A P by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce - 573 Words

In the short story AP, John Updike uses the power of desire as his theme. The girls, knowing it was not ethical, walk into the market with bathing suits and catch the eyes of the male workers. As the girls are acting innocent, they walk around as the guys just watch what the girls are going to do next. In many ways, taunting the males and walking in the grocery store was going against conformity, thus, leaving the girls embarrassed and shy when they are confronted by the manager of the store. In a fit of anger and trying to be a hero for the ladies, a boy clerk tells the manager he quits because his manager blatantly told the girls that they needed to come clothed to the store next time. In the text The Art of John Updikes A P† it states, Outraged that his manager, Lengel, has made that pretty girl blush and wanting to demonstrate his refusal of such demeaning authority, (Saldivar, 1997). The girls were giving the males in the store a sense of false hope just getting attention for their own self-fulfillment. Like in Araby the boy falls in love with a girl and feels like it is his responsibility and duty to make her happy. He feels as if she is the only thing in his life that makes him happy and living in a boring, small town is what brings him down. The settings of the two stories are similar in that both of the protagonist, which are the boys, live in small towns filled with elderly people. They both feel as if there is not a way out and they have both livedShow MoreRelatedAP by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce Essay examples856 Words   |  4 PagesThe two stories I chose are AP by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce. Both stories tell a tale of social and philosophical differences of middle class adolescent boys, when compared to the adults in the stories. In the short story AP by John Updike, the story is told in a first person narrative of a teenage boy working as a cashier in an AP grocery store on a hot summer day. The story begins with the teenage boy named Sammy becoming preoccupied by a group of three teenage girls that walkRead MoreJohn Updike s A P And James Joyce s Araby1877 Words   |  8 PagesComing-of-age is a chapter that every individual must inevitably trek through in order to grow and mature into one’s own self. In John Updike’s AP and James Joyce’s Araby, the theme of growth permeates throughout both narratives as their respective protagonists fabricate an ideal world from their own naive perspectives, only to shed their ignorant fantasies about how they believe to understand that the world can bend to their decisions to truly understand the cruelty behind world they live in: reachingRead MoreEssay on Comparison of A P by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce681 Words   |  3 Pages John Updikes â€Å"A P† and James Joyces â€Å"Araby† are very similar. The theme of the two stories is about a young man who is interested in figuring out the difference between reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head and of the mistaken thoughts each has about their world, the girls, and themselves. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the main character has built up unrealistic expectations of women. Both characters have focused upon one girl inRead MoreThe Stages of Maturation in James Joyce’s Araby John Updikes AP from the Authors Perspective902 Words   |  4 PagesWhen comparing the views of both James Joyce and John Updike on maturation from adolescence to adulthood it will be important to continually compare two of their similar works in Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and Updike’s â€Å"AP†. James Joyce and John Updike follow similar views with the latter using Joyce as a foundation and following in similar footsteps; both authors follow a process of maturation based on the allure of love, while doing it at different stages of each of the protagonists’ lives resulting in similarRead More Love and Disillusionment in Araby and A and P Essay980 Words   |  4 PagesLove and Disillusionment in â€Å"Araby by James Joyce and â€Å"A and P by John Updike â€Å"Araby by James Joyce and â€Å"A and P by John Updike are both short stories in which the central characters are in love with women who don’t even know it. The Araby story started sad and ended sadder, however, the â€Å"A and P† story started happy and ended with a heroic act that went unnoticed. The main characters both experience new situations and truths of which they were not previously aware. Both stories willRead More The Decline of Chivalry Explored in Araby and AP Essay1211 Words   |  5 PagesRomantic gestures have been seen as a useful motive to win hearts of women for centuries. However, as society constantly changes, the effectiveness of these chivalrous acts has diminished. In James Joyce’s â€Å"Araby† and John Updike’s â€Å"AP†, this theory is explored, both telling the story of a boy whose efforts to impress the girl of their desires fail. As said by Well’s in his critical analysis of these stories, â€Å"Both the protagonists have come to realize that romantic gestures—in fact, that the wholeRead MoreEpiphany Vs Araby833 Words   |  4 Pagesthe modern age are â€Å"AP† by John Updike and â€Å"Araby† by James Joyce. The story â€Å"AP† by John Updike is about an eighteen year old boy named Sammy who works at the AP and finds an attraction to three girls who repeatedly walk into the AP in bathing suits, after the girls are embarrassed by the manager Sammy does the heroic act of quitting in honor of the three girls. The short story â€Å"Araby† by James Joyce is about a boy who take on the quest of going to a bazaar called Araby and buying his crush aRead More Comparing Updikes AP and Joyces Araby Essay1336 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Updikes A P and Joyces Araby  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Updikes A P and James Joyces Araby share many of the same literary traits. The primary focus of the two stories revolves around a young man who is compelled to decipher the difference between cruel reality and the fantasies of romance that play in his head. That the man does, indeed, discover the difference is what sets him off into emotional collapse. One of the main similarities between the two stories is the fact that the mainRead MoreA P And Araby By James Joyce1200 Words   |  5 Pages AP by John Updike and Araby by James Joyce are two short stories that have multiple differences and similarities. AP is about a teenager and his lust for young ladies and Araby is about a young boy who had a crush on a older girl. I will be comparing and contrasting the portrayal of women, love and epiphany in the two short stories AP and Araby. I believe women are portrayed negatively in AP. I have came to this conclusion because I believe Sammy treats the â€Å"Queenie† positively but treatsRead MoreCompare And Contrast Araby And A P Short Story999 Words   |  4 Pagesstories â€Å"AP† by John Updike and â€Å"Araby† by James Joyce both reflect coming of age stories. In the story AP, the narrator, Sammy quits his job to stand up for the three girls wearing â€Å"nothing but their bathing suits†() In the story Araby, the narrator shows himself growing up through discovering his sexuality. In the stories AP and Araby there are strong similarities in the plot and setting, however they are also different in the imagery and figurative language. The setting in â€Å"AP† takes place