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  • Essay / Analysis of Marxist Ideology in A&P by John Updike

    In the short story, “A&P” written by John Updike presents several events that take place in the story that would not have happened if the city lived under a Marxist society. Marxism is a socio-economic ideal where all work for the good of the community and is characterized by the absence of distinction of social class. The class division in "A&P" is very apparent, especially between Sammy, the proletariat, and the three girls, one of the three described as bourgeois. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Sammy is introduced to readers as the bag boy and from there he doesn't achieve enlightenment by standing up to the three girls which results in Sammy setting up a fight between him and his manager Lengel . In A&P, Sammy ranks the three girls who are shopping in the upper class. He ranks them as upper class because of the way "Queenie" walks around the grocery store. She's dressed in a bikini, has two friends/followers with her, and doesn't respect the manager when he asks the girls to leave. Queenie wearing a bikini represents the fact that she doesn't have to follow the "no shoes, no shirt, no service" rule. “She was the queen. She was sort of leading them, the other two were looking around and rounding their shoulders, she wasn't looking around, not this queen.” This shows the fact that she is the bourgeoisie and she acts like she owns the grocery store and everyone needs to get out of her way. Her friends following her show that she is one of the most popular girls. When people think of popular girls or characters in a story or movie, it's usually because they're rich, they're pretty, and they have lots of friends. Queenie completely ignores Lengel, the store manager, by staying and shopping while he asks the girls to leave because they are not dressed appropriately. Sammy displays his lower-class social placement by the way he interacts with Lengel. Sammy is the proletariat who allows his boss to control the actions he takes. “Sammy, did you call about this purchase.” This shows a sense of work of how Sammy is controlled by his manager and told what to do. When Lengel asks the girls to leave, Sammy defends the girls and fights between him, the girls, and his boss. From there, he tries to get enlightenment from the three girls who notice him standing, but unfortunately nothing happens. “The girls, who are angry with them, are in a hurry to get out, so I say “I stop” to Lengel quickly enough for him to hear it, hoping that they will stop and look at me, their unsuspected hero. They continue on their way... This displays the message that Sammy, the proletariat, never achieves enlightenment and remains alienated. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, it is obvious how living in a Marxist society can cause conflict in this situation. Lengel, who is the boss, should have more say in what happens. The girls feel like there's nothing wrong because they're the customers, and Sammy doesn't see why it's a problem for the girls to be there to shop..