The American Male in John Updikes AP Essay - 918 Words

The American Male John Updike’s â€Å"AP†, is a short story that relates an episode in the life of a teenage (male) grocery store employee, circa 1961. Many critics suggest that this story is told through the eyes of the main character Sammy, and not through those of the author, John Updike. The label placed upon teenage males in modern society is often that of an à ¼ber sexist that views the female entity in only sexual lights. This assessment is supported in Updike’s story by means of diction and paragraph structure. In addition Sammy’s rash reaction to his manager’s chastising of three girls in the store is a result of his longing for the young women, rather than in his own best interest. Throughout the short story â€Å"AP†, Sammy†¦show more content†¦Sammy says, â€Å"In walks three girls in nothing but bathing suits† (15). This opening line is followed by a couple sentences describing Sammy’s own general su rroundings, but quickly reverts back to describing the physical attributes of the young women getting so caught up in the images running through his mind that he forgets his mundane task at hand of ringing up the groceries of a cheerless customer. Sammy says, The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white just under it, where the sun never seems to hit, at the top of the backs of her legs. I stood there with a box of HiHo crackers trying to remember if I rang it up or not. I ring it up again and the customer starts giving me hell (15). In this opening paragraph Updike clearly emphasizes what is most important to Sammy, and what is the natural progression of thoughts in this young teenage mind. Updike does an incredible job of entering a stream of consciousness in the mind of Sammy’s character that many critics fault him for as professing his personal perverted views of women. Updike continues his barrage of sexist thinking by attacking the unattractive looks of the unhappy customer by making an allusion the witch hunts of the late 1700’s in Salem, Massachusetts, however this comment is made once again through the eyes of the teenageShow MoreRelatedEssay on Male Chauvinism in John Updike and Ernest Hemingway1412 Words   |  6 PagesMale Chauvinism in John Updike and Ernest Hemingway John Updike and Ernest Hemingway struggle to portray women in a positive light; because of this, Updike’s and Hemingway’s readers come away from their stories with the effect that the lead male characters are chauvinistic, which can be defined as â€Å"prejudiced devotion to any attitude or cause† (â€Å"Chauvinism† 228). 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