Una​ ​O’Connell
Professor​ ​Anna​ ​Mantzaris
English​ ​1B
27​ ​November​ ​2017
The​ ​Pursuit​ ​of​ ​Humanness
The​ ​desire​ ​to​ ​be​ ​human​ ​above​ ​all​ ​else​ ​is​ ​the​ ​common​ ​connection​ ​every​ ​person
shares.​ ​To​ ​fill​ ​this​ ​desire​ ​requires​ ​the​ ​recognition​ ​of​ ​all​ ​people​ ​as​ ​needing​ ​and​ ​deserving
fundamental​ ​human​ ​rights​ ​regardless​ ​of​ ​their​ ​sexual,​ ​racial,​ ​and​ ​cultural​ ​identity.​ ​In
Sarfraz​ ​Manzoor’s​ ​memoir,​ ​​Greetings​ ​from​ ​Bury​ ​Park​,​ ​he​ ​uses​ ​the​ ​values​ ​and​ ​concepts
found​ ​in​ ​Bruce​ ​Springsteen’s​ ​music​ ​to​ ​get​ ​through​ ​his​ ​personal​ ​struggle​ ​with​ ​his​ ​cultural
identity.​ ​These​ ​ideals​ ​provide​ ​Manzoor​ ​with​ ​a​ ​community​ ​that​ ​supports​ ​his​ ​pursuit​ ​to​ ​be
human​ ​even​ ​if​ ​this​ ​meant​ ​veering​ ​from​ ​his​ ​culture’s​ ​traditions​ ​despite​ ​the​ ​color​ ​of​ ​his
skin​ ​and​ ​familial​ ​background.
​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​Throughout​ ​his​ ​life,​ ​Manzoor​ ​grappled​ ​with​ ​the​ ​contradictions​ ​of​ ​being​ ​British,
Pakistani,​ ​and​ ​Muslim.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​child,​ ​Manzoor’s​ ​school​ ​life​ ​and​ ​home​ ​life,​ ​while​ ​running
parallelly,​ ​were​ ​completely​ ​separate.​ ​At​ ​school,​ ​Manzoor​ ​was​ ​surrounded​ ​mainly​ ​by
whites​ ​who​ ​held​ ​British​ ​values​ ​and​ ​lived​ ​by​ ​British​ ​tradition.​ ​When​ ​at​ ​home,​ ​however,​ ​he
was​ ​required​ ​to​ ​live​ ​by​ ​Pakistani​ ​standards​ ​and​ ​Muslim​ ​values,​ ​particularly​ ​pressured​ ​by
his​ ​father.​ ​After​ ​immigrating​ ​to​ ​Britain,​ ​Manzoor’s​ ​parents​ ​had​ ​met​ ​a​ ​group​ ​of​ ​fellow
immigrant​ ​Pakistani​ ​parents​ ​whom​ ​they​ ​created​ ​a​ ​community​ ​with.​ ​Unlike​ ​the​ ​parents​ ​of
Manzoor’s​ ​white​ ​peers,​ ​Pakistani​ ​parents​ ​valued​ ​their​ ​children’s​ ​success​ ​and​ ​status​ ​in
the​ ​professional​ ​world​ ​sometimes​ ​so​ ​much​ ​that​ ​it​ ​trumped​ ​their​ ​child’s​ ​happiness.​ ​When
speaking​ ​of​ ​his​ ​father​ ​and​ ​his​ ​father’s​ ​Pakistani​ ​friends​ ​Manzoor​ ​wrote:​ ​“Beyond​ ​the
realm​ ​of​ ​children​ ​and​ ​Pakistan,​ ​the​ ​conversation​ ​stumbled;​ ​these​ ​were​ ​not​ ​men​ ​truly
interested​ ​in​ ​how​ ​each​ ​other​ ​was​ ​doing;​ ​they​ ​only​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​demonstrate​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​the
extent​ ​of​ ​their​ ​success.​ ​(26)”​ ​The​ ​“extent​ ​of​ ​their​ ​success”​ ​in​ ​this​ ​situation​ ​was​ ​often​ ​a
measure​ ​of​ ​their​ ​children’s​ ​success.​ ​Manzoor’s​ ​parents​ ​viewed​ ​being​ ​a​ ​doctor​ ​or​ ​having
a​ ​career​ ​in​ ​technology​ ​or​ ​the​ ​economy​ ​as​ ​the​ ​only​ ​decent​ ​jobs​ ​for​ ​their​ ​children.​ ​None
of​ ​these​ ​careers,​ ​however,​ ​appealed​ ​to​ ​Manzoor.​ ​Instead,​ ​he​ ​aspired​ ​to​ ​be​ ​a​ ​writer.
Manzoor​ ​writes:​ ​“It​ ​had​ ​always​ ​been​ ​my​ ​dream​ ​to​ ​have​ ​a​ ​job​ ​that​ ​was​ ​creative​ ​but​ ​the
only​ ​Asians​ ​I​ ​had​ ​heard​ ​about​ ​who​ ​were​ ​even​ ​vaguely​ ​doing​ ​what​ ​I​ ​wanted​ ​were
Salman​ ​Rushdie​ ​and​ ​Hanif​ ​Kureishi.​ ​(171)”​ ​This​ ​left​ ​Manzoor​ ​with​ ​very​ ​few​ ​guidelines​ ​to
follow,​ ​forcing​ ​him​ ​to​ ​experiment​ ​with​ ​his​ ​path​ ​more​ ​than​ ​his​ ​parents​ ​and​ ​Pakistani