Will's Students- Brandon

[Shirley Lim]

I too read the story in terms of class warfare. But, at the same time,
your position on Sammy seems to focus entirely on the futility of his act.
Much more important to me in A&P is the romantic nature of his act. Your
essential position seems to be that the rich somehow *deserve* their
wealth, and the poor *deserve* their misfortune. By striking out against
his position in life, Sammy seems to be rejecting his proletarian
background, and reaching beyond what the elite tell him he can achive.
Furthermore, Sammy enjoys the reversal of roles. For once, he can aid the
financially select, rather than the reverse. It may simply be a question
of which way you want to spin the story politically, but considering the
empathy that updike expresses towards Sammy, I don't think that he
considers Sammy in entirely as bad of a light as you put forward.