ENGL 4310

So on Thursday we sort of classified "A&P" as a pseudo-epiphany story in which Sammy has a moment of insight but there isn't really a moment of realization. For some reason, though, this idea of a pseudo-epiphany doesn't really sit well with me. It seems that an epiphany is an all or nothing kind of thing, so how can he only go part of the way? In the story, I felt like he did have an epiphany, but he either chose not to share it with the reader or refused to acknowledge it for himself.

So here's what I'm thinking...maybe he subconsciously chose not to accept the epiphany. For me, it seems like there is an epiphany when he watches the girls walk "against the usual traffic," in their bathing suits, while the "sheep" abruptly avert their eyes. Sammy clearly recognizes that these girls are breaking the social norms by their disruptive behavior. He calls the other customers "sheep" which could just be some kind of inside joke, or perhaps he actually realizes that they are all the same. He admires these girls, but we don't really know if it's because of his adolescent hormones or because they, unlike so many others, are going against the traffic. At the end when he quits his job on the basis that his boss humiliated the girls, maybe it's because, unconsciously, he sees the significance of breaking the norm. However, once he's realized that he is now unemployed and will soon face the wrath of his parents, all he can think is, "crap, what now?" Maybe he never has a chance to share his epiphany with the reader because of the uncomfortable situation he places himself in, or maybe, all along, he only recognized the epiphany on a subconscious level.