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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page analysis of John Updike's short story A&P. The writer argues that the story is primarily concerned with this adolescent's maturing from an innocent toward more mature comprehension of sexuality, but also that the girls in the story can be viewed as symbolic of class and privilege. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khjuap.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
While the story is primarily concerned with this adolescents maturing from an innocent toward more mature comprehension of sexuality, the girls in the story can also be viewed as symbols
of class and privilege in that they, and particularly the girl whom Sammy mentally names "Queenie," are inaccessible, remote and somewhat alien to Sammys working class existence. That the
girls serve a symbolic purpose, as well as being characters in the story, is evident by the way that Sammy describes them relative to items found in the supermarket (Thompson
216). This parallel, between the girls and items in the store, implies that Sammy sees the girls primarily as objects to be "observed, handled and used" (Thompson 216). Sammy is
particularly taken with Queenies white skin, her "long white prima-donna legs" and her white shoulders (Updike 188-189). He also notes how Queenie moves -- "heavy-heeled" and with her head
held high, demonstrating the "haughty pride of the affluent, secularized American upper middle class" (Wells 128). The enticing nature of Queenies whiteness is emphasized. Where her bathing suit has
slipped, there is a "halo-like" quality (Wells 128). Queenie remains from Sammy throughout the story, never acknowledging his existence as a person, or as a man. Nevertheless, she
definitely engages in what can be interpreted as seductive posturing (Wells 128). For example, as she slowly turns, Sammys stomach feels as if it is rubbing the inside of his
apron (Updike 189). While Queenies white skin is evocative of the sexual energy inherent in the story, it also symbolically works on other levels. First of all, the emphasis
on "whiteness" subtly alludes to the "white" orientation of mainstream culture. Secondly, the emphasis on "whiteness" also alludes to purity and through this implication, to the church. It has
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