Davila
Mariah Davila
Professor Trevino
ENG-1302-057
19 November 2018
Character Analysis of Sammy
In the year 1961, a short story titled “A&P” by John Updike was published. The author, John Updike, created the memorable character of Sammy in A&P. Sammy is a dynamic, round character who is nineteen years old and works at A&P as a cashier. One day, while Sammy is working three almost naked girls wearing only bikinis catch Sammy's attention as they shop. When the girls get in trouble for not wearing something over their swimwear Sammy quits his job in attempt to impress the girls. The type of character Sammy is can be analyzed in many ways.
Sammy is the main character and narrator in the story A&P. Oftentimes, first-person narrators tell the reader basic, as well as detailed information about themselves or other characters, hence Sammy. In this story, Sammy tells readers how he feels about his position at A&P and about the three teenage girls who shop at the grocery store. Sammy also describes what various characters look like and identify how each of them behave, present themselves, their mindset, language, and expressions. “...there was this one with one of those chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and a tall one, with black hair that hadn’t quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes and a chin that was too long — you know, The kind of girl other girls think is very “striking“ and “attractive“ but never quite makes it, as they very well known, which is why they like her so much — and then the third one, that wasn’t quite so tall.” (Updike 161)
Characters can either be dynamic or static. A dynamic character flushes and develops in the course of the story growing as they react to certain situations or other characters. For example, Sammy decides to speak up for the girls being treated in such a bad manner, making him a dynamic character. Everything leading up to when he quits ends up changing him. It changes his view on the world towards the end of A&P motivating him to change his position in the world. “His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he just had an injection of iron in my stomach kind of felt as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter.” (Updike 165)
It is important to understand the character's motivation. Readers should interpret the characters actions and behavior. For instants, Sammy is only a 19-year-old boy who is not pleased with his career. Sammy's desire to impress a girl is convincing enough to make him quit his job. “The girls, ...
