短篇小说论文

Paper of Short Story Reading on the theme of “A&P”Headline: All Choices Have a ConsequenceStudent number: 201205340114Class: 2012级10班Name: 田金芳10th January, 2015Abstract:All of the main characters in the story must make a choice and endure the consequence of that choice when constant collision between the new ideas and conventional ones generated. John Updike illustrates Sammy and the three young girls are representatives of the rebellious youth, while others are on the rigid elders’ side.On behalf different side, once they have made their own choice between tradition and new things, the story began to takes place. I think Sometimes we need to challenge the traditional patterns and make choices that let us use our potential as possible as we can. Once a choice is made, we're all responsible for our own choices.Keywords: Choice, consequence, Sammy, collision,rebellion, traditionⅠ.A brief introduction to the “A & P”“A&P" is an initiation novel written by John Updike in 1961, which is told from the first person point of view of Sammy.” A&P", originally published in The New Yorker on July 22, 1961, also later appeared in the collection Pigeon Feathers.It has been widely anthologized and is generally considered to be a classic. M. Gilbert Porter called the titular A & P "the common denominator of middle-class suburbia, an appropriate symbol for mass ethic of a consumer-conditioned society." According toPorter, when the main character chooses to rebel against the A & P, he also rebels against this consumer-conditioned society, and in so doing he "has chosen to live honestly and meaningfully." As with this, A&P is worthy analyzing, especially from choices when characters make choices between individual new concept and conventional ones.The setting of the story is in a small quiet town, north of Boston where most of the customers are conservative. The protagonist, Sammy, a teenage clerk in an A & P grocery, is working at the cash register on a hot summer day when three girls walk into a grocery store wearing only their bathing suits to purchase a jar of herring snacks. He and his colleague Stokesie who has got married and has two babies are attracted deeply by three girls. Sammy notices in every detail of the girls’ physical appearance, from the texture and patterns of their bathing suits to the different boundaries of their tan lines. Just then, the manager Lengel, came in, he noticed and embarrassed three girls and told that they should be "decently dressed" when they enter the store .Offended by the manager's disregard for the three customers' dignity, Sammy quits his job.The story ends sadly with Sammy standing alone in the parking lot and feeling his stomach kind of fell as he felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter when he finds the girls have left long.Ⅱ.The analysis of theme of A&PFrom what I understand after reading this short intuition novel andaccessing to some relevant information, I hold that the theme of story is the choice and consequence between new ideas and conventional ones and they need make choice. Once made，one needs to take responsibility for the choice he or she makes whatever it bad or good.In order to deeply dig of theme of the story, let’s first take a look at the environment around this story. "A&P" was written in 1961 when the American is a turbulent time. The civil movement, sex revolution, the war versus Vietnam, the cold war and collision of family systems occurred at the same time. During this period(the 1950s and '60s)，conservative dress mirrored conservative social values. In those days in America, people by and large conformed and were expected to conform. Conformity was a measure of popularity as well as a measure of moral rightness. However, there is a new generation of youth who rebelling against old ideas.In the story, we can see the clash between them is the same as the battle between these two sides in the 1960s.Thus ,living in a traditional and unconventional coexist period，Lengel and other customers choose to conform tradition are reluctant to innovate and change. When Lengel comes into the store after “haggling with a truck full of cabbages,” and he is “about to scuttle into that door marked MANAGER,” he could have ignore d the three girls. Instead, he makes the choice to confront the girls in front of Sammy. Lengel’s c hoice to confront the girls has the unforeseen consequence of losing anemployee when Sammy resigns in protest. Maybe Updike uses the role of they play to satirize the conservatives. This serious, rigid man is acting as the moral supervisor and authority maintainer. Although conform to the customs