This was a fun little short story to read. It was mainly about some cashier at a grocery store who saw three girls walk into the store with bathing suits on. And he kind of had a crush on one of the girls that he found to be very attractive. He watches the girls for a while and then they end up at his register after they are finished with their shopping. He was very happy that they went to his so he could talk to them and see them from a much closer view. Then his boss ends up coming out and telling the girls that next time they come in they have to dress more appropriate and not wear the small and very showing bathing suits. The cashier ends up getting mad that his boss embarrassed the girls that he ends up quitting his job, and he ends up walking out with kind of a scared feeling of how life is going to be now.
This short story had a very strong impact or connection on me because I worked at a small grocery store for about two years. And for a while I was a cashier. And I hated being a cashier more then anything because I hated dealing with all the customers. Just like the person in the story when I was a cashier there were a lot of people who always corrected me and watched me very carefully if I had made any mistakes while ringing up all of the things they purchased. After doing this a while everyday I worked there I always thought about quitting on the spot just like this kid did, however I didn’t want it to look bad if I wanted to get another job so I just ended up never quitting.
Many have suggested that Updike must have worked at a grocery store to write from such a perspective...
ReplyDeleteWhen we're younger (15-20), the jobs we manage to procure usually are similar to Sammy's. It's difficult to learn a positive work ethic and self-discipline (and all those other things people claim you should be "learning") when you aren't given reason to value the work or are treated poorly.