Comment on the use of colloquial English in "A & P."

Clearly one of the key aspects of this excellent short
story is the way in which the point of view adopted by the author creates a specific
tone and flavour to the language. The story is told from the point of view of Sammy, and
thus he communicates to us what happens from his perspective using the kind of language
that he is used to using. This of course results in the story being told in
grammatically incorrect but colloquially correct English. You can also find lots of
examples of slang and idioms in his account. Consider the following humorous
example:

I
rang it up again and the customer starts giving me hell. She's one of these
cash-register-watchers, a witch about fifty with rouge on her cheekbones and no
eyebrows, and I know it made her day to trip me up. she'd been watching cash registers
for fifty years and probably never seen a mistake
before.

Note how Sammy
describes how the "witch" of the customer gave him "hell" and was a
"cash-register-watcher." Later on, Sammy refers to housewives doing their shopping as
"houseslaves" which indicates his contempt and distaste for normal, conventional life,
which perhaps points towards the fascination that he finds in the girls and the way that
they defy social norms through their act of coming into the supermarket in their bathing
suits.

Thus the use of colloquial English that is not
necessarily grammaticaly correct helps to create an image and impression of the
narrator, Sammy, and also allows us to see his job and customers through his eyes, which
is often quite amusing.