A & P

In the final section of “A & P,” Updike explores the hypocrisy that policy is nothing more than enforced desire. As Sammy observes, “policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency” (600). Those that make the rules demand they be followed and those who stand against authority are dismissed as radicals. For Updike, desire is merely a subset of the cultural power that influences all of our actions and drives us to conform. However, Sammy’s desire to rebel is also influenced by mainstream culture, and this tension - how can a person ever buck the influence of cultural power and be his own man? - drives the story’s denouement.