What kind of/Where to add a source . . . .

Keep focused on your goal: finding support for a specific argument in a specific paragraph -- which usually entails searching for terms that reference a specific division or thesis word.

For example, if writing about "Shiloh," you could use an essay on the role of communication in relationships which never even mentions "Shiloh," but helps prove your point and works well in your essay.

Likewise, a secondary source for "Cathedral" may address the role of physical contact in human behavior.

The takeaway? Use divisions and thesis NOT the subject ("Gimpel the Fool," The Things They Carried) as search terms.

In case you misunderstood the previous two sentences . . . .

To make it clear, do not use quotes from the open web (as in sources found through an open web search via Google, etc.). Wikipedia is not considered a scholarly source nor are general encyclopedias (Britannica, etc.) and dictionaries. If you choose to use these sources, the highest grade you can receive is a D.

Significantly, Sammy makes this decision, and according to Ronald E. McFarland, "achieves a certain degree of heroism" (61), at an A&P, an American institution which symbolizes the kind of mindless obedience that Sammy is fighting.

McFarland, Ronald. "Updike and the Critics: Reflections on

'A&P'.""A&P". Ed. Wendy Perkins. Harcourt Brace College

Publishers, 1998, pp.  56-62.

You must correctly document your sources to receive a passing grade. I'm more than willing to help you with this: just check with me.

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Throughout the story Gimpel exhibits prudence, an attribute of wisdom. To have prudence means to go about practical matters with caution, a characteristic lacking in a fool. An example of Gimpel's prudence is when he heard a dog barking on his way home from school. He thought to himself, "I'm not afraid of dogs, but of course I would never want to start up with them. One of them may be mad" (278).  So Gimpel turned tail and ran, taking the precaution that the dog had rabies without ever setting eyes on the dog. Gimpel was not running from the dog itself, but was running from the deadly disease, rabies, that the dog might have been carrying.  Is his reaction really foolish? As sociologist Ken Flieger notes, "The cry 'mad dog' has long been a warning literally to run for your life, because mad dog meant rabies and rabies meant death." Despite the fact that it was not a real dog barking, Flieger's comment suggests that Gimpel's reaction is not foolish because there might have been a real dog with a deadly disease in the market place. Gimpel's sprint for life shows that he is serious and cautious about such a deadly disease and takes the necessary precautions to protect himself.

Physical touch is a strong communicator. It can make a person feel cared for, violated, or a number of emotions in between. Scientist Alberto Gallace believes that touch plays an important role in our well-being. He argues that "even the briefest of touches from another person can elicit strong emotional experiences" (247). The reaction to touch is predicated on your perception of the touch, so had the narrator still felt uncomfortable with Robert the reaction would have been negative. Instead he is open and willing to participate in drawing because his perceptions have already been altered.

Flawed coping mechanisms can also lead to problems in marraiges.  And with the death of Randy at the beginning of their marriage, both Leory and Norma are confronted with a catostrophic emotional loss.  Throughout the story Mason, shows the fallout from their problematic coping. Men tend to grieve through actions rather than words.  Leroy, faced with the death of his son, takes to the road and spends 15 years behind the wheel of a semi as a cross country trucker.  Other common coping strategies include self medication to numb themselves to the pain, often with recreational drugs or alcohol.  Following this pattern, the narrator notes that "Leroy likes to lie on the couch and smoke a joint" (69).  Norma reacts differently to the grief; she uses body building to feel strong and in control to compensate for the lack of strength and control she has over her life.  In addition to strengthening her body, she begins attending night school to improve her mind. 

The problem with both of these coping methods is that Norma and Leroy should be working as a couple to improve their relationship. Instead, they are suppresseing their feelings. Psychologists have noted this is common when people deal with an infant's death. In Recovering from the Loss of a Child  Katherine Fair Donnelly writes "After a child has died, there is an underlying need to find out the why? Because no satisfactory answer is found, a parent often directs this anger toward the spouse. This is how the parent uses grief in the most negative way" (88). Leroy and Norma Jean have no answer to the death of Randy; instead they follow the common negative script noted by Fair Donnelly and direct their hostility and resentfulness towards each other.  This anger, long suppressed through their flawed coping strategies, is a critical part of the problems in their relationship. Instead of dealing with their loss as a couple, they went off to lick their wounds and heal on their own.

