“The whole store was like a pinball machine and I didn’t know which tunnel they’d come out of.”(Updike, 17)
This quote really stuck out to me, I think I mostly just like the simile of the store being a pinball machine. The reader can really imagine the main character, Sammy, waiting for his bikini-clad customers. The comparison of the store being like a pin-ball machine is fitting in which the tunnel is the aisles.
The quote is minimal importance to the story but it helps to the build-up of the upcoming conflict that occurs between Sammy and his employer. The quote also helps display Sammy’s interest in the females and how he later would like to be like a hero to them during the conflict.
Posted by
Lacie Ballard
1 comments:
Hi, Lacie. Yes, this is a good quote. I think also the image suggests Sammy's youth; that he can liken the store to a game indicates he's not ready to take it seriously. Another aspect might be a control issue. If he's the pinball player, he's got the control in the game. Even if he's got to wait to watch for the balls, it will be his responsibility to send them spinning up the aisles again. Maybe that gets at his vision of himself as a hero? Nancy
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