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THIS IS A DISCUSSION POST. PLEASE AGREE/DISAGREE WITH PRESENTER.
Include things that surprised you and can relate to.
Week 14- Theme: Love, Marriage, and Lust- “A&P” by John Updike
Lust is defined as having a strong sexual desire for someone.
Sammy, nineteen-year-old, is the “A&P” supermarket cashier that was interested and attracted to this one girl that came in with her friends from the beach, assumably because they were wearing their bathing suites only, no sandals, no cover ups, no bags. “There was this chunky one, with the two-piece—it was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp, and her belly was still pretty pale, so I guessed she just got it (the suit).” (“A&P” by Updike) He described this girl with such desire, but I was not sure he just had an eye for this one because there were two more girls with her.
He watched them go through the isle, not picking anything up from the isles they went through but just looking or having everyone look at them because of their lack of wardrobe. They went to the meat counter to ask McMahon something and he pointed towards the Diet Delight peaches. He watched them walk away towards the direction he led them because of what they asked for. The “leader” of the group he referred to as Queenie lead the girls up and down the aisle, “Queenie still leading the way and holding a little gray jar in her hand.”
While Sammy watched them walk and lost their movements, his co worker Stokesie was also watching the girls. He jokingly told Sammy “Oh Daddy, I feel so faint.” He was twenty-two years old, married with children so this was a big thrill.
The girls and other customers were coming towards the cashiers and Stokesie had the older party in baggy gray pants come to his counter while Sammy had Queenie go towards his counter with Kingfish Fancy Herring snacks in Pure Sour cream. With no bag or pockets, Sammy wondered how Queenie would pay for this and she reached in her bra piece of the bathing suit and took out a folder dollar bill.
The girls’ attire had caused a bit of a stir up not only with Sammy, Stokesie and McMahon, the manager, Lengel, came out of the office to tell the girls in bathing suits “Girls, this isn’t the beach.” Queenie looked blushed and Sammy could not tell if it was because of Lengel’s remark or was it the sun cheeks. Queenies’ response was “My mother asked me to pick up a jar of herring snacks.” The manager continued to insist that coming into A&P in just bat

hing suits was not appropriate and repeated that this was not the beach. Queenie defended her actions by letting him know they were not doing real shopping; they just came in to get that what her mother requested. He claimed to understand but also insisted that he did not want to argue with her while letting her know it is policy.
While this controversial discussion went on, customers were checking out in the register next to Sammy and can see and hear the entire situation. Lengel asked Sammy if he had rung up the purchase, Sammy said no and started to enter his cashier code into the machine. He described it to be so trivial and uninteresting he even made a jingle for it. Sammy rang her order up, while she was taking her money out of her bathing suit, he imagines the money being between what he described as two smoothest scoops of vanilla ice cream. He was watching her/their every move with lust and desire. He passed her the bag with her snacks, and they hurried out.
When they left, he did not know what to do to get their attention. He thought a gesture would get their attention and he can talk to them. He Quit! Lengel asked Sammy “Did you say something, Sammy?” Sammy repeated, “I said I quit.” Sammy’s expression of the situation was Lengel did not need to embarrass the girls and the manager replied the girls embarrassed the store by walking in dressed that way. Lengel tried to convince Sammy to rethink his actions, because it did not make sense and tried to give him time to take it back. The manager reminded Sammy not to do this to his parents because he knows the parents for many years. Sammy was filled with lust and unclear judgments because of what was going through his head while those girls were walking through the store with just their bath suits.
He untied his apron and left it on the counter while he left the store. The manager took his place to check out the continuous of customers that still needed help. As Sammy went outside and looked both ways to see if he can glimpse where the girls went, they were gone, nowhere to be found. His grand gesture did not go as to how he presumed it would in his thoughts.
He was left standing outside the supermarket looking inside watching Lengel in a darker perception, Sammy realized that life would be a lot harder for him after his reaction of quitting.
Desire and lust can make you do crazy things and for poor Sammy, he left his job for someone that didn’t even know he existed in the same capacity.