"A & P" and "Miss Brill"
"All the world's a stage..." Shakespeare
As You Like It
The A & P and the park are stages for both Sammy and Miss Brill. What part does each character play? Are they participants in life?
Is Sammy mature? What does he think about women? About customers?
Sammy takes a stand. Is it worth it?
Even though we aren't told a lot about Miss Brill, there are hints in the story about her background and her values. What kind of person is Miss Brill? What does she value?
Imagine a conversation between Miss Brill and Sammy weeks after he quits his job at the A & P. What would it be like?
posted by Elizabeth @ 2:16 PM
10 Comments:
Sammy is the grocery store cash register who seemed to like checking out the young girls that came in the store in their bathing suit and he would kind of criticize them in his mind.Miss Brill seems like she is a stylish woman.She likes to check out other peoples clothes to see what they have and copy them.A conversation between them two would be like 2 high school girl gossiping.
710
701 - I find this story to be amusing partly because I work retail. The comment on the rouged witch of a lady made me chuckle. I also like the way he chronicaled the reactions to the girls breaking the norm - as sheep bunching up and being startled. There is a very unapologetically leacherous tone through the story which helps to get into the mindset of a teenage boy in summer. My favorite line is "Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency." which I think sums it up quite nicely. Those of us that are not sheep or kingpins like a little bit of harmless fun to intercede into our worlds.
I can relate to this story. I know all about the slow days in a retail store and just watching people shop around for their items.
Sammy likes women, obviously, or he wouldn't have been watching their every move throughout the story, but along with this admiration comes mild disrespect. Not only would Sammy criticize the girls, but also the customers. Calling the customers "sheep" as though the customers in the store are wandering about and need to be rounded up, or rung up, and leave the store. This constant pattern of watching people shop around at their leisure and ringing up their orders when they are ready to leave might make him feel as though he is the "Shepherd" of them all. Leading them out of the store by ringing up their orders.
I feel that Sammy believes what he stood up for was justified, but all in all quitting a job because he wanted to impress some girls was a bad move and wont reflect kindly for him in the future. Not only that, but after he quit and went outside, the girls, being the entire reason he left, were gone. Meaning Sammy quit for nothing.
-706
This story was actually quite funny. From my experience working in retail you often get very bored and are amused by things that are irrelevant to the job itself. Sammy was very distracted by the three girls in swimsuits that it provoked another side to his personality. He was obsessed with watching them walk around he store and when they finally came to his check out he was very cool and collected. But I really laughed at the fact that he up and quit his job in hopes that he would impress the three girls but they were no where to be found when he left the store much to his disappointment. I'm sure it taught him a big lesson in responsibility and about growing up.- 721
Death of a Salesman
Why boy Willie and Mr. lomax had in common was that they wanted something to call there own, they were stuck in trying to get it. Mr. lomax put his blood,sweat,and tears. they way that the son treated him was cruel, Mr. lomax had to many years in for the son not even the orignal owner to give him so much grief. He was willing to take anything just to not have to drive a long distance only to come back empty handed. He let his son put all of his hope into a sport that he didn't suceed in, and then he new what the real reason was his son had gave up along time ago. He made a comment to his friend charly that made me realize that he would try to harm himself, that a man is worth more dead than alive. He just wanted people to like and notice him.
821
814
I don't people should blame Sammy for his thoughts. It is perfectly natural for young men to have vulgar thoughts about women, its part of growing up. If you can honestly say that you have never had thoughts that are in a similar realm to what Sammy's are, then you must be saint. In order to make a judgment about what is considered a "good" thought, you must have a bad one first. I know from experience that I have thought of things that may even be worse, but it does not necessarily mean I intended to act on them. I like to see it as if there is a devil and angel sitting on Sammy's shoulder. Its normal to have unsettling thoughts every once in a while, however whether or not you can control your actions is what is important. Not to mention testosterone is a powerful thing.
I think it was worth it for Sammy to take a stand at the end of this story. It shows that he has character beyond what happens in his thoughts. If he continues to develop in this way, as he is only nineteen years old, he will be a respected man who stands by his convictions. 120
I think Sammy is just a regular kid. He may be a little immature. Atleast he kept all of his thoughts to himself. during our class discussion about this alot of people thought that Sammy was mean. I personally think that if people could hear what i was thinking at all times they would think i was mean to0. Anyone who has worked in restuarants or conveinience stores know, that we have thoughts about everyone we see. --105
I was a little confused with Sammie's language a first but I read the story a second time and I realized that he's just a hormonal teenager. It seemed as though the half naked girls was the highlight of his day. The market he worked in seemed to be full of older people who he had no interest in. They way he watched the girls travel around the store and made mental notes of every move they made, was a clear sign that he was bored & aroused. He mentioned a few times what types of people usually came into the store. He and the other male cashier got a treat as far as they were concerned Oh yeah, he did seem to be judgemental in his accessment of the girls also. The girls definetly shook up the male species of the store but were in their own little world. Even the man at the meat counter had to pat his lips to dry up the drool. The way Sammie descibed the three girls, they were all shapes and sizes but all were equally oblivious to their surrondings. It was a bit silly for Sammie to quit his job though,if the girls do come back to the store, he won't see them because he quit. 01/18/10 #101
RE: "Our Everyday Use" and "A Pair of Tickets"
Both families shared a cultural hertiage as well as family honor and disagreements.
Maggie, was a intervert, and was suffering from pains and trauma from the past. I don't think she was taken serious enough which made people think she could treat her badly. Dee, was an agressor with a go-get-it attitude; but sometimes offensive.
A Pair of Tickets, also shows have families keep secrets due to shame and other dysfunctional behavior. In the end, it all come out. #121
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