Instead, he wants to be with the girls, eating herring snacks with their parents at the fantasy party he envisions, where men in ice-cream white coats serve olives and real cocktails poolside.
It is easy to sympathize with Sammy, given that the repressive nature of society he perceives around him seems very real. The entire store is transfixed by the sight of the girls: "She kept her eyes moving across the racks, and stopped, and turned so slow it made my stomach rub the inside of my apron, and buzzed to the other two, who kind of huddled against her for relief, and they all three of them went up the cat-and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft drinks- crackers-and- cookies aisle" (Updike 468). It is absurd how much the other patrons care about what the girls are wearing, but also absurd how much moral weight Sammy gives to these ordinary girls' ambling march through the aisles.
Because of his own perspective as a frustrated grocery store clerk, Sammy sees the girls as liberating the town, shocking the 'bums' who buy inexplicable amounts of pineapple juice (in another one of his funny asides). Sammy is filled with...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now