With a seemingly benign title, "A & P", John Updike subtly acknowledges the eternal malignant struggle between antagonist and protagonist. In this short story, Updike introduces the reader to a small New England town, its citizens, and the A & P supermarket, all of which combined represent the antagonistic nature of oppression, closed-mindedness, abuse of authority, and a community morality that holds tradition in higher respect than civility. Conversely, Sammy, the protagonist, comes across as levelheaded and …showed first 75 words of 876 total…

…showed last 75 words of 876 total…and the kingdom's tranquility restored, the knight realizes that no matter how hard he tries to rid the world of evil it is still there. Only then, does the knight understand that his is an eternal struggle. After watching his ex-boss take his place to handle customers, Sammy also comes to this conclusion, when he remarks, "my stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter."