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

2. Lengel tells Sammy, "I don't think you know what you're" (29) what?

3. What color is the palm of the young woman whom the narrator calls "Queenie" (5)?

4. The narrator says that the sound of one young woman's voice immediately takes him to what location?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the story’s use of the animal motif. Why does Sammy continually use language associated with farm animals, and how does this choice dovetail with messages depicted in the story?

Essay Topic 2

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?

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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