The Extraordinary

Under the fluorescent lights of an American supermarket, John Updike is able to explore the implications of the extraordinary. The ordinary Sammy is caught up in the humdrum of supermarket life until in walks three extraordinary creatures, to be more specific, three barely clad girls. The appearance of the triumvirate throws both the employees and the customers for a loop. Sammy observes the three during their escapade through the A & P. The girl’s attire could only be described as unconventional; Sammy intently observes the reactions of the customers, which he dubs “sheep.” Sammy realizes that apart from being their “unsuspected” hero, he wants more than to be a part of supermarket society; he wants to be extraordinary as well.

From the very beginning, the narrator presents his skills of observation. He is able to interpret physical action into an aspect of character. The description of Queenie’s gait demonstrates his ability to connect the two. He associates the hardness of her steps with the unfamiliarity of her bare feet hitting the hard floor and the distribution of weight as a determination to push the boundaries. Through the eyes of Sammy, we see that with each step she gains confidence. Queenie is the unconventional threat to the supermarket society. In fact, we see the “sheep scatter” as she forces her way through them, by “walking against the usual traffic (16).” She represents everything foreign, beautiful, and extraordinary to Sammy. He imagines her home as a luxurious alternative to that of his own cookie cutter lifestyle. While her family enjoys extravagant drinks, his family provides generic refreshments. We see his family and community represented by the store manager Lengel, the family friend, and his clerk-mate Stokies, whose greatest ambition in life is to be store manager himself. Lengel reminds Sammy that by quitting his job he will be disappointing his parents and Sammy knows it as well. He is deciding to walk against the norm and to embarrass the supermarket society. He admits that he feels “how hard the world was going to be to… hereafter (19).” Sammy realizes that by choosing to be unconventional he will have to face larger challenges.

By setting his short story in a supermarket John Updike is able to comment on the dreary life unaccompanied by the unconventional. Each customer is the same. They react similarly to each situation. Rather than admit to any disturbance they would rather ignore it. “ I bet you could set of dynamite in the A & P and the people would by and large keep … checking of their list (16).” However, the inexplicability of the girl’s dress and behavior is overwhelming for the clones, “you could see them kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on they pushed (16).” The girls make a point of walking against the flow of sheep, emphasizing their differences. The supermarket itself represents a sort of corral; Sammy aptly names it a “pinball machine (17),” where sheep can be funneled out. Sammy gives the sheep a collective conscience and feeling because one is indistinguishable from the next. The entire journey is supposedly undertaken to obtain “Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks (17), “ but ultimately, Queenie’s goal is the prove herself extraordinary. By doing so, she inspires the other youth in the store, Sammy, to do just the same.

While reading this story, I was reminded of a song by Malvina Reynolds. She describes the supermarket society as a society filled with the same people, who all follow the same pattern, who live and die following the same journey, in the same “little boxes.” Both John Updike’s and Malvina Reynolds’ work satirizes the ridiculousness of conventionalism and encourages the extraordinary. A & P shows us one boy’s decision to stand out and choose a path different from the expected.

“Little Boxes” Malvina Reynolds

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes all the same,

Theres a pink one & a green one

And a blue one & a yellow one

And they are all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses

All went to the university

Where they were put in boxes

And they came out all the same

And theres doctors & lawyers

And business executives

And they are all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry

And they all have pretty children

And the children go to school,

And the children go to summer camp

And then to the university

Where they´re put in boxes

And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business

And marry & raise a family

In boxes made of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same,

Theres a pink one & a green one

And a blue one & a yellow one

And they are all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.