Xinxiu Tian

Dr. Lauren Holt

ENG221RW
April 14, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis For Visual-Based Memoir
People have different ways to define the relationship between space and place.
Common sense seems to dictate that there are no significant distinctions between space
and place, because they both refer to a certain area. However, this is not necessarily true.
According to Yi-Fu Tuan, Space is transformed into place as it acquires definition and
meaning (Tuan 136). If we explore further, Tuan, Price, and many other authorities all
claim that place is the combination of space and the self, which means ones personal
experience.
In my visual-based memoir, I use photos and video to tell a story: Emory was not a
place at first because it had no significant meaning for me. As time went on, living and
studying at Emory made me change my perspective towards choosing an academic
major. Eventually, Emory became a place to me because it made me realize that I should
major in what I feel passionate about rather than choosing a conventionally profitable
major. Just as Tuan states in his book, space can become a place as it acquires meaning
and significance for a person. Emory transformed from an insignificant space into a
meaningful place for me because it changed my perspective towards self-recognition.
Emory was an insignificant space for me at first because I did not have any memories
of or intimate experiences with it. In Tuans book, he talks about a very interesting story
that demonstrates this connection between space, place and the self. When Bohr and

Heisenberg visited Kronberg Castle, Bohr indicated that as a scientist, he just saw a
building consisting only stones. He would never think about how great this place was if
he did not know that Hamlet once lived here (Tuan 4). In other words, Hamlets
experiences turn this castle into a place with significance. Similarly, Emory was merely a
physical location for me when I first came here. As I walked around campus alone, the
advanced lecture buildings and beautiful flowers planted by the streets were all black and
white in my opinion, which I depicted in my visual memoir. My sentiments can be
demonstrated by Prices argument that Space is cerebral. Place is experiential (Price
120). When I first came here, Emory was just an insignificant physical space for me
because I had not yet created personal experiences here.
A space can gain meaning and turn into a place even if a persons experiences within
it are negative. The second part of my visual memoir demonstrates this idea through my
confusion of choosing a major and hardships when I took a business course. When I first
came to Emory, I did not know what I was going to major in and I followed others
advice of majoring in business because it is a conventionally profitable major in common
sense, especially since Emory has a great business school. However, when I took a
business class during the first semester, I realized that I was not good at business and I
did not feel passionate about it at all. Despite the hardships I endured in this course, I felt
more connected to Emory as a place because I put so much effort into it and learned a lot
from my professor and my classmates. Just as Price states, There is a notable tendency
among scholars to typologize space, and to hold place as a type of space that has accrued
meaning through symbolic investment and repetitive engagement (Price 119). By
engaging in my business class repeatedly, solving problems together with my friends, and

talking with my professor after class, Emory became a home for me because I put so
much effort into both my academic and social life here. Therefore, even though my
business courses learning experiences were not necessarily positive, they were positively
increasing my attachment towards Emory, shaping it into a place in my heart.
Emory became a meaningful place for me because it changed my perspective towards
myself and shaped me into a different person that follows her heart rather than pursuing
material wealth. In the middle of the first semester, I went on a field trip with my
environmental science class. During the field trip, I stayed in the forest, breathing in the
fresh scent of grass and flowers, observing each trees anatomy, and listening to different
species of birds singing. At that moment, Emory suddenly lightened up in my mind. The
forest was still the same forest, but it was far more colorful and delightful in my eye than
it was when I first came here. Because of this amazing field trip experience, I realized
that my biggest interest and passion is environmental science; therefore, I decided to
major in environmental science at last. Just as this experience is important to me, Afridi
explains in her memoir that her experience during the Pakistani war will help her during
her whole life, encouraging her to face her difficulties and never give up. She states that
This singular memory is the core around which Ive come to orient myself,
circumambulating it still, despite the passage of time and regardless of place (Afridi 52).
Personally I believe that Emory has taught me that it is important to follow my heart and
learn about what I feel passionate about rather than pursuing material wealth. My
experience at Emory shaped me into a different person and became my personal spirit
that oriented my life, which can never change even though I will leave this place.

All in all, I argue that Emory changed into a place for me because I had so many
memorable experiences in it, and it shaped me into a different person. There is a big
contrast between my first group of picture and my last group of picture in color tones of
the surroundings. At first, Emory was black and white because I had not created any
important intimate experiences or memories here yet. I considered Emory to be an
ordinary space, a simple physical location. However, Emory became one of the most
meaningful places in my opinion after I experienced the confusion of choosing a major,
the difficult times in my business course, and the delightful moments during my field trip.
My engagement with Emory entrusts this space with value, shaping it into a significant
place for me, and consequently, shaping me into a different self.