The first line of the story, “A&P, by John Updike, “Enter three girls dressed in nothing but bathing suits”; (230) sets the tone for the rest of the story. The rest of the story is a description of how the main character Sammy views not only the three girls in the swimsuits, but the rest of the women portrayed in the story. The main character of the story is a young boy, early 1960s, working in a grocery store when these three young women walk in. He describes how they were scantily clad and walking around the store, and the reactions of others in the store, including himself, his colleagues, his manager and other customers. This story is about how a 19-year-old boy in 1961 perceived and objectified women, young and old, as a whole. The first woman Sammy comes into contact with after observing the three girls is a client he describes as "a witch". about fifty years old, with lipstick on her cheekbones and no eyebrows” (230). She has become impatient with him when he cannot remember whether he rang his box of crackers, since the three younger girls have distracted him. Sammy also says, "If she had been born at the right time, they would have burned her in Salem", confirming her characterization of her being a witch. He assumes that this woman's purpose was to trip him up and take pleasure from it. Sammy goes on to describe the three young women. The first he calls "the robust one" (230), which he describes as having a "sweet, broad, soft-looking can" (230), in reference to her backside. He also adds, “With two white crescents below where the sun never shines” (230), showing that he is indeed gaping at her. The second, he describes as "the tall one, with the black hair not quite frizzy, with the chin too long" (230) – the type that the other girls think is very "striking" (230) and "attractive." "(230). The third, he described as the “queen” (230). She is the one he considers the most attractive of the girls and the leader of the group. When he came up with the money to pay for his purchase, Sammy talked about as he slowly creased the bill. He was retrieved by what he described as "the two most beautiful vanilla balls I have ever seen" (230);.