Reading Quiz

Questions

1. Who walks into the A&P?
2. Why is Sammy interested in these three girls?
3. Why does Sammy mis-ring the HiHo Crackers?
4. Why does Sammy think of one of the girls as the Queen?
5. What's going on with the straps of Queenie's suit?
6. Who else is standing with Sammy watching the girls?
7. What do we know about Stokesie?
8. How do the other customers in the store react?
9. What does Sammy call house wives?
10. What is Stokesie's reaction to these three girls?
11. What is Stokesie's ambition?
12. How far from the beach is the A&P?
13. What are the girls getting?
14. Where does Queenie pull her money from?
15. Why does Sammy's family call the last part of the story the saddest part?
16. Who comes out and really lets the girls have it?
17. When Updike writes, "Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them," what do we learn about Queenie and her family?
18. What Lengel's problem with the girls?
19. What does Sammy do before the girls are even out of the store?
20. Why does Sammy quit?
21. Who does Lengel think Sammy will disappoint by quitting?
22. Who does Lengel know (it may be the way Sammy got his job)?
23. What's the last image Sammy sees of Lengel?

Answers

1. Three girls
2. Most likely because he's young and biologically primed to be interested in chicas. Plus, one of them is pretty, and they're all in bathing suits.
3. He's too busy watching the girls.
4. She's leading the other two and she's prettier. She walks with her head held high.
5. They are down over her shoulders.
6. Stokesie
7. Not much. He's a married man and still young, but has two kids.
8. They can't believe what they're seeing (three girls in bikinis).
9. House slaves
10. He's really enjoying the show.
11. To be manager one day
12. Five miles
13. Kingfish Fancy Herring Snacks in Sour Cream
14. Between her breasts in her suit top
15. We're not sure. They could be passing judgment on Queenie and saying that pulling the money out of her suit was tacky, or maybe it's because Queenie got yelled at by Lengel, or perhaps because Sammy quit his job.
16. Lengel
17. They are high-class folk.
18. He wants them to be "decently dressed" when they come to his store.
19. He quits.
20. He didn't like how Lengel embarrassed the girls.
21. His parents
22. Lengel knows Sammy's parents.
23. He's checking people out and looks like he's been "injected with iron." Not a positive image.