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Both John Updike’s story “A&P” and Ernest Hemingway’s “A Day’s Wait” portray youthful pride and stubbornness, however I feel “A Day’s Wait” was more effective because the character is innocent and portrays these qualities out of fear. Sammy, the main character in “A&P” finds himself acting without thinking. His main goal is to impress the three girls that came in the supermarket wearing nothing but bathing suits. When asked …

…exactly what happened to the main character. They left the reader to finish the story themselves and to ponder on what possibly could have happened after the story itself ended. While both “A&P” and “A Day’s Wait” have many differences in the writing style, characters, and many other factors they also find common ground with a few issues. I enjoyed both stories very much and I could relate and feel for both characters.