Monday, April 29, 2019
Literary analysis of short story Research Paper
Literary analysis of short report - Research Paper practice sessionReaders see through Sammys eyes as he describes the scene around him in expound from referring the workplace as a pinball machine to labeling an attractive customer as chunky. From Sammys narration, a typical analysis of the fabrication would be that it only contains nothing more significant than a checking clerks interest in three girls in bathing suits (Peden, 1964). Another more sensible take would be that the story presents a sudden moment of insight when a young man rebels against a unprogressive society (Hatcher, 1996). However, beyond the usual understanding of A & P being a coming of long time narrative is the analysis that John Updikes masterpiece tells more about an individuals scrape in a consumerist society. According to Porter (1972), the story A & P can be ably interpreted as the characters rebellion against a consumer-conditioned society. To understand this idea, it is important to first ease up our attention to the context of the story and then understand the symbolism behind the characters address to reveal the authors intention in creating an irony about the world around him. Since the story is published in the 1960s, it gives us a picture of a conservative society where people lodge to traditional values and norms. In those days, conforming to the standard appearance and behavior was necessary, especially to middle menage families who aspire for social equality through the American dream of typically owning a house, driving a car, and buying enough goods. Adding to this set-up is the industrial development which allowed grocery store chains like A & P to dominate and offer packaged consumer goods around the country. It is this typical middle-class setting in the 1960s which establishes the versed conflict of a young man against his society. In the story, the ultimate act of Sammy to quit his job represents non-conformity to a social structure that is based on com moditization of goods and perpetuation of conservative values. In Sammys words, the setting of the story points to an area right in the middle of town where you can see two banks and the Congregational church building and the newspaper store and three real-estate offices. This description tells us about the narrators location in the central part of a consumerist society where a grocery store lies in the middle of the financial, spiritual, informational, and airplane propeller structures. In the story, A & P is the focal area where packaged goods are made available for the breathing in of every Americans. In grocery stores, all products are homogenized in order to meet the real(a) demands of every consumer. As such, Sammy becomes part of this materialistic environment which deals with people purchasing goods and individuals finding meaning on things. Because of this, it is no surprise that the narrator himself is inclined to also objectify the things and people around him. At firs t, he describes the empty store as a pinball machine and searches for the girls show up, as if to find the objects of his attraction. Meanwhile, he labels other customers as sheep and describes a girls rear as a can which factor that he compares people to things and animals. In Sammys eyes, people lose their humanity once they enter the bourne of A & P. He sees the girls inside as mere sex objects, viewing them in the same bureau as customers choose their products. He judges the girls
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