Although the short stories, A&P, by John Updike, and How to Tell a True War Story, by Timothy OBrien, are both written in the technique of first person narrative, the two stories are conveyed to the reader in very different styles. John Updike, who was 29 at the time when he wrote A & P, narrates his story from the point of view of a 19 year old boy. The narration of the story of A & P illustrates the scene of the grocery store in which the teenage boy, Sammy, is a cashier who witnesses everything that goes on during the day. The store is a theater, having numerous skits taking place throughout the day with no script. Sammy is in the audience where he came only observe the acts to make up his own story and narrate the scene to others. Every important detail is observed through Sammys eyes and is expressed in the narration of his story of the A & P grocery store.Sammy sets the scene of a sunny, summer beach day in which three young girls dressed in nothing but bathing suits enter the store to buy some snacks for their day in the sand. Sammy is deeply intrigued by the girls and watches every move they make while ringing in other customers at the store. The girls parade through the isles as if they are putting on a show, just for Sammy. This is Sammys first live girlie show and he doesn't want to miss one single detail. Sammy expresses his excitement and fondness of one particular girl as he conveys the details of the one scene:She has on a kind of dirty-pink -- beige maybe, I dont know -- bathing suit with a little nubble all over it and, what got me, the straps were down. They were a little off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms, and I guess as a result the suit had slipped a little on her... with the straps pushed off, there was nothing between the top of her chest sown from the shoulder bones like a dinted sheet of metal tilted in light. I mean it was more than pretty.Although Sammys narration...
