Grow Up!

Grow up!

The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word ‘initiation’ as: ‘A ceremony, ritual, test, or period of instruction with which a new member is admitted to an organization or to knowledge.’ Every man or woman has a story of initiation from his or her past. The stories of initiation are a point when a person finally grows up and learns something previously not known about them. The protagonists in the two short stories, “A & P” and “Greasy Lake”, overcome their formerly adolescent personalities and realize that it is time for a drastic change in character.

The readers first meet the protagonist (Sammy) of “A & P” as young grocery cashier. Sammy, the narrator, feels that at the young age of nineteen he has life figured out. The story is told as a narrative; a presumably older man is looking back, with humor, at his younger self. When the three underdressed young women walk into the store, it is probably the first time that Sammy, or any other person in the store, has seen such vulgarity in a typically public scene. The dreaded manager of the store, Lengel, asks the three girls to show a little respect for the other customers by asking the girls to leave; Sammy feels this is an injustice!