Read Karen Bernardo's commentary on Updike's "A & P" at her blog site, here.
Notice how she interweaves the voice lessons of detail, diction, tone, and imagery into a single essay. Her examples connect Updike's stylistic choices to what she sees as his theme, "a contrast of worldviews: the conservative...against the free-spirited."
Post some examples of where you see Bernardo using the "voice lessons." What does she do successfully? Where do you disagree with her assumptions or evidence? What can you learn from her style writing to use in your own?
Bernardo uses many examples of imagery in analyzing this story. She discusses the "sheep" in the store as well as Lengel, as both being the conservative views of society. They feel that no social standards should be changed, and that everyone should remain just as proper in public as they have been taught to be. Sammy and the girls disagree because modern society teaches that it is okay to be more "free-spirited". Bernardo also analyzes the importance of the beach setting and how it acts as a metaphor for the situation that each side is on. Lendel sees himself as the lifeguard by being the manager and a religious teacher, and his sand dune is the store. Whereas for the girls, the beach is a place of freedom and fun. Being a teenager, Sammy naturally wants to be with the girls having fun. I agree with Bernardo's analysis of the story, and her writing uses several quotes in order to properly analyze the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara that Karen Bernardo does a good job of providing examples of imagery and details from the text. She does this on several accounts.
ReplyDeleteIn paragraph two, she uses the imagery of the sheep: "Updike notes that as soon as the three girls appear in the A & P, the 'sheep' -- Sammy’s word for the run-of-the-mill customers who plod through the store, pushing their shopping carts, following their prescribed routes -- react to their presence with amazement; 'You could see them, when Queenie’s white shoulders dawned on them, kind of jerk, or hop, or hiccup, but their eyes snapped back to their own baskets and on they pushed.'"
Another good example is from paragraph four, where Bernardo analyses the details surrounding Lengel: "Sammy tells us that his boss 'comes in from struggling with a truck full of cabbages' when 'the girls touch his eye.' Our very first view of Mr. Lengel, therefore, shows him engaged in hard, manual labor as opposed to the frivolous activity of the girls."
Although I mostly agree with Bernardo's commentary, she has a kinder interpretation of Sammy than I do. Sammy is young and naive. He quits his job in a reckless, spontaneous manner without weighing the consequences. Evidence from the story suggests that Lengel knew Sam's parents, so his job at A&P probably fell into his lap. Jobless and unable to impress the bathing suit girls, Sammy now realizes how foolish his decision was. Landing another job with likely be more difficult for Sammy.
What I took away from Bernardo's commentary the most, was her distinct pattern of making a claim, backing it up with evidence from the story, and then analyzing what the author intended in each quote. Her control and clarity over the piece stood out to me.
Bernardo uses diction in her essay to show how the public viewed the young girls. The young girls are viewed as "frivolous" and have "traipsed" and "paraded" around the store even though all they have done is worn bikinis. This was wrong in the eyes of the general public who was represented by Mr. Lengal in this story which is why he spoke to them "disparingly" and scolded them in order to belittle and condemn them.
ReplyDeleteBernardo did a good job of using evidence and the voice lessons in her essay. However; I do not agree with her claim that Sammy's life will only be hard because he is outnumbered in his views by the public. Bernardo excluded the section where it spoke of Sammy's family as being poor and so a reader of her essay would not know that without a job Sammy would be in deep financial trouble and so should have thought more before hastily quiting.
Bernardo uses diction to analyze the character Lengel. When Bernardo compares the girls to Lengel her diction paints Lengel as a curmudgeon who looks down on all who do not conform to his Puritan-like attitude. Bernardo “shows him engaged in hard, manual labor as opposed to the frivolous activity of the girls,” which allows us to understand Lengel’s conservative values of hard work and order. The use of “frivolous” shows readers that Lengel disapproves of the girls more liberal views (the bathing suits), and the use of “hard, manual labor” shows us that Lengel values work. Bernardo uses this diction to paint Lengel’s values, but I see this diction as creating a connection between Lengel and the girls. Lengel’s struggle “with a truck full of cabbages” represents his struggle to control the girls, and force them to his “Sunday School teacher” ways.
ReplyDeleteKaren Bernardo uses examples from "A&P" that show imagery, details and diction that illustrate her intent of revealing the deeper meaning behind the text. Bernardo uses the stories example, "the girls touch his eye." This imagery is one of two senses, both visual and touch. I can see the girls, as he first saw them, but then as John Updike places the verb "touch" instead of, say "reach" or even "come into view." Bernardo recognized the author's purpose for using imagery to create an ambiguous feel for the story. I agree with Sara with the "sheep" example as well. They are little figures plodding around that move about the store as if it were all just a routine to go about. The use of the word "sheep" brings to mind the image of shepherds leading them around, otherwise they will aimlessly wander away and become lost. Bernardo recognized these small details in John Updikes, "A&P."
ReplyDeleteExamples of where Bernardo used the voice lessons are anywhere she states evidence from the text and then connects it to her own idea. For example when Bernardo says… “Sammy tells us that his boss "comes in from struggling with a truck full of cabbages" when "the girls touch his eye." Our very first view of Mr. Lengel, therefore, shows him engaged in hard, manual labor as opposed to the frivolous activity of the girls.”
ReplyDeleteBernardo successfully explains the conclusion drawn from the voice lessons she provided in her essay or in other words, explains the “why factor”. She pulls the evidence from the text and then declares why he did or said something. I don’t disagree with her assumptions or evidence, I actually find the conclusions she drew an interesting way to see this piece. However, I don’t necessarily like the way she presented her evidence. It appears that she’s just listing the events in the story almost like a time line. I know what was said and what happened so reading her essay was just about boring until I reached her last two paragraphs. I can learn how to use the way she answered the “why factor” and put this into my own essays. Describing and analyzing why the author wrote the way he or she did is the most challenging in my eyes.
Karen Bernardo analyzes the story successfully in her opinion, using voice lessons perfectly. Bernardo begins with establishing her own voice in saying that “the story is a contrast of worldviews: the conservative, conventional, and stoic (represented by Mr. Lengel) against the free-spirited, individualistic, and non-conformist (represented by the teenage girls).” After voicing her view on the story, she mentions the “sheep,” one of the many words Sammy uses in the story to describe the townspeople that shop at A&P, whom he is not in favor of. Bernardo also incorporates imagery when she quotes this: “’comes in from struggling with a truck full of cabbages’” With this imagery, she then elucidates the idea that not only are the two forms of society opposite in respects of ideals, clothing, and civilization, but they are opposite in the respect that as the boss is hard at work, the girls are hard at play. With the use of detail, imagery, and voice, Bernardo analyzes the story with the sense of opposing idealistic in society.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Sara and abruley that Bernardo effectively uses imagery to convey her interpretation of the story, using the doomiant image of sheep, while expanding it to include how the "sheep" represent the conservative views of society, within which people follow a set of rules (the shepard) without any thought as to the changing world around them. (For sheep will allow themselves to be hearded over a cliff without a second thought.)
ReplyDeleteBernardo recognizes that the girls represent a free, independent, and fun side of society and are represented as such by the beach--a place to go and have fun with little care as to what happens. Sammy becomes so caught up in the temptation they are and represent that he forgets to look for sharks before running into the ocean that is quitting his job. In his haste, he loses sight of what caused him to take the plunge to begin with.