“a&P” and “Barn Burning”: a Compare and Contrast Essay”

Sammy from John Updikes A&P and Sarty from William Faulkners Barn ardent are two great examples of young people raising their standards and doing what they rely is right. In A&P, Sammy is nineteen old age old and works at a local grocery store named the A&P. His life changes the day he quits his job after defend three girls that are called out by Lengel, the manager, for breaking the unwritten dress code. In Barn sunburn, Sarty is a ten year old boy who struggles between the fine line of right and wrong when his father, Abner Snopes, is put on trial for burning down a barn.When his father attempts to burn down some other barn, Sarty takes charge and warns the owner. A&P and Barn Burning are short story classics that have some(prenominal) similarities as well as differences. While both Sammy and Sarty are dissatisfied with their figures of authority, the time periods in which they go are extremely different. A very noniceable similarity is the fact that both young manpowe r are dissatisfied with their authority figures. In the beginning of the stories, one go out see that Sammy and Sarty are not like their main(prenominal) influences.Each young man has a mature understanding of their unfortunate awake(p)s and how they mustiness break the mold to better themselves. Stokesie, Sammys friend and co-worker, is twenty two years old and get married with two kids. His biggest dream is to become a manager of the A&P someday. Sammy describes Stokesies life as a perfect example of his future if he continues working at the A&P. To him the A&P is a dead end job but in the eyes of his Lengel and his family it is an acceptable future. Lengel is the manager of A&P as well as the towns preacher. He plays an important role as Sammys authority figure.When Sammy quits, Lengel tries to persuade him to stay and makes it very clear that leaving the A&P will be a huge mistake. This is an excellent reflection of Sammys authority figure and the close mind ways he must e scape. Sartys major authority figure in Barn Burning is his father. Abner is a poor sharecropper who is bitter towards wealthy plantation owners and has a tendency to destroy their property. Sarty neer justifies his fathers actions and is aware that if he allows things to remain the same, he will become a production of his environment.This is his motive for warning Abners next barn burning victim and his chance to move on with his life. The time periods and locations in which A&P and Barn Burning take infinite are very different. Sammy lives in a more favorable time in the United States than Sarty. A&P is solidifying in a small town north of Boston, Massachusetts around 1960. At this time, the United States was the main military manufacturer and financial power in the capitalist world. The Hippie Movement just started and ball over many traditional families with a new way of living. Sarty lives in Mississippi about twenty years after the Civil War.Life was tough for Mississippi ans post Civil War. The Southern states were in debt and devastation from the war was everywhere. Although America was transforming into a more modern country in both stories, the time periods in which they live are completely opposite. Sammy and Sarty are two protagonists that have to mature beyond normal circumstances and recognise the real world at tender ages. Each character is forced to grow up and round off themselves in their darkest hour. Sammy and Sarty are both dissatisfied with their authority figures however, the time periods in which they live take place in different eras.