John Updike “A&P”

Updike showed the classic struggle of youth vs. the aging opinions  of the times as they change. He used the battle over what is acceptable to the older times as being a key point of what the newer breed of population coming up has a rebellious stance against, whether they are purposely rebelling or unconsciously rebelling by living in what they feel is a time of change and free expression.  By showing the change in a suttle way of how dress is appropriated for shopping at a grocery store, against how a young girl was dressed in a bathing suit with the shoulder straps off was a hint of how the characters lived in a time of change where some were for change, some were against, but all had their own opinion as what was right and wrong.  Chivalry, policy, rebeliousness, authority, and the struggle to find out and stand for what was right even if it affects nothing in the end were all parts of this short story.