
"The great thing about the dead, they
make space." (Rabbit is Rich)
"Tell your mother, if she asks, that
maybe we'll meet some other time.
Under the pear trees, in Paradise."
(Rabbit at Rest)
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"We all dream, and we all stand
aghast at the mouth of the caves of
our deaths; and this is our way in.
Into the nether world." (The Witches of
Eastwick)
“A & P” Quickwrite
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Respond: Is there a difference between the way that males and
females act and behave when they see someone they might like
and be interested in? Do males sometimes react without
thinking? Do women also react without thinking? Describe a
scene (incident) that you have witnessed in real life or watched
on television that shows the difference in the way that males and
females act when they want to impress somebody they like.
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Have you ever been involved in or witness to something that
was happening that you knew was wrong? What did you do
about it? Did you stand up for what you believed in or did you
stay quite because you knew that saying something would cost
you a lot in the end? How do you feel about your decision nowwas it worth it? Did it turn out to be the best decision?
“A & P”
Post Reading
See the board for group assignments
GROUP WORK
WORK TOGETHER TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
“A &P” Comprehension Questions
Write this down on separate sheet of paper in Cornell Notes
Style. Left side write “Question 1,” “Question 2,” etc
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1. Describe the narrator in "A & P." Why has
Updike chosen this kind of narrator for his story?
2. (Characterization) In “A & P,” the narrator makes
a decision-a rather quick and rash one. Why does
he do it? (there may be more than 1 reason)
3. (Evaluation) Was it the right thing to do? Is he a
hero? Why or why not (you opinion)?
4. (Symbolism) What do the girls represent?
5. What does the last line of the story mean?
“A &P”
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1. Describe the narrator in "A & P." Why has Updike chosen this kind of narrator for his
story?
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The author uses Sammy as the narrator so that the reader can
experience the events in the store through his eyes. The narrator gives
the reader a colorful accounting of what is going on in the store,
describing the usual shoppers, women, housewives as sheep.
The author uses Sammy as the narrator because:
"Young people seem to identify with Sammy and respond to the way he
tells his story."
The perception of the narrator is that of a young person looking at the
adult world and finding fault with it, making fun of what grownups to and
how they do it. He is critical with a cynical tone in the story. He is
bored with his job, the only amusement he has is to make fun of the
customers in his mind.
He feels like he hit the jackpot when three girls, dressed only in bathing
suits, come into the store. Sammy can't take his eyes off of them, they
completely throw him off balance.
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“A &P”
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2. (Characterization) In “A & P,” the narrator makes a decision-a rather quick and rash
one. Why does he do it? (there may be more than 1 reason)
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Sammy is a nineteen year old boy who works in the A & P
supermarket. One day a trio of girls, dressed only in bathing suits,
comes into the store and Sammy cannot keep his eyes off of
them. They, of course, are dressed inappropriately for shopping in the
store, and when the manager informs the girls that they should dress
properly to shop in the store, Sammy feels he must protest.
"When Sammy quits in protest of how the girls were treated by the
store's manager, he perceives that from now on, the world will be a
more difficult place."
Sammy's act of defiance in the presence of the manager's reprimand
has consequences that he probably has not thought all the way
through.
Quitting his job is an act of the impetuousness (hasty, rash) of youth, for
a brief moment, he feels a strong connection with the girls.
Sammy feels like he is expressing his individuality by standing up for
something he believes in by quitting his job on the spot.
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“A &P”
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3. (Evaluation) Was it the right thing to do? Is he a hero? Why or why
not (you opinion)?
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No, Sammy would not be characterized as a hero. His actions were foolish, actually, and
immature. By quitting his job, he has made a huge mistake and he realizes at the end of
the story that life is much harder and will be much harder than he ever anticipated. He
seems to realize the foolishness and hasty nature of his actions. Because he wanted to
impress the oldest girl in the group of girls that were in the store, he resorted to try to
"take up" for them; however, in doing so, he overstepped his boundaries and thought he
would be seen as a hero by the girls. As he walks out, though, the girls are gone and he
realizes that he is not a hero at all.
On the other side, Updike does make Sammy heroic. His heroism is flawed, as is true of
most modern protagonists, but it is present. He is offended by the treatment the girls
receive. Granted, his offense is in direct proportion of his attraction, but there is validity to
it. Sammy makes judgments about all the customers at the store, but he does not stoop
to insult any of them. He treats them all the same, and expects his manager
to. However, as a well-raised young man, Sammy would not consider challenging
authority. The girls provide a change. Sammy finds in them the impetus he needs to
challenge society, challenge authority. Although readers can argue he only wants the
girls attention, it is important to note that the girls ignore him. Sammy knows that they are
ignoring him, but he still walks out. He does not try to talk his way out of the situation, he
does not allow Lengel to convince him to stay. Sammy, having been given the
opportunity, now wants to see it through. That is heroic, the conviction to beliefs that he
shows as protagonists, especially when coupled with his epiphany of "how hard the world
was going to be to me hereafter''.
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“A &P”
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4. What do the girls represent?
5. What does the last line of the story mean?
You share your opinions
“A & P” Figurative Language Wheel
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What’s a simile?
Find the simile in par. 3
“…down from the shoulder bones like a dented
sheet of metal jilted in the light” (par. 3).
What is imagery?
Find the example of imagery in par. 2
“…it was bright green and the seams of the bra
were still sharp and her belly was still pretty
pale…” (par 2).
See the board for group assignments
GROUP WORK
WORK TOGETHER TO FIND THE EXAMPLES OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE IN A & P
“A & P” Figurative Language
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Metaphor: paragraphs 5, 20, 30
Imagery: 1, 2, 3
Hyperbole: 1
Onomatopoeia: 2, 5, 20, 29
Alliteration: 3
Allusion: 2, 7, 11
Setting: (all paragraphs) and paragraph 9
Protagonist: (all paragraphs) Who is he?
Antagonist: (introduce him in paragraph 12)
Symbols: What does the Apron (pars. 28 & 29) symbolize, what might
the girls symbolize?
Personification: 20, 29
Point of View: (all paragraphs)
Theme: (all paragraphs)
Mood/Tone/Attitude: (all paragraphs)
Your Choice: (choose any of them to write about again)
Simile: many examples- you find on your own
“A & P” Mystery Quiz
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Quote a spot where a reference is made to a
character in “The Wizard of Oz.”
Quote a place where a person is described like a
can of soup.
Quote a spot to a common and popular game.
Quote a reference to a place famous for beans.
Quote a reference to a great place for a vacation.
Cited Sources
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^ Osen, Diane. "Interview with John Updike", The National Book
Foundation. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
^ James Schiff, Review: "John Updike's Rabbit Tetralogy: Mastered Irony
in Motion," Christianity and Literature, Autumn 2001, accessed 1-9-08,
link.
^ "Celebrities With Psoriasis" Parade.com
^
http://beta.mytelus.com/telusen/portal/NewsChannel.aspx?CatID=Entertai
nment&ArticleID=news/capfeed/entertainment/e112581A.xml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Updike