Characters In John Updike's A & P

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There are three things alike about the two rebellious main characters. First of all, they are both 19 year olds. Second thing is they are both trying to impress someone or some people. Lastly, they both end up doing something stupid for the wrong reasons. In A&P, it's obvious Sammy tries to impress the prettiest girl that walked in with her bathing suits along with her friends, whom he named "Queenie". As these girls walk in, the music changes and you see Sammy's attention turn to them and he forgot about the "witch" for a second and rings her "hose" twice. This shows he has an interest in her and will want to impress her and get her attention. He tried impressing her by quitting his job. He tells Lengal, "I said I quit". In Greasy Lake, the narrator tries to impress his friends and other being by acting bad. He wants to be a bad ass and so he "wore torn-up leather jackets, slouched around with toothpicks in our mouths…We were bad."…show more content…
After he quit, he went outside and the girls got into their car and drove off. They never looked back at him what so ever. If he quit because Lengal did something very wrong to him or has a legit excuse that's one thing but quitting to impress a girl is silly. The narrator in Greasy Lake also does something very foolish. He nearly murdered someone. He picked up the "tire irons under the driver's seat" and "brought the tire iron down across" the stranger's

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