Literary analysis of “A amp P” shows that symbolism, imagery, and allegory are the main rhetorical devices used by Updike. This is why “A amp P” is considered to be. Dive deep into John Updike's A amp P with in-depth analysis, commentary, and discussion. Check out A amp, P by John Updike. Read the author's journey, see the summary of his short story, find his analysis and examine the themes and symbols; Nick Courtright is the editor-in-chief of Atmosphere Press, a friendly publisher and a renowned English teacher. Learn more at atmospherepress. Sammy, the nineteen-year-old cashier at an A amp P grocery store, who happens to be our narrator. Sammy grew up, arguably comfortably, in SS, according to the cultural norms of a conventional beach town above Boston. At nineteen, he experienced his first tastes of independence and independent thinking. John Updike's short story A amp P uses irony and Sammy's immature behavior to convey the universal idea that romantic notions can be crushed by the real world. In the short story A amp P, irony is used when Sammy's heroic act is not rewarded. Analysis of the theme of immaturity in the essay A amp P by John Updike. John Updike's short story, "A amp P," first published in the New Yorker, is arguably one of the shortest and funniest literary pieces found in academic literary anthologies taught in American schools.