A&P

I thought the story was very interesting. I really enjoyed the build-up. Updike used a lot of details and allowed the store clerk, Sammy, to make a lot of well thought out inferences about the girls walking around the A&P. At first, I wasn't sure what to think about the reading or where it was going, I thought the story was just going to sort of drag on. Then the incident with Sammy's boss really pulled me in. My dad is sometimes like Lengle. He used to comment on other peoples' attire and actions when he would take me to school functions. It was really embarrassing back in middle school and definitely not his place to be making comments. So I can see how Sammy felt the need to say and do something that allowed him to dissociate from his boss.
Now, as much as I admire Sammy for having the guts to quit his job, a job his parents got for him I might add, I think he made an irrational and immature decision. I do not know what will be of Sammy's life thereafter; I think some would say that now he can go and do something more meaningful and more enjoyable but I'd say that Sammy is destined to continue living a mundane life in that small town.
The last line "...my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter," says to me that from then on Sammy will feel inclined to always be a man of his word and follow through with everything he says, no matter the consequence. And that there can be a very daunting prospect. We all think things and want to act on them, especially if we feel that an unfortunate identity is being forced on us (such as a cashier at an A&P) but many of us don't. And those of us that do act on them are seen as immature and irresponsible. I think Sammy was faced with a lose-lose situation....and the impact of which loss is more detrimental is entirely subjective and many readers will view it differently.