Comparison/contrast paper utilizing Jhumpa Lahiri’s "The Third and Final Continent"

Write a well developed comparison/contrast paper utilizing Jhumpa Lahiri’s "The Third and Final Continent" [link: http://www.dequinix.com/a/continent.php ]; and your own personal experience –- length of paper (750-1,000 typed words). Think about Lahiri’s main character who encounters an entirely new culture when he moves from India to America. He begins to change and adapt to the new American culture, yet he maintains his native heritage and identity. Write an essay in which you analyze the Lahiri story and compare it to an example in your own life. The first two body paragraphs need to focus on the story and you need to provide examples (see the outline sample as a guideline for how to present this information). In the body paragraph based on your own life experience (body paragraph #3), you need to discuss how a culture other than the one you were born into has influenced you and become a part of you. Make a claim about how this has transformed you or limited you. In addition, you may wish to include an additional body paragraph where you focus on this concept from a broader perspective by explaining how this culture affects our society as a whole. This ‘optional’ body paragraph is listed on the outline as Roman numeral V. – you may not need to include this extra paragraph if you have enough information to reach your 750 typed word minimum for the essay (i.e. the essay range is 750-1,000 typed words). You will be using equal evidence from the text and your personal life in your comparison (i.e. half of the paper needs to be based on the extended examples you provide from the text and half should be about your own life experience (see the outline sample for organizational suggestions). This analysis should also be based on your own personal interpretation of the text. Do not use outside sources or information to complete this assignment – the goal of this paper is to analyze the text based on your own original ideas. Plagiarism software will be used to check student papers -- plagiarized papers will receive a grade of “zero”. Per the Essay Writing Guidelines handout, students are required to use one direct quote from the story per body paragraph.