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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. To what is the narrator referring when he discusses Stokesie's "fuselage" (8)?

2. The narrator says that from the front doors of the A and P, he can see how many banks?

3. In what part of town is the A and P located?

4. The narrator describes the young woman to whom he refers as "Queenie" (5) as being "more than" (3) what?

5. From what location does the girl the narrator calls "Queenie" (5) pull a folded dollar bill?

Short Essay Questions

1. What sorts of details does Updike use to portray the appearance of the store and why?

2. Provide evidence for the conclusion that there are many people in Sammy's town who are set in their ways.

3. To what does Stokesie refer when he asks Sammy, "Is it done?" (9)?

4. What is the setting of the story "A and P"?

5. What simile does Sammy use to describe the layout of the grocery store?

6. Discuss the way in which Sammy objectifies the three young women.

7. Besides dressing differently than everyone else in the store, how else do the young women stand out?

8. How is the animal motif included within Paragraphs 1-6?

9. Provide evidence for the conclusion that Sammy uses diminutive terms indiscriminate of his target's gender.

10. How is the motif of sexuality included within the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of Updike’s story “A and P” and one of the story's main messages. How does Updike make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help Updike get across one main message of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Updike’s story from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 967 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample