When do we say that we were making the right decisions? Probably it is something that we cannot determine because in an instant, without a split of a second, things around us will be different. We can hardly make a decision but being impulsive seems to be the most reaction. Not all people can accept things calmly, sometimes, our reaction lead us into a situation we never wished to be. Soon we will understand that reality and fiction are two different things and have nothing in common, well not all the time but the idea differs a lot.
Fiction is the world created for us to somehow escape the real world we have, were each one of us are characters leading our own stories but not all fiction stories were made of fairy tales and magic. Some of the fiction stories which exist up to present tend to take us into a fairy land or into a place which we cannot even find here on earth, thus it allows us to escape and yet, reality informs us what is real and in our everyday lives, it was reality which gives us both harshness and happiness.
A & P
The story talks about teenagers, a boy named Sammy and the three girls he saw in the grocery store. Among the three girls, it was the medium sized girl whom he look after and named quennie. Wearing bathing suits, two piece swimsuits, these girls went inside the store and choose the goods they will buy. Sammy on the other hand kept on observing the girls and when they finally arrive in the counter to pay for their goods, the store manager went outside and saw the girls and what they were wearing.
Lengel went to the girls and talked to them, somehow trying to teach them a short lesson and informing them that he will not let them buy anything since they were not wearing the right clothes. Although the leader of the group tried to defend them selves, she was so unlucky and they left the store embarrassed of what had happened.
Sammy on the other hand said he quits and soon left the grocery trying to look after the girls but eh found no one. Now, alone outside the store, he understands that there will be several tough days for him from now on.
Arguing the Updike Stories
John Updike was known for having almost the same theme in his story. This time in this novel, he again committed the same theme and worked on the same end wherein the protagonist will have to look after the decision or perhaps, a situation wherein the hero will be disappointed with the outcome of the scene or the decision he or she made.
In this story of Updike, not all people perhaps thought that it made sense and maybe there are few who thought that it tells nothing about life an do not have any intention to relate it with any particular situation in reality but along side with these people are also those who believes that Updike was able to relate it with life and he actually made life out of his short story.
We can never argue with his way, in the first place, it is his own work and we are just lookers. In this particular case of A & P, Updike was making sense and was able to give judgment to the character of the protagonist. Perhaps we cannot see it at first because he seems to just simply look at the girls but by the time that he took side already and made a decision for himself, what he did was something he believes is right and he stick to it.
In the end, he somehow gained maturity by simply understanding what will happen to him after his impulsive decision.
Conclusion
Crossing the boarders of what is real and what is fiction is somewhat a common instance in our lives. Perhaps it is because we tend to leave reality behind in hope that we can find a solution to our problems or perhaps because it will make us feel better. These kind of thinking do not happen most of the time, there will always be a time when we really have to leave the fairy land oand continue living.
In the case of Sammy in the story, he was attracted by the leader of the group, hence, in the end, it somehow add to the reasons why he suddenly quit his job but aside from that, he was actually very impulsive on making the decision without considering the things eh must look at first before resigning. Since the protagonist and the manager were having opposing views regarding the incident, the protagonist ended the scene by quitting from his job unaware for a moment that it was the only way he can earn money for living. Finally when he was already outside the store with no girls in sight, he knows that this time life will be different.
John Updike’s story somehow crossed the borderline of what is fiction and reality in the sense that it was able to give justice to his story by simply making it real in some sense. We all make decisions and by natu8re, we are impulsive which is shown in the story as Sammy took side and make a decision out of the blue. Perhaps the author was really looking into the connection of fiction and reality and this time, he was successful to relate it to people and make sense out of it.
The growth of the protagonist and the flow of the story made this narrative a real story, something that happens in the end and Updike was so lucky that he was able to hit it on point, he was right and he made sense in this story by simply depicting life as it is.
Works Cited
Updike, John. A & P.
