Why is the title of this short story “A & P”? Would another title have worked just as well or is this one somehow appropriate to the story? (Setting) What role does the grocery store itself play in the story?

A&P refers to the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. It was an actual grocery and spirits outlet founded in New York City around1859. Updike liked to find personal narratives within the ordinary life to illustrate the extraordinary. Updike used his own personal experience when he ran into a woman in a bathing suit in a store like the A&P. He likes the juxtaposition of the commercial setting with the sexual beach attire of the woman in the store.

What role does the grocery store itself play in the story?