RESPONSE FROM 9AM

Ben Buisker

I thought the story was fairly interesting. It was interesting to see it from the check out guys point of view. How he described everything the girls did and what he thought of there movements was interesting. The author gave good detail about the characters and what was going on in the story. It amused me how three girls with swimming suits walked into the store and immediately caught the younger check out mans attention. The characters all seemed like typical characters for a story of this nature. You have the leader amongst the three girls and the other two follow alongs. The check out guy telling the story, the manager who is not a nice guy, and the old grumpy lady at the beginning. The ending surprised me how he just up and quit. That was not real clear to me about why he quit. I will have to reread the ending to understand that a little better. It confused me why he all of a sudden quit when all through out the story he did not mention a thing about not liking his job and wanting to quit.

Craig Strait

This story is about a worker in a supermarket that encounters three girls that are wherein nothing but bathing suits. Throughout the course of the story he goes into great detail of the things that go through his mind. In the end he ends up quitting his job over these three girls he didn't even know. This story was a little strange in that this guy is so infatuated with these girls that he losses all common sense and does something that otherwise he would never do. My question was, how old is this guy?

Dan Miller

I liked the short story by John Updike. I believe that the short story by John Updike is a very well written story about three girls that come into a grocery store to buy some herring snacks. I believe that the manager over reacted when he noticed that the girls only had their swimming suits on. It wasn't a big deal that he talked to him, that was a good thing, the problem was that he kept chewing them out and made them feel really embarrassed. I believe it was good that the cashier stood up for his point of view, but I don’t know if it was a smart thing to just quit on the spot. If he was had been thinking he could have just told his boss that he overreacted. The cashier shouldn’t have quit just because he felt bad for the girls, he didn’t even know who they were. All things considered it was a well written short story, although I would have reacted differently if I had been in the situation.

Derrick Livingston

I thought that the story was a good one. I had read it before, and it still was pretty good. I like how the author describes everything in the store. It gives the reader the feeling of actually being there. He does a really good job of how he uses different things to describe some thing else, like when he is talking about the customers banging into each other like scared pigs in a chute. I don't really understand what his family thought was so sad about the story. It is also kind of funny how the only thing that the guy thinks about or notices is the girls.

Drew Riter

The narrator is just about nineteen, who works at a checkout line in a grocery store. The narrator seems to be quite critical about each person's appearance. He also gives information about the background of the girls who always show up in the store. He seems to be of a regular middle class American family. The narrator likes many things about his job. He likes it when the girls come in with their bathing suits on, but dislikes it when the store is empty and nothing is going on.

His family is of middle class. He says they don't have much money and when they have certain occasions, they usually serve lemonade. On major occasions, they have Schlitz beer. I thought that to be quite amusing. I think that the story was rather sad in how it ended. It doesn't end the way that the reader really wants it to, when the narrator isn't able to make it go the way he wants to. It is rather a portrait of how things really are in life. Boy doesn't always get the girl and it is tough to be a hero, even when you want to. The narrator thought he was doing something good at the time he decided to quit, but it turns out that maybe it wasn't such a good decision.

Erin Vande Stadt

The "A&P" story struck me as a piece of literature that had no real purpose; no real meaning. I read the story and attempted to put myself in the position of the girls. I know in our younger years, my girlfriends and I have attempted such acts as the three young ladies did. However, because of the girls' actions, I perceived them to be much younger than the author had intended. For a while, the story made no sense because it focused on a 19 year-old gawking at 12 and 13 year-olds. At this point, I still don't have any idea as to how old the girls really are.

In the end, I identified with the Manager more than anybody else. If I owned a store, the "no shirt, no shoes, no service" would apply in all situations – no matter how attractive the underdressed person was. Because of my identification with the manager, I saw no real purpose in the young man's decision to quit. The only thing that comes to mind is that he perhaps thought his actions gallant and in defense of the beautiful young Miss. At any rate, the story still did not appear to have a point or purpose. Points and purposes are usually one of the main things I expect/look for in a piece of literature. Overall, however, it was a good way to spend ten minutes of my time.

Gary Wadsworth

I don't understand why he quits, the only reason I can think of is because he wanted to impress the girls because the guy was telling them what to wear when they cam in there. What does he have to gain by quitting, I don't know but he did it I think for the girls.

