A by John Updike Essays

A by John Updike Essays A by John Updike Paper A by John Updike Paper Hes very conversational and readers get the impression that hes a greased-up wise guy with an elbow on the jukebox and a toothpick in his mouth. This lackadaisical nature fully encapsulates who Sammy truly is. Update first shows this casual tone in his first two sentences, writing, In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits. Im in the third check-out slot, with my back to the door, so dont see them until theyre over by the bread, (Update). Update doesnt sound, in this instance, like a stuffy, eloquent Harvard grad writing a serious piece to serious-minded readers. He sounds like a guy telling a story about girls to his friend over a couple of beers. He consciously employs this tone in order to strike an appropriate chord with his audience. Update wants his readers to realize that Sammy is a cool, easygoing, nonchalant guy who doesnt belong cooped up in some hot grocery store on a summer afternoon. He belongs at the beach, with his friends, hanging out in the sun and just enjoying himself. Thats all he yearns for, and this casual tone really brings that home to readers. It is quite apparent from this casual tone that Sammy wants freedom, and his jealousy towards these girls inspires him to take action to bring this goal to fruition. Similarly, Update uses cavalier diction in a manner that compliments and highlights the casual tone. Sammy is not a polished gentleman, by any trench. In a pretty blatantly sexist fashion, he describes one of the girls he sees in a bathing suit: She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a 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, (Update). With these remarks Update gives away that Sammy is nothing but an ignorant buffoon, an imbecile, who most likely acts on impulse and innate instinct. He isnt Voltaire. All he wants, in a small-minded sort of way, is to just be free of the same, monotonous, routine he goes through working at this AP, and sees clearly jealous of those who have gotten what he wants. Again, Updates use of this cavalier, brusque diction is actually quite calculated and serves a great purpose in the long run of this story. Update indicates that Sammy diction proves that, like a primate, he doesnt think things through and only acts on instinct. Like a child who only wants the toy he is told cant have, he is jealous of these girls who waltz into the grocery store, totally liberated. Update demonstrates again that Sammy is entranced by the bikini-clad girls, but again through offhand diction: l increase the bill, tenderly as you may imagine, it just having come from between the two smoothest scoops of vanilla had ever known were there, (Update). However, Update brings this story full circle by showing that Sammy abrupt quitting of his job was a mistake: Sammy is technically free, sure, but it is a decision he instantly regrets as he finds he is also free to fail. He laments his decision and in the last sentence of this short story, Update writes, His face was dark gray and his back stiff, as if hed just had an injection of iron, and my stomach kind Of fell as felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter, (Update). Sammy immediately realizes that the grass is not greener on the other side, and that acting on his jealousy and impulse has led him astray. The thought of freedom, freedom from that AP prison, is ministering, but he sees the negative effects of his actions. Update gives his audience some insight into Sammy thought process through the use of his ironically cavalier, unceremonious diction: Sammy is not wise and has no right to be haughty or crass: he is simply a fool. Through the use of another literary device, symbolism, Spike expresses Sammy innate human jealousy. The bathing suit worn by these girls are a symbol for freedom. Sammy remarks on how out-of-place these bathing suits are: Our town is five miles from a beach, with a big summer colony out on the Point, but were right in the middle of town, and the women generally put on a shirt or shorts or something before they get out of the car into the street Lets not as if were on the Cape; were north of Boston and theres people in this town havent seen the ocean for twenty years, (Update). These girls are five whole miles from the nearest beach. Its not as if they just walked over to the deli right across the street. Even then, it is only customary to cover up a little bit.