A and P

In A&P by John Updike, we observe the clashing of classes from the perspective of Sammy.  Hierarchy is seen throughout the story, from workers aspiring to become managers, in the brands of beer and fish (calculating inflation, the equivalent of 1$ from 1961 would be $4.11 in 2018), and in the group of three girls.  Queenie and the girls wear bathing suits not just because they are young and possibly attractive, but because they are able to disregard the social norms that Sammy's class live by, they have their own rules that they abide by but the story is from the perspective of a worker, Sammy.  Queenie, coming from the upper class that might own the story, is flaunting her freedom and putting on a performance, Sammy quickly falls for this and it isn't until after he's quit and his illusions as a hero shattered that he begins to see through the theatrics of Queenie.  With hierarchy there is always a power struggle, its seen with the bathing suits and when their choice in attire is questioned.  When they first enter they know that all attention will be on them but that they can ignore it, and so long as they ignore it they will feel superior to everyone else who is either in apron and uniform or biding by the social norms of proper public attire.  But is it possible that if we were to see Queenie in a setting with others upper class members that she too as a young woman in the 1960's would become a cog in a greater machine as well, playing her role?  As Sammy is a cog in the machine of the story and to a greater extent the world, she is just a bigger cog.  They're all cogs that day playing their roles, in a store, between a bank and a church, this is the world that they function in.