In my lectures on Carlos Bulosan’s America is in the Heart, I discussed the idea of America and the way in which writers have argued that America’s promise of freedom and equality needs to be more fully achieved for everyone living in America. Using Bulosan’s text and either James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” or Philip Roth’s “The Conversion of the Jews,” please discuss how the two writers present their ideas of America.

Essay Question:

In my lectures on Carlos Bulosan’s America is in the Heart, I discussed the idea of America and the way in which writers have argued that America’s promise of freedom and equality needs to be more fully achieved for everyone living in America. Using Bulosan’s text and either James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” or Philip Roth’s “The Conversion of the Jews,” please discuss how the two writers present their ideas of America.

Logistics:

· Your answer should be in the form of an essay, 700-800 words long, typed, double-spaced, and in 12-point font.

· It should present a strong central argument—a thesis—that addresses both texts under consideration.

· The essay should demonstrate your familiarity with the class readings and the lectures. Your points should be backed up with references to specific characters and moments in the texts.

· Please do not make reference to outside texts in your essays. I would like you to concentrate on the literary texts themselves.

· Citation. Since you’ll be citing only the literary texts, please use this basic citation method: Author, page number. For example, (Bulosan, 24). If you want to cite something I have said in lecture, replace the page number with the lecture number.

Good luck!