Without any hesitation, Updike is perfectly clear about what he calls a “throwaway rocket.” He says: “His male body is like a delivery rocket collapsing in space.” He uses Sammy, the nineteen-year-old cashier at an A amp P grocery store, who happens to be our narrator. Sammy grew up, arguably comfortably, in SS, according to the cultural norms of a conventional beach town above Boston. At nineteen, he experienced his first tastes of independence and independent thinking. Reduced to a plot summary, John Updike's A amp P is not promising: a grocery store manager scolds some girls for shopping in swimsuits, and a young cashier leaves his store. because he is attracted to one of them and wants to make a good impression. Updike, however, has constructed a very entertaining morality tale in A amp P, Expert Answers. John Updike uses many literary devices in the short story A amp P. First, Updike uses diction to develop the character of Sammy. The story is told from his and Updike's points of view. John Updike born in Reading, Pennsylvania, United States and died in Danvers, Massachusetts was an American writer of novels, short stories and poetry, known for his careful craftsmanship and his realistic but subtle portrayal of "the American, of Protestant, small-town, and middle-class.” life. Updike grew up in Shillington.