"The Cask of Amontillado"

Though the stories and authors are divided by many years and two very different sensibilities.  The truth is that the protagonists of both "A Cask of Amontillado" and "A & P" are similar in many ways.  How many?  Well, let me count the ways, young waverer. 

Both Sammy and Montresor have inflated senses of their value to the world at large.  Fortunato is a class apart from Montresor and only the promise of a rare vintage lures him into his vault.  "Queenie" is oblivious to the attentions of Sammy.  Sammy for his part is delusional as he quits his job and ruins vanilla ice cream forever. (He may improve it.  Your mileage may vary.)  Montresor also fails because Fortunato is never aware of why he is being killed.  The fact is that Fortunato takes up space, rent-free, in Montresor's head and lives there for at least half a century.

These two figures are archetypical poseurs.  They are late to the party of whatever their aim is.  Sammy could be chivalrous, but his view of women as objects and "types" marks him as a misogynistic loser.  Montresor is a pale imitation of nobility.  In fact, he puts one in mind of the protagonist of Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder. That character always sought respect and plotted the deaths of his betters all for naught.  he was a rightful laughingstock, just like Montresor. 

Attack with impunity, indeed.

PEACE!

"A & P"

This is an interesting story by Updike in that it takes a very mundane, banal event and transforms it into a sort of heroic quest.  Sammy is a bozo.  That's a technical term, I know; however, I feel it is an earned title.

He objectifies women throughout the story.  He doesn't even save that for the women he is attracted to in the course of the story.  If a reader focuses on the language used to describe and to name women, it is clear that, while Sammy is the protagonist, he is not a "good guy".

His "heroic" act is motivated by a mixture of lust and petulance.  He is no more chivalrous than the young knight in "The Wife of Bath's Tale".  He just happens to wear an apron and bow tie instead of mail and a helmet.