Feminist Criticism of A & P

The story gives off a tone of male superiority from the very beginning, not from the words of the characters but by the descriptive words are used in the story. The women are immediately seen as lacking morals and dignity, and the men are clearly looking down upon them. Even the fact that a good portion of the story is spent describing the girls attire and looks shows the women as objects that aren't given attention for anything but their bodies. The entire store seems to be completely focused on these women. If a man were to walk into a store shirtless, it wouldn't be an issue. He would walk in, get his items, and be checked out casually. Because these women are good looking, they cause an enormous amount of disruption without even doing anything extreme to cause it.

The dialogue in the story is also very telling. I think the most obvious example of this is when the states that Queenie 'remembered her place.' This is often a phrase men use to put women down when they are showing their supposed inferiority. Another example of offensive dialogue is how the store worker, Sammy, describes the Queenie's breasts. Obviously this is extremely offensive, and objectives her. He then acts like the other girls are pieces of meat, not even thinking about them because they aren't as attractive.

I think Updike writes this story to show societies oppression of women. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's promoting feminism, I just think he's pointing out a societal flaw. Over the course of the story he displays the men as what some would call 'pigs.' They are obsessed with the girls looks and attire, and show no respect for the women as fellow human beings.

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Job Orientation

There are a few things we need to get you oriented with before you begin. First, here is your login ID and password for the computer system. You'll want to make sure you write that down in a safe place, as we are not allowed to give it out to you unless we see each other in person. Next you want to familiarize yourself with the printer. This will fill all your needs from prints, to copies, to faxes. This is our primary source of communication between the various branches of our company. The third thing you need to familiarize yourself with is our accounting systems. This will definitely be the most important part of your job. After each transaction you make, you must know how to enter the codes, prices, and dates. Without these we will have no permanent recordings of our sales and we could be sued as a company, so obviously this is a huge responsibility and one you must take very seriously. Those are the important things to remember, our on shift manager will cover the specifics with out. If you need me, here's my business card. I'm very busy but I generally respond to texts and e-mails fairly quickly.

Now, before I leave I'll give you a few pointers. First off, watch out for Becky. If she hasn't had her morning coffee, and she doesn't always have time, she can get pretty irritable. If she yells at you don't feel bad, everyone's been through it. She's been working here for 17 years and she knows this company through and through, so learn from her even when it's tough. We have a team of tech support here when you have problems, but I would personally advise you to request Rob each time. He's always been the smartest and fastest from my experience. Oh, and with the purchase sales sheets I was telling you earlier, it's easiest to put them in Excel and then just transfer them over. Our standard program here is made for very advanced users, and Excel will make things a lot easier for you. I hired someone for your position about 3 years ago that quit after the first week, because they just couldn't figure out the program and didn't think they were cut out for the job. It's only as difficult as you make it.

Anyways, I have a big meeting I need to get to, but if you ever need advice call me. I really want to see you succeed and be an asset to this company, and I've been in your shoes before. It will seem difficult and fast paced at first, but if you just relax and deal with one problem at a time you will do just fine. After a while it might even become kind of fun for you. Good luck!

Southern Grotesque

       A Good Man Is Hard to Find is definitely a prime example of grotesque Southern literature. The first thing I noticed about the stories incongruous characteristics was the grandmother of the family. She is a professional manipulator, and the author focuses on that flaw from the beginning. She rarely has any dialogue in the story that comes without some self-profiting motivation. It becomes more than just a trait, we quickly identify her solely by that personality flaw and it is very annoying and frustrating to the reader. Secondly, you get the sense that they are driving through small towns. The grandmother talks about the mountain formations and the plantations she sees, never is any type of urban setting mentioned. This gives the reader a scene of a stereotypical Southern rural area. I believe what the author is trying to do in the story is depict the grandma as a flaw that the South has with religion. The entire story, the grandmother ignores God. She is very disrespectful to people, demanding of her family, and she is definitely only concerned with her own wants and desires. At the end of the story, when she is facing her demise, she finally calls out to Jesus to save her. I believe the author is trying to symbolize the hypocrisy of many people in the South, who constantly preach their faith, but their actions aren't conducive to a good relationship with God. The author has probably witnessed many people of strong Christian faith who live lives full of sin and then call on God when things go wrong for them.

Winning the Lottery

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" concerns itself with concepts of magic and superstition and their place in society. In the story, a close knit town gathers in the local square for the town lottery. The villagers act as if it is another casual day as a fellow neighbor is selected for the lottery, and then publicly stoned to death. This display of a superstitious ritual has been around since the beginning of human history. The Mayans sacrificed lives and body parts B.C.E, and they have been a part of numerous societies since. Today, as we become more civilized and gain institutions which protect brutal acts like death or loss of limb, we don't still perform sacrifices as part of our ritual. That being said, our society is littered with examples of superstition. We watch baseball players who have a specific way they get ready for an at bat, we expect a kiss if we wind up under the misteltoe on Christmas; even prayer is an example of a superstitious ritual with the hopes that things will get better, and prayer has always been very prominent through modern and historical societies.