The Power and Influence of Sexual Desire: An Analysis of A&P by John Updike

A&P by John Updike is a short story in which many men meet their downfall due to
the siren call of young, attractive women. In the beginning of the story, three young women walk
into the A&P grocery store in nothing but bathing suits. As the story goes on, the women
attract the attention of more and more men as they nonchalantly walk through the store. When
they finally find the snack theyve been looking for and head to the register, the stores head
honcho, Lengel, embarrasses them by telling them off and informing them to never enter again
while in such seductive clothing. Immediately following, the man at the register, Sammy, quits
his job in pursuit of the beautiful women. Unfortunately by the time he makes it to the parking
lot, theyre already gone. A&P shows the downfall of all masculinity in the hands of seduction.
When the girls walk into the store, it appears they already know the effect they will have
on the men. She must have felt in the corner of her eye me and over my shoulder Stokesie in the
second slot watching, but she didn't tip (Updike 693). Since the girls know the dominance they
have, they attempt to make it seem like they dont even notice it. The effect this has on the men
is nothing but enhancement of the arousal they feel. The sheep pushing their carts down the
aisle -- the girls were walking against the usual traffic (not that we have one-way signs or
anything) -- were pretty hilarious. You could see them, when Queenie's white shoulders dawned
on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on
they pushed (Updike 693). Even the normal traffic, also known as the sheep, are affected by this
unusual event. The revealing swimsuits made these girls become sirens. At that point, they could

convince any man to jump ship. Whether it be Sammy, Stokesie, the meat man McMahon, or any
of the customers. Things get a little weird when they get to the counter though.
As the sirens are being rung out by Sammy, the manager Lengel approaches. Then
everybody's luck begins to run out. Lengel comes in from haggling with a truck full of cabbages
on the lot and is about to scuttle into that door marked MANAGER behind which he hides all
day when the girls touch his eye. Lengel's pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but
he doesn't miss that much. He comes over and says, Girls, this isn't the beach (Updike 694). At
this point, Lengel appears unaffected by the siren call. But then, things take a slight turn as he
realizes something, I could see from the way his eyes went that he hadn't noticed she was
wearing a two-piece before (Updike 695). Even the man who seemed invincible felt desire at
one point. He even attempts to lessen their influence, We want you decently dressed when you
come in here. (Updike 695). This comment does not shake them too much and they finally get
checked out and rush out the door. The desire Sammy has for Queenie finally makes him snap.
He quits his job in attempt to pursue the siren call of the girls. This choice, made on a whim, will
change him forever. You'll feel this for the rest of your life, Lengel says, and I know that's
true, too, but remembering how he made that pretty girl blush makes me so scrunchy inside I
punch the No Sale tab and the machine whirs "pee-pul" and the drawer splats out (Updike 696).
He has jumped ship and is about to drown in reality. Sammy even claims that he knows the effect
of what he is doing, yet Queenie is so irresistible that he feels its the right thing to do. The girls
are gone and he has no job to support himself. my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the
the world was going to be to me hereafter (Updike 696). This is Sammys tragic realization,
symbolic of the drowning in the seas he has jumped into.

As you can see, the truest theme that is present throughout A&P is the call of the siren
or the power and influence of sexual desire. Even the strongest men struggle to keep their wits
around attractive women and sometimes, like with Sammy, they can even coerce them to change
the course of their entire life. Though Sammy even had many choices to go back on his decision,
he kept giving in. It really shows the power that testosterone can steal from one. In A&P, every
man meets their downfall. Sammy loses his job and dignity, There wasn't anybody but some
young married screaming with her children about some candy they didn't get by the door of a
powder-blue Falcon station wagon. Looking back in the big windows, over the bags of peat moss
and aluminum lawn furniture stacked on the pavement, I could see Lengel in my place in the
slot, checking the sheep through. His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he'd just had an
injection of iron, and my stomach kind of fell as I felt how
hard the world was going to be to me hereafter (Updike 696); Stokesie finds himself ignoring
the fact that hes married to desire the sirens, Stokesie's married, with two babies chalked up on
his fuselage already, but as far as I can tell that's the only difference (Updike 693); and
McMahon even ignores the large age difference between him and the girls, All that was left for
us to see was old McMahon patting his mouth and looking after them sizing up their joints. Poor
kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn't help it (Updike 693-694). The evidence that
men are weak to sexual desire is overwhelming. All in all, A&P is a tale of lust and desire that
ends in disaster and proves the point that sexual desire is a mans downfall.
Rubric:
Critierion B: Knowledge and Understanding-- the thesis idea is okay, but the significance is not
really well supported-- that this reflects all men fails to account for 1 of the four men in the story.
How is he fallen? Or McMahon? Or Stokesie, for that matter. Your last paragraph in which
your explain their downfalls seems more like a rationalization. I do think the siren image is
significant, but I think the fall has to do with Sammy and the nature of that fall was not well
defined by you.

4/6
Criterion C: Appreciation of Writers choices-- You use way too much text and dont do enough
to break it up into individual choices of technique, language, and structure as they reflect
meaning. You really need to slow down and look at the language youre quoting. Also, only
quote what you need.
3/6
Criterion D: Organization- weak incorporation of text, and you embed your argument into a
summary organization. As a result, significant points are lost in the middle of paragraphs.

Criterion E: Language
4/5