Notice how artfully Updike arranges details to set the story in a perfectly ordinary supermarket. What details stand out for you as particularly true to life?

Question

What does this close attention to detail contribute to the story?

Answer 1

The details of this perfectly ordinary supermarket are clear from the beginning, and there are several humorous descriptions, such as when the three girls walk “up the cat-and-dog-foodbreakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisins-seasonings-spreads-spaghetti-soft-drinkscrackers-and-cookies aisle” (par. 5). As with most grocery stores, the placement of certain items on a particular aisle seems misplaced or illogical. Later in that same paragraph, Sammy aptly describes the way people mutter in a grocery store, completely engrossed with their lists, when he speculates, “I bet you could set off dynamite in an A & P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering ‘Let me see, there was a third thing, began with A, asparagus, no, ah, yes, applesauce’” (par. 5).
The store is far away from any beach or swimming pool (five miles away according to paragraph 10), so the girls’ bathing suits draw a great deal of notice from Sammy and the other customers. His detailed analysis of what they’re wearing and their body size, as well as his lustful comparisons as he tries to decide which of the three is the prettiest, is certainly true to real life. All these vivid descriptions help the reader not only picture the grocery store, but also demonstrate Sammy’s personality and worldview.