The First part was boring until the girls got to the register. All it told me was what they looked like. Not very exciting. He said right away the one that caught his eye was the chunky one, but he never talked about her again after he started talking about "Queenie." If he liked Queenie so much why didn't he like her, or notice her right away.

Hazel Shuck

The girls seemed to have a high self esteem. They held their heads high when they walked. Therefore, it seems that they have good thoughts about themselves. I understand why the guy quit. If the boss is going to embarrass customers they will no longer have them. People should have a right to wear whatever they want. I didn't think Sammy was going to quit. I figured he would shove it aside and let it go. It surprised me that he actually did. This means that he sticks up for what he believes in. I don't understand why Sammy says at the end, "…..I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter." This didn't make sense to me because, I wouldn't think it would be any harder than it was.

Jason Stahl

I didn't like the A&P story. The story didn't make much sense to me. At first he is just describing these girls that he sees in the store, then he quits. He really quits for no reason other than his boss tells the girls to be dressed better the next time the come in his store. Which is none of the kids business because he didn't know them anyways. The story goes into a lot of detail about the girls and I'm not quite sure why. Then at the end of the story he says that the world was going to be hard to him after this, which is another thing that doesn't make much sense to me. Why is it going to be hard after this, just because he quit his job doesn't mean the world is going to be hard for him. He can always find another job where he is happy to work and where the people he works with are nice. This is what I think of the A&P story.

Josh Flatten

I thought it was a very descriptive story. Lots of adjectives were used to get the point across. It’s about a person who works in a store as a checkout clerk. It seems to me that she analyzes everyone who passes by in the story. Some girls come in the store to get just a couple things and when the guys boss sees them in two piece swim suits, he freaks out on them and says, "this is'nt the beach girls. He makes them leave and cover themselves up. Well, the guy working doesn't like that the boss embarrassed the girls and to impress them as they are leaving he quits. But they don't hear him and the boss does. I think that in the process of trying to make a point, the guy realizes that he over reacted and made a big misteak. I think he sort of gets a little shot of what the "real world" is really like.

Kenny Selland

The thing that caught my attention the best was the opening paragraph. The opening paragraph says that three girls wearing bathing suits came into a grocery store.

The women in this short story all seemed to be snotty. These women seemed snotty because when the author was ringing up their items, the women were giving him hell. The kid at the register was just doing his job.

I thought this story was a good story for those who work in a grocery story and need some advise on how to handle customers who are just plain snotty when they come into a store and jump on a cashier's back who is just doing his job.

Laura Scholl

I was a little confused on how to feel about the girls in this story. Were they very self-confident and didn’t mind walking into a grocery store wearing nothing but bathing suits? Or were they just care-free teenagers who were just running an errand for a mother, not really thing twice about what they were wearing? I was a little surprised in the end when Sammy actually quit the job. I was expecting him to back out, because it was a quite stupid reason to walk away from your job. I can understand why he did leave. Especially for a teenage male, was it an ego trip? Did he feel he needed to prove himself to the boss, showing him that he could not back down?

Matt Schuman

I personally thought the story was a bore. There was no meaning to me, when I read a story I would like something fulfilling. One of the main reasons I don’t understand about the story is why he quits. I think its cause he would rather be at the beach. I see the storyteller as someone who is a dreamer. All this story talks about are people that come into the store and he can pick something out about these people, describing them to us. Then I believe he gets upset with his job and says I quit. His boss is a friend of the families, from what I can tell, and the boss questions him about doing so. Finally at the end he questions himself about quitting and what the future will hold.

Mingliang Hu

The writer are a cashier. He has noticed three girls with bathing suit. He don't even know them. He did described their looking,. What are they doing on the store? They store has refused their demand once they want to buy something from the store. Because they concern about they are wear the swimming suit. The writer has so angry about what have they done to that three cute girls. And then he decided quit this job. Let him felling better.

Naixin Xu

Every day seems the same for Sammy, until three girls appear in the store and things are changed. Boys at his age pay special attention to girls. I won't doubt that why he watches them shopping around and expect them to come. The ending is surprise me. I don't know why he quit the job. What irritates him? I think it might because the other cashier's attitude towards the girl. Sammy might think that people should respect girls as he does. Girls light up his day and his summer. People should agree with him.

