“The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece.” This is the first example of color used by Updike in his story A & P. Updike uses other forms of imagery as well, such as animal and religious images. The images Updike utilizes contrast and describe the characters in the story.
The main character and the narrator of the story, Sammy, describes the people and events surrounding him vividly. In describing one of the girls’ bathing suits Sammy says, “It was bright green and the seams on the bra were still sharp…,” revealing Sammy’s attention to detail. The color green symbolizes the youth of the girl. The bright green bathing suit is a stark contrast to the old and gray shoppers’ clothing. Another character in the story is a girl that Sammy names Queenie. She has long white “prima-donna” legs, white shoulders and an even brighter white rim shining around the top of her ba
thing suit. This unmistakable use of white symbolizes Queenie’s purity and perfection as a human being.
At the beginning of the story, three girls walk into the store. The very nature of the number three is a strong suggestion to the trinity. The girls being near the bread first implies they may be looking for salvation, much like the wafers at church. Queenie is very white all over her body, suggesting that she is a surrogate Virgin Mary, leading the other girls on some sort of quest for salvation. At the end of the story, when Sammy quits, he removes his apron to reveal a clean white shirt and leaves the store without a coat or galoshes. Removing his apron reveals the pureness of his new mature self and stepping out into the light without his coat represents a rebirth.
Sammy’s description of the way that Queenie walks resembles the way one would describe a sea-bird walking. “She came down a little hard on
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