Part one of term paper
This story is written entirely from the perspective of nineteen year old Sammy, a grocery clerk. Updike has created an atmosphere of striking opposites warring with one another throughout the entire story. Sammy is bored and excited at the same time. He has worked in the A&P long enough to have memorized every item that is sold in the aisle ...

Part two of term paper
... of the first girl he saw to crescents of white. The first contrast comes almost immediately as he is brought back to the task at hand which is waiting on a fifty-year-old woman, with whom he is irritated for causing him to stop looking at the girls. He blames her for his own mistake of ringing up her purchase twice, but realizes he must pay attention to his job as he stated, "…I got her feathers smoothed…" Updike goes into great detail to contrast the young girls with the fifty-year-old wom ...