The story “A & P” by John Updike is about a young man's decision to defend others or, in the opinion of the other characters, to make a foolish decision by abandoning his responsibility. At first he believes his decision is the right thing, leaving his job because of the way the girls were treated. Then, when he leaves the store, he realizes the world he just left behind, regrets his decision, and begins to question his actions. He begins to think too much about what the world has to offer him, causing his worldview to change from underestimation to overestimation. His "uncertain of the dangers of the world" worldview at the beginning turns into an overestimation of the dangers of the future that awaits him at the end of the story, causing Sammy to change during "A & P". The beginning of "A & P" begins with the main character, Sammy, at work when three girls dressed only in bathing suits enter. According to Lawrence Dessner, the A&P cashier showed Sammy an example of insulting and humiliating ordinary people (317). He may not have liked the people who shopped there, but he got some real-world insight. A woman who was currently at Sammy's counter was middle-aged and brought Sammy no shopper sympathy; sometimes he mentions them as sheep. His names of buyers also include an insight into Sammy's view on ordinary buyers; Sammy didn't care much about others. “Sammy wants to quit, but resists because his parents would view his decision as 'the sad part of the story'” (Thompson 215). Sammy points out that he thinks about quitting his job many times throughout the story, as subtle as they are, he starts with the observation about quitting his job during the summer rather than the winter and the part where he mentioned "the sad part of the story" ( A... middle of the paper... and, Sammy becomes an overthinker instead of an unrealistic believer, which becomes his new worldview at the end of "A & P". Works Cited Dessner, Lawrence Jay "Irony and Innocence in 'A&P' by John Updike." Studies In ShortFiction 25.3 (1988): 315.Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 24 February 2014.Little, Anne C. and Robert C. Evans. "A&P." Short Fiction : A Critical Companion (1997): 252-255. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web, 24 February 2014. Mcfarland, Ronald E. "Updike and the Critics: Reflections on 'A&P' Studies in Short Fiction20.2/3 (1983): 95. Literary Reference Center Plus Web. February 24, 2014. Thompson, Corey Evan "Updike's A&P" (2001): 215. Literary Reference Center Plus Web. February 24, 2014. "A&P." Norton's introduction to literature. Eds. Alison Booth and Kelly J. May. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. 409-414. Press.