ces to them, “Girls, this isn’t the beach”(Kennedy 15). Queenie begins to protest, but Mr. Lengel keeps on, “giving the girls that sad Sunday-school-superintendent stare.” Even through this, Sammy is distracted by the girls. When Queenie speaks, Sammy “slid right down her voice into her living room”(Kennedy 15). He begins to picture her family waiting for the herring snacks, all the while Mr. Lengel reprimanding the girls for not being “decently dressed.” When Mr. Lengel finally lets the girls go, Sammy says “I quit’ to Lengel, quick enough for them to hear, hoping they’ll stop and watch”(Kennedy 16). Even after the girls leave the store, Sammy’s mind is still on them. “You didn’t have to embarrass them”(Kennedy 16), he says to his manager. His physical distractions are gone, and he still continues to live for what feels good to him.This entire story focuses on how Sammy fits the quote that began this essay. Every move he makes throughout the story is a retreat from responsibility into sensuality; what makes him feel good. He does not take one responsibility seriously after the girls walk in to the A&P where he works. Rather, he only does things that make him feel good. Staring at the girls, wondering about their lives, quitting his job: all of these things he did because it felt good. It felt great to watch those bathing suits meander through “the cool of the A&P”(Kennedy 14). It was pleasurable to daydream about their personalities and lives. Certainly it was self-empowering to say the words “I quit”(Kennedy 16). The girls’ “unsuspecting hero”(Kennedy 16). Sadly, Sammy’s few minutes of pleasure land him on the street, looking for the girls, and searching for what to do next. ...
