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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What action does the narrator take when Lengel repeats a particular word to the young women?

2. What is NOT a register button Sammy hits while ringing up the young woman's purchase?

3. In what way does Sammy uncrease the bill handed to him by the young woman he privately calls "Queenie" (5)?

4. The young woman referred to as "Queenie" (5) replies to Lengel's comments by saying that the three young women are what?

5. The narrator describes Lengel's movements by using what verb?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss a possible reason for Lengel's request for Sammy to repeat his words "I quit" (22).

2. What unique form of imagery does Updike create to depict Queenie's anger at Lengel's words?

3. In what way does Updike use the animal motif within the customers' reaction to the scene involving Lengel and the young women?

4. What is ironic about Sammy's claim that Lengel is the most nervous person involved?

5. Discuss the socioeconomic status from which Sammy's family stems.

6. How does the young woman dubbed "Queenie" (5) by Sammy react to Lengel's actions?

7. Which comment of Lengel's causes the young woman dubbed "Queenie" (5) to get angry rather than embarrassed?

8. Describe an example of Updike's use of metaphor within the story.

9. How does Updike show the childlike and whimsical nature of Sammy's personality in the story?

10. In what way does Sammy react to Lengel's mention of policy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the theme of conformity within Updike’s story “A and P.” What is Updike’s message regarding conformity and how do you know? Be sure to consider characters that may represent conformity or its opposite.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the reasons why “A and P” uses a first-person narrator and a plot that unfolds in real time. What elements of the story's themes lend themselves to these choices and what are Updike’s intended effects on the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at Sammy’s language use throughout the story. What is Updike’s purpose for shaping Sammy’s voice in the way that he does? For example, why does Updike often choose to put grammatically incorrect phrasing into Sammy’s mouth, while also choosing a word like “hereafter” (32) for Sammy’s final line of narration within the story?

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