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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 adjective does Sammy use to describe the hand shape of the young woman to whom he gives change?

2. In what way does Sammy describe the change he provides to the young woman he calls "Queenie" (5)?

3. What does Sammy do with the object purchased by the young woman he privately calls "Queenie" (5)?

4. Sammy says that nearby the altercation between Lengel and the young women, he can feel "everybody getting" (21) what?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What details does Sammy provide about his boss Lengel?

3. How is repetition utilized within Paragraph 21?

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

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

6. How does Updike demonstrate Sammy's lack of experience with girls and women?

7. How is the theme of family bonds depicted within Sammy's reply to Lengel's claim about the harm inflicted by the young women?

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

9. Of what crime does Sammy accuse Lengel when he quits?

10. What clues does Sammy utilize in order to detect the class of the young woman he dubs "Queenie" (5)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Updike’s focus on the theme of class differences within the story. What message is Updike sending about class, privilege, and wealth?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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This section contains 932 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample