Reader-Response Critique
Student Name
Professor Westrick
English 1102- Section ###
Day Month Year
Professor Westrick
English 1102- Section ###
Day Month Year
Updike Short Story Response Essay
As a quick and logical thinker, I am drawn to head-turning adjectives and meticulous detail. Wild comparisons and absurd diction grasp my attention immediately as my eyes scan the pages. Updike’s impressive use of description illuminates the text and draws reactions from nearly every reader. Even though the text cataloged uncomfortable interactions evoked some negative feelings, the addition of excruciating detail, unparallelled rhetoric, and powerful self-reflection made the story entertaining throughout.
Updike opens his piece with an odd observation and extraordinarily thorough detail. His strong focus on the girls’ appearance allowed me to visualize the situation and understand why Sammy, the protagonist and narrator, was so entranced by the girls. He spends time scanning their face shapes, skin color, and hair color and style. He is fascinated by the straps of “the queen’s” bathing suit that are “off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms” (Updike 321). Despite how much my skin crawled as I read, I appreciated Updike’s continuous characterization. Because controversial and provocative pieces of literature typically attract the most attention, I believe that Updike purposefully wrote his story in this way to hold on to the reader’s attention, while simultaneously making them feel uneasy.
Throughout the story, Updike keeps me entertained by incorporating thought-provoking metaphors and amazing imagery. When Sammy refers to the customer at his checkout slot as “a witch” and further proclaims that “if she’d been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem,” I immediately take more interest in the story, now that I understand Sammy’s sense of humor (Updike 320). Aside from merely being comic relief, I believe that Updike wrote this line to allow the readers to see that Sammy is judgemental all around and that his fixation on the girls is not entirely out of character. I also loved when Sammy described the floors as “checkerboard green-and-cream rubber-tile floor” because the imagery allowed me to visualize the setting better (Updike 321). I believe that Updike frequently uses writing techniques such as these to entertain his audience.
Finally, I enjoyed the parts of the story that allowed me to understand more about Sammy and his possible motives. Updike includes information about Sammy’s home life when he describes Sammy’s family’s modest parties, compared to the lavish ones that he imagines that “Queenie” has (Updike 322). I think Updike included this sad detail in the story to show that Sammy is lonely and feels inadequate, and uses people-watching as a remedy. The inclusion of personal matters elicited a positive response from me, as a reader, because, for a second, I was able to overlook the stalker-ish actions and understand Sammy as a person.
As a novice literature critic, I respond positively to common techniques such as attention to detail, flowery language, and indirect character analyses. Updike successfully incorporated these methods into his story and allowed me to overlook the parts of the story that I did not enjoy as much.
Updike opens his piece with an odd observation and extraordinarily thorough detail. His strong focus on the girls’ appearance allowed me to visualize the situation and understand why Sammy, the protagonist and narrator, was so entranced by the girls. He spends time scanning their face shapes, skin color, and hair color and style. He is fascinated by the straps of “the queen’s” bathing suit that are “off her shoulders looped loose around the cool tops of her arms” (Updike 321). Despite how much my skin crawled as I read, I appreciated Updike’s continuous characterization. Because controversial and provocative pieces of literature typically attract the most attention, I believe that Updike purposefully wrote his story in this way to hold on to the reader’s attention, while simultaneously making them feel uneasy.
Throughout the story, Updike keeps me entertained by incorporating thought-provoking metaphors and amazing imagery. When Sammy refers to the customer at his checkout slot as “a witch” and further proclaims that “if she’d been born at the right time they would have burned her over in Salem,” I immediately take more interest in the story, now that I understand Sammy’s sense of humor (Updike 320). Aside from merely being comic relief, I believe that Updike wrote this line to allow the readers to see that Sammy is judgemental all around and that his fixation on the girls is not entirely out of character. I also loved when Sammy described the floors as “checkerboard green-and-cream rubber-tile floor” because the imagery allowed me to visualize the setting better (Updike 321). I believe that Updike frequently uses writing techniques such as these to entertain his audience.
Finally, I enjoyed the parts of the story that allowed me to understand more about Sammy and his possible motives. Updike includes information about Sammy’s home life when he describes Sammy’s family’s modest parties, compared to the lavish ones that he imagines that “Queenie” has (Updike 322). I think Updike included this sad detail in the story to show that Sammy is lonely and feels inadequate, and uses people-watching as a remedy. The inclusion of personal matters elicited a positive response from me, as a reader, because, for a second, I was able to overlook the stalker-ish actions and understand Sammy as a person.
As a novice literature critic, I respond positively to common techniques such as attention to detail, flowery language, and indirect character analyses. Updike successfully incorporated these methods into his story and allowed me to overlook the parts of the story that I did not enjoy as much.
Works Cited
Updike, John “A&P.” New York: 1961. 320-324. Print