Arguably Sammy's act of rebellion in quitting his job is
actually an explicit criticism of the values of his day and time. Certainly, when he
quits, he cites the way that Lengel embarrassed the girls as his reason for leaving. His
decision shows that he is sharply critical of the cultural norms and standards that he
accepts are part of his life, and points towards the existence of a higher standard of
conduct that means you shouldn't intentionally embarrass people in public in the way
that Lengel has done. Note what Sammy tells us about Lengel's behaviour after he
embarrasses the girls:
"Girls, I don't want to argue with you. After
this come in here with your shoulders covered. It's our policy." He turns his back.
That's policy for you. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is
juvenile delinquency.
In the
story, Lengel seems to play the role of the enforcer of "policy," a term that remains
unjustified and unexplained. When he speaks to the girls, he is unable to articulate the
reason why they can't come in to the store in their bathing costume apart from saying
"This isn't the beach." His blind adherence to the nebulous concept of "policy" is what
is criticised by Sammy, whose act of quitting questions such a strict adherence which is
not apparently based on reason or logical thought.
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