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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. When the narrator imagines the home of the young woman he calls "Queenie" (5), what are the men at the party wearing?

2. Who asks Sammy if he has rung up the purchase of the three young women?

3. Stokesie takes what action deliberately and quietly?

4. What is the second word of the song Sammy has come to hear when he works the register?

5. Who tells Lengel that the young women had only come into the store to pick up one item?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Lengel's reply to Sammy's accusation?

2. What is the policy cited by Lengel when he tells the young women they are in violation?

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

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

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

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

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. What details does Sammy provide about his boss Lengel?

9. In what way do food similes enter the story and for what purpose does Updike use them?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Write a critical essay about “A and P” while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the story's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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