The Game Motif in A & P In the short story "A & P" the author, John Updike, uses the game motif as one of the main means by which he develops the character of Sammy, the nineteen-year-old narrator and protagonist of the story. In his many and varied references to the game, Sammy reveals, in addition to his obvious immaturity, his rich imagination and potential for possible growth. The story takes place in the summer of 1960, on a Thursday afternoon. Sammy works at the A&P grocery store located in the center of a town north of Boston, about five miles from the beach. Along with Sammy, the other characters involved in this story are three girls who shop at A&P in their stores. swimsuits, which Sammy calls Plaid, Queenie, and Big Tall Goony-Goony; Stokesie, Sammy's married colleague; and Lengel, the A&P manager. "A&P" is told from Sammy's point of view. Sammy presents himself as a casual and irreverent young man. He seems to be a little dismissive of older people who shop in the store. However, towards the end of the story, we see that he takes responsibility for his conscience-driven behavior and decision, revealing his transition from adolescence to adulthood through the courage of his convictions. We see Sammy's immaturity at its worst with his dismissive attitude. customer labeling at the A&P. An example of this occurs when he calls a lady "a witch in her fifties with lipstick on her cheekbones and no eyebrows" (p.33). Sammy blames her for his mistake at the cash register. She states that if she had been alive then she would have been burned at the stake in Salem. In another instance, she refers to housewives who shop as "house slaves with curlers" (p.34). He seems to be in... middle of the card... gives him an idea of ​​his future. As he walks away from the A&P he sees "Lengel at [his] place in the slot, checking the sheep. His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if he had just been given an injection of iron, and my stomach it felt tight when I felt how hard the world would be for me from then on" (p.37). Sammy begins his transition from adolescence to adulthood here. He realizes that if he stays at A&P he might end up like Lengel or the other sheep. He wants more from life, and his fantasy of being Queenie's "unsuspected hero" (p.36) allows him to escape. Sammy comes to the conclusion that life won't be easy and will make decisions for himself that the people around him won't necessarily support. Work Cited Update, John. "A&P." Literature (4th ed.). Ed. Robert Di Yanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.