set by the society is very important, but some changes is inevitable. As we know, the world is constantly changing, so, instead of denying, we should learn to accept the new things. What’s more, conventional minds are always wrong about pivot moments in a nation's history.By contrast,the choices of Sammy and the girls in bathing suits represent a rebellion against conformism. The three girls made the choice of going to the grocery store in their bathing suits rather than normal dressing, especially Queenie, with her “long white prima-donna legs”, stands out as a nonconformist and an indication of her indifference to the traditional social values.Nevertheless, because of their choice to violate community standards, they suffer embarrassment by being condemned by an authority figure. When Queenie defends herself against Lengel by insisting, “We are decent,” she is onl y trying to get out of an embarrassing situation.While the other girls seem awkward and abashed, Queenie is undaunted by the disapproving glances of the other shoppers and the eager gazes of the male employees.The girls have a profound transformative effect on the men in the A&P, especially Sammy.Though many characters make choices throughout the story,Sammy is obliged to make a painful dilemma .Sammy, the narrator of “A&P,” is used to being a sarcastic disaffected teenager with a healthy interest in the opposite sex and a keen observational sense, whereas Queenie and her friends simply ignore those rules. As Sammy approaches adulthood, he also has to face the consequences of his actions more directly.After an embarrassing encounter with the three girls and his manager, he has the choice of pretending nothing had happened, or doing something which he believes is right.When Lengel try to persuade him，Sammy says that “It’s true, I don’t. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture it’s fatal not to go through with it”. Sammy needs to consider his consequence before making the decision of quitting. One consequence of quitting his job is it causes a strain in his relationship with his parents. Another, more obvious consequence is that he may have a hard life to live.When he chooses to quit his job, Anyway, I think that he did not necessarily want impress Queenie, but instead, he went get her way of living. For one thing, Updike uses the fluorescent light of the supermarket to emphasize a boring future and there is no excitement or mystery involved. For another, he uses the sunlight to represent the never-ending opportunity of freedom. So, when Sammy quits his job and enters the parking lot, he sees the vast sunshine in every direction. This is supposedto symbolize a new beginning and the new-found freedom to take his life in any direction he chooses.Ⅲ. ConclusionIn conclusion, every choice has an aftereffect. A&P is a story reflecting the social reality of that time when folks have made hard choice in the struggle of promoting the society going forward. Updike uses the characters of Sammy, the three girls in bathing suits, and Lengel in the story to show how important it is to carefully contemplate the consequences of their choices when be in a turn of old and new times. In today’s society, it is also the same. As an independent person, one need keep pace with the times when it keeps changing. The word choices seem not just correct but also inevitable.In other words, eventually Sammy seems to think that he has learned a lesson in the painful ways of the world. Try to think about this, what is Sammy’s future life if Sammy didn’t choose to resign? Maybe he still complaint about everything in life as a cashier. I think sometimes one need determine what is good enough and take the first step towards that. That's all that one has to do.Reference:[1] Wan Fang Data analysis of A&P ( /）[2] Google theme of A&P (/)[3] Spraknote A&P (/short-stories/a-and-p/)[4] Shmoop Editorial Team. "A&P." 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 9 Jan. 2015.(/ap-updike/society-class-theme.html) [5] LitCharts. John Updike’s A&P: Analysis & Theme(/lit/a-and-p）[6] Wikipedia, A&P (/wiki/)[7] Enotes A & P by John Updike (/topics/ )[8] 谭占海. The Pleasure-instruction Function of Literature——A View from theTheme of “A & P”. 贵州省外语学会2008年学术研讨会论文[9] 赵婧鹏，马丽. The Contrast between Social Criterion and Individual Request inA & P. 分类号：I106.4 语文学刊2007年第8期[10] 哈旭娴, 直觉与习俗的撞击———简析厄普代克的短篇小说《A&P》主题.江苏广播电视大学学报Vol.13No.5 2002年10月中图分类号:I712.074[11] 张军丽赵雪当浪漫遭遇现实时虽败犹荣——简析《A&P》中萨米反叛性格的成因北京联合大学师范学院姓名：田金芳学号：201205340114 2012级10班A Day of My LifeOn the endless grassland, birds are singing in the blue sky, small flocks of sheep or goats are being herded by riders on horseback, flowers are stoking our noses, and a stream is flowing under the blue sky. I am intoxicated deeply in beautiful grasslands. Now I feel strong. Free. More free than ever.