Nathan McGillivray

In this story, A&P, Sammy is awe struck by three girls wearing bikinis that came to the grocery store to get a few things for their parents. This caught my attention with three girls wearing bikinis in a grocery store which doesn't happen everyday and also when Sammy quits his job when his boss goes up to them and tells them to cover up the next they come in the grocery store. The character that I identify the most is with Sammy, I've caught myself staring at beautiful women and would do anything to get their attention or get noticed by them. I was quite shocked when Sammy would quit his job for three girls he never seen before and probably will never see again. In the end I would have thought the girls would come up and thank Sammy for what he did. I believe it ended the way it did because the author wanted to do something different to make the reader want to read more. I like the story since the ending wasn't expected and it was written well.

Nick Huntimer

When I first read the first paragraph, I did not understand who was the character. For example, I found the word "she" in the first paragraph, saw no name, and I did not understand who it is, girls or somebody. But, it said that three girls came in with bathing suits and explained their different charactertics of the girls. There are some parts that I am really surprised about the girls, the way they wear (or dress) and the how people feel about seeing these girls (bathing suits, etc.).

Later in the story, other than talking about the girls' actions and charactertics, the story talked about the sad part. Then it said that the store is almost empty and the story said that the register had nothing to do but waiting for the girls to come in. I was thinking that if the whole story is about the girls coming in the store for a couple of things but not wearing in a normal way people wear.

There are more characters in the middle part of the story, like Queenie and Lengel. Queenie came in the store for just one thing and still talking (bothering) with Lengel.

At the end of the story, it is different, about quitting. But, it is an interesting story to read about, but strange when I read it for the first time like describing the girls in the beginning of the story and not talking about the girls at the end of the story.

Rachel Nesheim

This paper held a lot of detail, where each word is a picture. It is enjoyable to read such papers because I feel like I am there, I can smell and taste and feel what the character smells, tastes, and feels. I think this story is like one everybody has, or would like to have. A time when you feel you are really standing up for what you believe, when the decision is rash and maybe even wrong but it doesn't matter at the time because something else has all the attention. It is a job that many people can identify, and the job the attitude of the main character is about 18 or so.

Ron Vander Wal

The story was about a grocery store called the A&P. There are these three girls who begin to come in regularily. The thing that stands out about them, is that they come in wearing bathing suits. The main character, begins to like one of the girls. This girls comes in with the top straps of her bathing suit. The story is basically about an interesting thing that could occur in everyday life. The story is sort of amusing, kinda make a person do that little laugh they do to themselves like humh. It was just one of those things that could happen to anyone. I didn't particularily care for the story. It just was beginning and then it ended. The story did describe the girls well, and a few other characters. It gave some insight to the everyday life of a grocery store, that many probably don’t see, or care to.

Saulsells

Sammy is a checker in the local grocery store called the A & P located in the middle of town somewhere in Massachusetts. He is checking out some old lady who gets off on making your day go from good to horrible when three girls in bathing suites come in and catch his attention and making the old lady mad with him. Which is kind of funny because he should have been paying attention to the lady and not looking at three girls in bathing suites. After the old lady leaves for some strange reason he keeps paying attention, which is fine for the moment because there is nothing else for the checkers to do. As he is looking at the girls he starts stereotyping them, which he really shouldn't be doing. When the girls get to the check out the manger on duty comes out and gives them a speech on how to dress which is stupid because he is probably losing future business and making a fool of himself. The ending is not what a thought it would be because Sammy ends up quitting which will make life for his parents a little harder get cause his manager tried to insult three girls in bath suites who probably didn't even know who he was except the checker who rank up their groceries. The characters seem to be off in their own world not really having much to care about or what people thought of them. The thing that really caught my attention was the way that the manager reacted to the girls. The story ended the way it did because Sammy wanted to impress the girls and stick up for them. I thought story might have ended with Sammy talking to "Queenie" and maybe getting a date or something. The character I probably would most identify with would have to have been Stokesie because that seems like the kind of luck I would have too.

Tiffany Putnam

The view of this story by John Updike is from a boy named Sammy who is working in a grocery store. The story is his observations of three girls who walk into that grocery store. The three girls are wearing bikinis. The author describes the three girls and there activities in such great detail that you almost feel like you are right there watching it to. He describes one of the girls as the leader of the group because she is the most confident while the other two seem uncomfortable walking around a store in only a swimming suit. A man named Lengel kicks the girls out of the store because they are they are not decently dressed. Sammy sticks up for them and then quits his job. I thought the story was interesting because I felt like I was right there in the grocery store watching what Sammy was watching.