Short Stories

Having already read part of “A & P” in Ms. Garagiola’s class last year, I liked having the opportunity to finish the whole story. John Updike does a remarkable job in painting very vivid pictures for the reader. “…the kind of girl other girls think is very “striking” and “attractive” but never quite makes it…(2) and “the whole store was like a pinball machine and I didn’t know which tunnel they’d come out of (11)” are just a couple of the descriptions that I found very witty, which stayed with me after reading the story. Updike describes not only the people but also the grocery store so well that he makes ordinary objects seem very interesting. I liked that he told the story through Sammy’s eyes; the reader is able to take a look into the mind of Sammy. We notice first what catches his eyes first—like when the girls walk in, he notices her legs and the bathing suits; it brings in an interesting perspective. It was interesting to see the different reactions of the people in the grocery store to the girls. Sammy and his friend couldn’t keep their eyes off the girls. The women in the store, however, had a very different perspective. They were not happy, and their reactions could certainly be mistaken for jealously. I think that one of the reasons that Sammy quit his job was because when the girls left the A & P, I think he realized that there are so many other interesting things that go on in the world other than working in a grocery store. I got the sense that Sammy was very bored with his job; once the girls walked in, that was all he could pay attention to. When the “queen” of the three girls stood her ground when the manager was telling her she was not properly dressed, I think at that moment, Sammy finally worked up the courage to quit his job and move onto something more interesting.

In “Revelation,” I was taken aback when Mary Grace suddenly threw the book at Mrs. Turnpike and then proceeded to try and bite her. My first reaction was utter astonishment; I did not pick up any clues before the incident occurred that might have foreshadowed it. There was one question in class that I thought was interesting, but ran out of time before an answer could be given, which was “Do you think Mrs. Turnpike is a changed woman?” One aspect that was apparent in the story was that she thought of herself as a giving woman who was thankful for what she has; however, I think that when she gives to charity, she is just going through the motions without putting any sincerity behind it. I think that she believes that if God sees her giving back to the community, then she will automatically go to Heaven. She is helping those who are less fortunate for the sole reason that she hopes that it will benefit herself. I do not think her “revelation” will change her. Initially, I think that she will try to be really good and not judge people as harshly as she did in the waiting room, but after a week or so I think she will return to her previous behavior.

There are many parallels that can be drawn between “Revelation” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Both stories have a main character—Mrs. Turnpike and the grandmother—who categorizes people by their social status. All Mrs. Turnpike does while she is in the waiting room is judge those around her, referring to one woman as “white trash.” The grandmother, when talking to the Misfit mentions how he probably isn’t from “common blood.” Both characters like to talk a lot. There is also a theme of violence in both stories—Mary Grace attacking Mrs. Turnpike and the grandmother and her family being murdered. Both stories begin with a lot of description, which leads to a surprising turn of events and a sad ending for the characters. In both stories, I was left at the end wishing that Mrs. Turnpike and the Misfit would turn into good characters but O’Conner never made that happen. O’Conner states in her Excerpt from “On Her Own Work” that, “violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality (pg. 398).” In both stories I was hoping that everyone would have a happy ending that is so common in the movies but instead I was left with a sadness for the characters. One other parallel is that the characters in both stories are heavily into their religion. Mrs. Turnpike constantly thinks about how God could have made her into a less fortunate woman, but because she gives to the poor and has a good heart, she was blessed. The Misfit talks about Jesus and raising the dead. I think that Christianity prevails throughout the stories because O’Conner herself, was, “a devout Roman Catholic (pg. 357).” (829)