ENG 201-0503: Choices Have Consequences

Shariful Islam Professor’s T-Callender ENG 201-0503 6 June 2019 Choices have Consequences Write an analysis essay in which you discuss how language, point of view, setting, characterization, and conflict are used by the writer to support a particular theme (comment about the human condition). Every day, people are presented with an opportunity to make a choice. However, what many people fail to realize is that whatever they decide ultimately will present certain consequences which they will have to deal with. It can take time, and one may not realize it now, but eventually, whichever choice a person makes leads to a path that is filled with the results of that choice. The short story A & P by John Updike is one that tells the story of how choices inevitably have consequences. In John Updike’s story, the characters are presented with situations where they make certain decisions. Even though each of the characters acts alone, their choices, in the end, yield some results, and they are all forced to face or live with the consequences. Decision-making is a normal attribute for all mankind, and in the story, each of the characters at some point had to make one. The writer uses language, point of view, setting, characterization, and conflict to demonstrate that while choices are important, individuals have to deal with the consequences of the choices they make. The story A & P is told from the point of view of Sammy, a 19-year old boy who works as a cashier at the A & P. Sammy, as any narrator would, tells the truth as he sees it and provides the reader with a first-hand description of the store as well as the people around. However, the problem with Sammy’s take is that it is skewed towards his own truth and what he believes in. So, a reader does not get to understand or see the other characters in a different light but only through the eyes of Sammy. However, even though Sammy is unreliable as a narrator, he does set the stage for what makes up the rest of the story. Sammy’s point of view is one that shows the far he has to go to grow and become an adult. As per the story, Sammy was transitioning from teenage-hood to adulthood. He still answered to his parents, but he was also big enough not to invoke them as a reason for any decision he makes in his life. All that he does in the story helps to cement the fact that he was growing. One good example is his description of adults who he finds to have similar traits. “But we’re 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” (Updike 2). He continues to say, “And anyway these are usually women with six children and varicose veins mapping their legs and nobody, including them, could care less” (Updike 2). The above only shows that his understanding of the world was skewed or child-like because of his age. Sammy’s understanding of the world sets the stage for the choices he makes in the story. He decides to quit his job because his view of the world was different to the one held by Lengel and the adults who were staring at the girls. Even though he does come to the realization that life will not be kind to him after making the decision to quit, he stands by his decision and sets out to a different life. Additionally, setting represents a particular timeline, and in the story, the one choice that led to the different choices made by the other characters came about because of the story’s setting. The setting is not clearly defined but is believed to be during the Cold War years. In these years, the United States was not where it is right now. Currently, people can wear what they want and never be castigated by anyone. However, the choice to wear bathing suits by Queenie and her two friends is one that lets the reader know that it was not okay, at the time, to wear such...