We tend to think of heroes as imaginary super-heroes with super powers, or the heroes we find everyday in our police stations, fire stations, schools and homes, or those special people who have a vision for the way the world should be when it comes to caring for others. In the A&P Plot and Harrison Bergeron, the main characters are classified as heroes because of their willingness to defy the authorities around them, as well as their willingness to strike out on their own instead of adhering to social norms; whether it is the store manager Lengel in A&P or the Handicapper General in Harrison Bergeron.
In these two stories, two separately unique young heroes emerge with the hopes for glory. The hero of "A&P" is Sammy, the anxious checkout clerk storyteller, and the other hero is Harrison Bergeron, the intellectually and physically advantaged boy for whom the story bears its name. The two characters attempt heroism and generate interestingly different outcomes based on their unique situations. Their heroic chivalry is displayed, figuratively, by saving the damsel, challenging authoritarian monsters, and failing in battle. When reading the short story "A & P" you begin to think the main character Sammy is a bit of a Looney, but has the reader you can visualize every detail about the three beauties that walk into the A&P shop that evening. It was interesting how Sammy was loyal to that store because of how his parents knew the manager and had gotten him the job there. This all changed when the manager of the store made remarks to the girls about their beach attire and no shoes and how they were not dressed appropriate for the store. When the girls left the store Sammy felt has if he needed to defend them so he decide very quickly that he was to quit. So without second guessing himself he threw down his apron with his name tag on it and ran out into the parking lot hoping maybe to be greeted or even noticed by the beauties but the girls were nowhere to be found and Sammy was left with no job and preserved heroism on his hands.