“May the blue sky and the white clouds be my witnesses, for I will spend the rest of my life loving and cherishing you.”a man said to me. I totally believe that in front of the man is the person I like, and he loved person is me. I cannot describe the moment of joy and stand on tiptoe around his neck. As if it is a world of my own and no one can disturb me.It was then that I heard someone calling my name very clearly. Suddenly, I saw my husband standing beside my bed when I opened my eyes. Oh, that was Just a dream I had, now, I wake up. How could I have this dream? Who was the man in my dream and why I couldn’t remember his face?My mind was spinning with questions.“Good morning, dear. It's time to get up. As I've told you yesterday that we will join a large family gathering today. He said kindly and kissed me softly.“G ood morning. I'm really sorry that I’m overslept.I always wake at seven every morning. ” I replied in an absent-minded way for I still think that dream.“It doesn't matter. But you just need to get up right now and have a breakfast together early so that we might get there before noon.Our maid has already prepared breakfast for us” he said.To be honest, I hate that occasion where crowds gather. “May I be absent from family party today? I'm not feeling very well.” I said gently.“How can you not go? You should consider for me. If you don't go, our family will regard this as a sign of disrespect to our elders. And what’s wrong with you?” he asked.“Well, nothing, I got it.” I walked slowly up to the front of window and sat down on my stool in a daze. Outside the Window,The trees blocked off the sun. Then, everything went blank and black.I love that dream but there is no time to think about that dream. Dream is just a dream, it never be true.Am I happy or unhappy now? This question has never occurred to me.“And you’d better spend a little extra effort to dress well for this important occasion.” he continued.“ well, I’ll dress up carefully.”I said and began to have a wash in the bathroom. After washing, I put on my favorite dress,took special care with my makeup, and hair. Then went downstairs and walked slowlytoward him.“D ear, do you think I can get by with this dress, or it is unsuitable for the party?”Maybe I was just yearning for his compliment to me. I thought he will say: dear, you look so charming. Your make-up is perfect.“Louise, Why are you so dressed up? You should wear something a bit more formal. ”“This dress is pretty but it makes you out of place on that occasion. It should be classy and not too flashy.”He added with a bitter smile.“That’s ok, I will change another one.” I said in a low deadpan.We remained silent along the way. Looked at the extremely blue sky outside the car and thought that dream, I felt my life is empty and depressing. In the party, every woman went out of their way to keep well-groomed and observe good manners as my mother taught me years ago. Of course, I also don't exception. The most embarrassing thing for women is to find another woman wearing the same dress at a formal party. Generally, it is impossible to happen.After a rich lunch, I tried to be demure and cautious to make polite conversation with them. Women usually discuss simultaneously about same subjects, including nutrition, family planning, baby care, and what's happening in their lives. Although I was not really happy, I had to keep smiling in the party.Conversely, men were talking about some subjects like current events,political issues or their careers in excitement. What if I also could talk and share same subjects with them? But I know it’s wrong to say anything like that on that occasion although I can’t understand why.This atmosphere always makes me very depressed and want go to a place where nobody is.It was not till evening that we utterly exhaustedly returned to home. He is a little tipsy from the party.“Good night, dear.” he kissed me and fell into sleep as soon as he lay onto the bed.I peered into his face, and thought maybe there is no one who could understand what I’m thinking about even if my husband .I hoped I could quickly enter dreamland and continue to the dream ever had last night. I hope that someday I can be a bird, and then freely flying in the vast sky, enjoying the freedom sufficiently.Maybe I love my husband, but in the heart of the gentlest corner will also appear in the other person I like.That's the kind of day I had.My life is in a rut.。