A&P

I really enjoyed the story that was A&P. To me, it seemed extremely realistic. We have the boy working a mundane job, thinking that he's better than everyone. We have the trio of girls, with one the leader, who are making a statement whether they mean to or not. I really enjoyed Sammy as a character. Yes, he was objectifying the girls, but I don't feel like that completely discredited his character. He attempted to impress the girls by quitting his job after his manager humiliated them, but they had already left and therefor did not see what he did for them. When reading the story, I was expecting them to see and thank him for what they did. That did not happen, and I feel like it made the story a lot more relatable.

We've all done things to try and impress someone, be it a potential beau, a teacher, or a boss, and more often than not, it falls flat. We lose that oftentimes in stories, because the writers want everything to be tied up with a bow. The readers want that too. The slight sense of dissatisfaction with the ending is what sets A&P apart from many other stories involving teenagers. Sammy doesn't get his heroic ending and the appreciation of three pretty girls. We don't get to see Sammy's parents and their reaction to him quitting his job. We don't get to see how the girls react to the situation after leaving the store. Because it is a short story, we only get the little slice of life. While it leaves questions unanswered, it also works well when you consider the subject. Teenagers are pretty much always trying new things and experimenting with their behavior. They never know how it's going to work, and now neither do we, the readers. A&P captured that unsure, testing feeling that we experience as adolescents. For some, they may have forgotten what it's like to be a teenager and unsure of pretty much your every move. For others, it's not so far away, and we can envision our friends or even ourselves in this position.