Homework 9/15

After watching the John Updike interview and then rereading "A & P", I feel like I understood things better or caught some things that I really did not the first read through. The first time I read, I did not notice that Queenie buying the food item she bought really indicated that she was from a higher socioeconomic class than that of Sammy. Sammy, as interpreted through the reading and hinted at by Updike, has a lot less money than Queenie and really needs to work for him and his family. This helps me understand why Sammy would want to impress or try to get with Queenie because she now also represents something better than him or someone almost out of his league. She is most likely someone who he would not normally be able to socialize with. I also noticed this time that the people in the store are all exhibiting sheep like behavior. Every customer just walks through the aisles just like every other customer and looks at things on the shelf. All the employees must heed the word of their boss for fear they might be fired. Updike indicates that because of Sammy having to see this everyday, he grows weary of it and since the girls are almost going against the grain by coming dressed inappropriately that sparks Sammy's idea, or at least plants the seed, for him to stop following the herd and quit his job. I thought it was interesting how at the beginning of the Updike interview, Updike commented on how wildly the girls were dressed and how much of a raucous that would have created in 1961. Today, however, I feel like it would not be anywhere near the same big deal it was then. People dress so much more inappropriately/skimpy today more than ever. I also liked how Updike talked about how he writes and readers read and that there is much room for interpretation of his characters and the situations they are in. He also comments about how teachers come up with things or ideas or themes that they think relate or have to do with his stories. He says that he is aware of some of the ideas the teachers come up with, but that he had no intent or was not thinking of some or most of these ideas the teachers have come up with but that they can fit his stories. My opinion on Sammy has still not changed. To me, he is still not a hero.
After reading the two poems by Sharon Olds, I would have to say that in my opinion her view of heroism and Updike's view seem pretty similar. At least they do when comparing "A & P" and Olds' two poems. In Olds' first poem, "Rites of Passage", she describes a mom speaking about her sons birthday. Her son is obviously very young and has very young guests, about 6-7, and they begin to get restless and fight with each other. The birthday boy, and son of the mother narrating, settles the argument every one is having by saying that everyone here could beat up a 2 year old. All the little kids agree and then go on to enjoy the birthday. I can understand why the mother would view this as heroic. The boy stopped every person at the party from fighting. This saves the mother not only the aggravation from probably having to clean up a huge mess that a fight would make at a birthday party, cake everywhere, but from having to tell other parents that their child was hurt at her son's party under her supervision. The second poem was about a girl being the only girl at a pool party. In my opinion, I do not see how she is heroic in any way. She does not really do anything in the poem except for arrive at a pool party and go swimming with everyone. There is no conflict for her to resolve. I could see one arguing that she is a hero because she was brave enough to be the only girl at a pool party, but it did not seem as if she was hassled by any boys or that she did not enjoy herself. So in my opinion she is no hero at all.