Assignment: Write a literary essay (1,000-1,200 words) based on the memoir Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor. 

PLEASE DO NOT USE OUTSIDE RESEARCH FOR THIS PAPER. I WANT YOUR IDEAS SUPPORTED WITH QUOTES FROM THE MEMOIR.

Develop a thesis that answers ONE of the following questions and APPLY ONE OF THE LENSES FROM THE” LENSES FOR READING LITERATURE” HANDOUT:

1) How does the author use America and/or Bruce Springsteen and his music to show his struggles?

2) What role does the author’s father play in his son’s struggles? 

These are starting points. You need to develop a specific, argument thesis statement and support your points with the text. For example I might use the following as my thesis if I chose question #1:

In the memoir Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor, the author’s obsession with Bruce Springsteen and his music is used to show his desire for independence from his traditional family and his need to escape the confines he feels as a young Pakistani in Britain.  

*E-MAIL ME IF YOU WANT THESIS FEEDBACK. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN ARGUMENT TO ASSERT THAT FITS THE ASSIGNMENT.  

TIPS: 

– Have a specific working thesis before you begin writing and utilize pre-writing techniques.

– Write as if the reader of your paper already knows the plot of the book you are writing about. Avoid plot summaries and focus on your ideas/analysis.

– Underline the title of the memoir.

– Use quotations/passages from the memoir to prove your points. Be sure and list the page number in parenthesis after your quote. If you are quoting text that is more than three lines, use MLA block style.

– Use present tense when describing story events.