John Updike's short story, "A & P," which first appeared in the New Yorker in 1961, is undoubtedly one of the most short and entertaining ones found in college literature anthologies taught in American schools. Perhaps its charm and peculiarity derive from the fact that Sammy, who is also the narrator and protagonist in the story, tries to explain, from his point of view, his impulsive decision to leave his job as a cashier at the A& P supermarket. story the author uses the protagonist to develop the theme of immaturity. Throughout the plot, Updike seems to suggest that Sammy's childish behaviors, as exemplified by his judgmental attitude, rude personality, and sexist thoughts, may explain why he impulsively quit his job. This article analyzes the thematic concern of immaturity by focusing on the immature behaviors of the protagonist. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, in his short story, A& P Updike describes the main character, Sammy, as having an overly judgmental attitude towards the people around him, including his customers, colleagues, and family. Sammy metaphorically compares supermarket shoppers to sheep. For example, he vaguely refers to the three girls shopping at the supermarket as "sheep pushing their carts down the aisle." By doing so, he is implying that the shoppers' act of following each other, while speaking softly, giggling and mixing up words, made them look stupid. According to the author, the two girls blindly followed their ringleader down the corridor as they searched for groceries in a manner similar to how sheep chase each other while searching for pastures. Furthermore, Sammy's critical attitude is also highlighted when he describes his colleague's behavior reaction and seemingly attitude towards the girls when he sees them. When McMahon, an old colleague who works near the "meat counter" section, follows the three girls with his eyes after they pass him, Sammy looks at him in disbelief as he appears to be "measuring their rods". It's hypocritical of Sammy to immaturely judge his colleague for eyeing the girls, yet he himself has been doing it since the girls arrived. According to Dessner, it is rather ironic that Sammy finds his colleague's long gaze at girls unpleasant and bizarre, especially since he was old, yet he himself is shamefully driven by lust for girls. For example, Sammy admits his fondness for Queenie when he says she had "the softest vanilla balls" he had ever seen. Although the author used symbolism ingeniously here, it is clear that Sammy was referring to the young woman's breasts. Interestingly, Sammy doesn't seem to think his look was wrong. Finally, Sammy's judgmental attitude is also revealed when he refers to the girls' leader, "Queenie", as having a higher social standing based on her gait. The nickname that was given to one of the girls clearly demonstrates Sammy's stereotypical judgmental attitude. The protagonist mistakenly assumes that Queenie is of a higher social class. Imagine a cocktail party thrown at the girl's house by her supposedly rich parents. Imagine the party is full of guests drinking cocktails. Sammy, in contrast, recounts a party scene at his house and notes that his mother usually offers visitors a glass of “lemonade.” Such an excerpt illustrates that Sammy is convinced that Queenie comes from a rich family even if nothe's never seen her before. Furthermore, according to Mcfarland, in his article, “Updike and the Critics: Reflections on 'A&P,'” Sammy is seen associating with “HiHo crackers,” a behavior that symbolizes a normal middle class. In contrast, Sammy associates Queenie with “Herring Snacks” to suggest to the reader that she was upper class. So, it's clear that Sammy has a tendency to make childish and impulsive judgments about the people around him without even considering the hard facts. Secondly, Updike also depicts the protagonist as disrespectful and lacking in courtesy throughout the entire story. In particular, Sammy demonstrated neither respect nor courtesy in his dealings with his colleagues and shoppers. As the story develops, the author demonstrates how Sammy mishandles a service issue raised by a customer. When the customer notices that Sammy rang up his purchase twice, she immediately alerts him to the blunder. While it's reasonable for any offended customer to explain their complaints, Sammy didn't even apologize for his mistakes. Instead, he calls her a “witch” and wonders if he had “never seen a mistake before.” For a lady, who Sammy reports is in her fifties; he should have had the courtesy to apologize for the mistake and give her the respect she deserved for her age, if not for being a customer. According to Dessner, Sammy's utter contempt for the seemingly elderly woman is clearly demonstrated. Not only does he accuse her of having malicious intentions, but he also equates her to a "witch". It seems that Sammy studied history to know that Salem had once been associated with witches. Once again, Sammy appears to disrespect his colleague, Stokesie, arrogantly claiming to have "two babies marked on his fuselage". Such a crude reference to Stokesie's manhood is a blatant act of disrespect and an indication of Sammy's lack of maturity. When nineteen-year-old Sammy catches McMahon looking lustfully at the girls, he sympathizes with the girls for being ogled by an "old man". According to him, it was inappropriate for elders like McMahon to observe girls. Ultimately, when Sammy decided to leave his job, not only did he speak rudely to his boss, but he didn't even consider discussing such sensitive matters in private. Surprisingly, Sammy shows no respect and courtesy to his boss, even though he is a family friend, who helped him get this job. He publicly contradicts his boss by choosing to defend the girls. Sammy refuses to listen to Lengel, who tries to reason with him. All of this evidence shows that Sammy is an immature 19-year-old who never considers the consequences of his actions and how they might inadvertently affect others. Finally, Sammy's immature behavior is also demonstrated by his sexist thoughts. When describing the three girls, it is evident that his description focuses on their physical attributes, particularly their breasts. He admits he was enchanted by Queenie's "two scoops of vanilla." In this sense it is clear that Sammy has reduced women to simple body parts. As a matter of fact, when he speculates what might be going through Queenie's mind, he sarcastically wonders if women actually have brains. According to him, women do not have a functional mind. Their brains just have “a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar.” Such objectification of women clearly demonstrates that Sammy does not view women as functional human beings. Finally, Sammy's bold but foolish actions towards the end of the story equate to those of a boy who lacks maturity. Sammy foolishly acts as the self-proclaimed hero to the girls to save them from embarrassment. He argues with his manager,.