Who is Sammy? In the short story "A&P," Sammy serves as the protagonist, main character and narrator. The story is told from his point of view, which I believe is very interesting because the narrative changes if this story is told from one of the other character's point of view. This story takes places in a small conservative community with conservative views. Sammy is a 19 year old who works as a cashier at A&P grocery in a small town. Sammy can be described in many ways. He is very opinionated and observant of his surroundings. From the beginning of the story Sammy is seen as somewhat immature. Sammy seems to be very uninterested in his job but rather taken with its customers. I can relate to that somewhat. Retail can be so boring and mundane at times that you have to do something to help the time go by. He comments on everyone and everything. This serves as his entertainment to get through the day. In the story he quickly analyzes the girls as they come in the store. In fact, in the very first sentence Sammy says "in walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits" (Updike 32). It is quite an attention grabber. Sammy finds most people in town are followers and do the same thing. However, he notices Queenie is different. He is almost infatuated by her "sweet broad soft-looking can" (Updike 33). Based on the way he describes the girls he seems to judge people based on appearances. He depicts everything from the texture and patterns of their bathing suits to the different boundaries of their tan lines. Sammy describes the girls nicer in comparison to how he described the old lady and the checkout lane. He goes on to call Queenie a leader. She acts different, walks different, and dresses differently than others in town. Sammy described most people in town as sheep. They all talked and dressed the same way. I think Sammy really likes this girl and hoped by quitting his job and standing up for her she would like him back. Q