Sammy is an everyday hero because his character is flawed. Traditionally, a hero is a supreme being who always achieves in defeating adversaries and providing a happy ending. In reality, heroes of such epic proportions do not exist. Sammy is a realistic hero because while his intentions are righteous and he acts gallantly, he still fails in getting the girl. A traditional hero would have whisked the girl away, defeated the defeated the bad guy, Lengel, and become the new and most celebrated manager of the A&P. The flaws in Sammy's character are seen clearly when in sticking up for the girls Sammy falters and instead of saying something great he mumbles, "I started to say something that came out 'fiddle-de-do'." (18). When Sammy finally makes it outside the girls are gone. Now it is evident that Sammy is a realistic hero because the guy does not always get the girl, and can become tongue-tied just like everyone else.

Sammy is an everyday hero because his character is flawed. Traditionally, a hero is a supreme being, always succeed in defeating adversaries leaving readers with a happy ending. In reality, heroes of such epic proportions do not exist. Instead, Sammy is a more realistic hero because while his intentions, on the surface, are righteous -- he Lengel "You didn't have to embarrass them" (18) -- his behavior -- calling a customer a "witch" (14), focusing on the girls' body parts -- reveals not a hero but a stereotypical young adult male who has no patience for others and who views women as sex objects. His flaws are also seen when he tries to respond to Lengel's "It was they who were embarrassing us" (18). Instead of a clever come back, he falters, and mumbles "something that came out 'fiddle-de-do'" (18). This response humanizes him: we've all had that moment when we need a great come back, but become tongue-tied. These flaws invest his actions with a realism that fits the situation: a young man whose conscience has awakened and who, as the critic Gilbert Porter suggests, "has chosen to live honestly and meaningfully" (66). In the tradition of the classic unsung America hero who rides out of town, Sammy makes his stand at an American institution -- A&P -- and, according to Ronald E. McFarland, "achieves a certain degree of heroism" (61).

Works Cited

McFarland, Ronald. "Updike and the Critics: Reflections on  'A&P'." "A&P," edited by Wendy Perkins,  Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. pp. 56-62.

Porter, M. Gilbert. "John Updike's 'A&P'; The Establishment and an Emersonian Cashier."  "A&P," edited by Wendy Perkins,  Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. pp.62-66.

Updike, John. "A&P." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama, edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia, Longman, 2002, pp. 14-19.

Sammy is an everyday hero because his character is flawed. Just like everyone else in the world, Sammy has imperfections. For instance, his chauvinistic view of women marks him as a character in need of an attitude adjustment. When he poses the question "You never know for sure how girls' minds work (do you really think it's a mind in there or just a little buzz like a bee in a glass jar?)" (15), it's clear that Updike is fashioning a character who is burdened, much like others, with prejudices. This shows that, just like everyone else in the world, Sammy has imperfections. Updike, choosing a first person narrator that allows readers to "hear" Sammy's thoughts, puts these imperfections on display. Yet it is these same flaws that make him a realistic hero. His heroism is not of the rescue-a-woman-from-a-burning-building variety. Instead, he is an ordinary boy with an ordinary job whose courage forces him to quit his job because of Lengel's treatment of the girls. In fitting with his ordinary character, he decides to speak against an action that, as Updike notes in an interview "seems suddenly cruel and unethical," (qtd. Murray 34). In choosing to quit a job over the treatment of people he does not know, Sammy joins the long line of everyday heroes who stand up for others, regardless of the consequences.

Works Cited

Murray, Donald. "Interview with John Updike." "A&P." A&P," edited by Wendy Perkins,  Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998. pp. 33-37.