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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. For what reason does Stokesie deliberately and quietly take a particular action?

2. In what type of glasses do the narrator's parents serve alcoholic beverages at parties?

3. What verb does Sammy use to describe his action of giving change?

4. What term does the narrator use to describe the intensity of the eye color of the young woman he calls "Queenie" (5)?

5. What does the sign on Lengel's office door read?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. For what reason and in what manner does Lengel confront the three young women in the store?

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

4. In what way do the themes of guilt and responsibility enter the narrative?

5. Describe Updike's use of foreshadowing within the story "A and P".

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

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

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

9. How is repetition utilized within Paragraph 21?

10. Why does Sammy use haste when saying "I quit" (22) the first time?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Could “A and P” be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Updike’s story “A and P.” Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the story.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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