¶ … classic story A&P, John Updike pays tribute to two Greek motifs, the heroic epiphany leading to the emergence of the classical hero and the power of beauty. In this work, Sammy is the hero, trapped in the work-a-day world, who because of beauty's inspiration is motivated to seize the opportunity to act in grand and noble fashion. Like many heroes, especially Paris, in Homer's Iliad, Sammy is inspired to his realization by the appearance and attention of a goddess. In Paris' case, depending on the storyteller, the goddess was Venus or Eros or Aphrodite -- the goddess of love and beauty. In Sammy's case it was a teenage girl in a swimsuit. Updike's portrayal of Venus is actually an echo of an echo, as he gives us a vision of Venus as she is realized in Botticelli's 15th century painting.
As is the case with Venus and Paris, the goddess has to do very little but simply be present to inspire our hero to realize his greatest desire. Her price for this is the Golden Apple, often time referred to as the apple of discord, as the apple, a prize to be given to the most lovely of the goddesses, was claimed by Hera and Minerva in addition to Aphrodite.
P," first appeared in The New Yorker in July of 1961. Even more at that time than today, The New Yorker was the magazine of the well cultured, and Updike's allusions certainly would not be lost on them. There is of course an undercurrent of satire in this story as the noble characters of yore are placed inside a brightly lit A&P and the events turn not on a mythical golden apple but rather on a jar of herring.
In this story, Sammy the narrator is explaining himself in a way that a Homeric character certainly would not have to. He is trying to explain what possessed him so suddenly to quit his job at the local supermarket. And as with the unawares Paris, who is suddenly beset by the three goddesses in the story of the golden apple, into the A&P and Sammy's life comes trouble in the guise of beauty. "In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits." The prohibitions against such informal attire was not their concern anymore than Hera, Aphrodite and Athena would be concerned about rules of human decorum.
While Sammy first eyes the girls as a teenage male, the poet inside him comes forth to justify his desire, especially for the one whom he names Queenie. She is the confident one and clearly the leader of the three by regard of her confidence and beauty. "She was the queen. She kind of led them, the other two peeking around and making their shoulders round. She didn't look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima-donna legs." (Updike, p188) But despite the lust in his own nineteen-year-old heart, Sammy is disgusted, both by the leering butcher and the manager who embarrasses the girl and her companions about their improper dress. For Sammy, insulting the girls, especially Queenie, is akin to calling Botticelli's work pornographic. It is with regard to this last insult, that Sammy takes his stand and quits his job on the spot, much the same as Paris renounced his family by choosing love above all else when he could have had wisdom or the whole world as offered by the other two goddesses. The manager even brings up his family obligations, telling Sammy how disappointed his parents will be. But as Sammy says "once you begin a gesture, it's fatal not to go through with it"
Only Sammy is not living in a very heroic time, and unlike most every heroic movie and book since the beginning of history, Sammy is never recognized for his chivalry. Unlike Paris, who gave up all in exchange for the opportunity to possess beauty in the form of Helen, Sammy in the modern age is left with nothing but his hormones and his shaky principles. He acts decisively, but...
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