Updike's style is derived mainly from irony and
humor.
The story is told from Sammy's point-of-view, so we
hear his teenage vernacular and sarcasm. Clearly, Sammy sides with the girls and
resents adult authority figures. Since he tries to be the hero in his own story, we
empathize with him, even after he is fired and fails to impress the
ladies.
Sammy uses much grocery store metaphors and
imagery, especially as it pertains to the female shoppers. People and products have
become confused in the materialistic and commercial world of the A & P. Just
listen:
...just come from between the two smoothest
scoops of vanilla I had ever
known."
Since Sammie's
framing his story from one vantage point, he's an observer-narrator. He mainly comments
on the cultural differences between the adult and pre-adult world. The A&P is
an adult world, with neat aisles and shelves and prices. When a group of teenage girls
intrude on that world, it makes the adults look crass, conservative, and materialistic.
By the end, Sammy rebels against the adult world, but he knows he can't survive without
it for long.
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