It is believed that our surrounding environment, both present and past, has a potential influence on our identities and characters. Tuan specified an intimate relationship with a place; Lahiri wrote about her immigration experience and regarded Rhode Island as the place that shaped her identity and formed her values; Alfridi described her experiences of desperation within her homeland—Pakistan. Although she left Pakistan with her parents at the age of twelve, she revealed that the incident was impressed in her memories and subconsciously “had something to do with making me who I am.” In regards to the self-development in my memoir, I presented a short story that took place in my city to display the construction of trusting others in my character.
Shenzhen, a costal city in which I was not born yet grew up. It is a young city with a considerably shorter history compared to other major cities in China. This place, which I always consider my hometown, was only a small rural village making its living through fishing a few decades ago. The Chinese economic reform led by Deng Xiaoping gave Shenzhen a rebirth in 1978, yet the high pace of development and the pace of life have their prices. People become less acquainted with each other and get used to only minding their own business. Since criminal fraud has increased with the fast speed of urbanization, people today are less likely to trust others. Many of them believe that the sense of trust involves uncertainty, which may put them in a vulnerable position.
I would have stayed the same as the majority of people in such an environment if I had never met the girl who influenced and reshaped my values. It is true that one will reduce the risk of being deceived if he distrusts others, but it is also hard for him to be successful in such an interdependent society without trusting any one else. Since people often end up acting in the way we treat them, how can we become trustworthy to others if we never trust them? How can we get opportunities to study or to work if we are not considered to be reliable?
It is essential for people to build a sense of trust because trusting not only benefits us but also promotes others’ efficiency. For example, when a graduate student first becomes an instructor for a class, he will be more eager to earn approval than an experienced professor. If students trust the new instructor rather than often questioning about the teaching method, the instructor will become more confident and contribute as best as possible in class. Otherwise, the instructor may be discouraged and become passive if no one is supporting him. Trusting in class is a mutual benefit. While teachers can improve their in-class organization and teaching techniques, students will gain more than expected from an energetic and positive teacher.
Not only defined on campuses, trust contributes more significantly in social systems such as welfare organizations and financial markets. Whereas distrusting others seems to make people live separately, it is social trust that builds a happy, healthy and secure environment for human beings. Considering the purpose of building a community, isolating from one another could quite be opposite to the nature of human beings sticking together for better lives. According to Francesco Billari, a researcher professor at Oxford University, people who are more likely to trust others seem to have better health and greater happiness. As he points out, “governments, religious groups and other civic organizations should try to cultivate more trust in society,” I believe that a little bit of trust can make a much better person, and I appreciate that the sense of trust has been deeply rooted in my character.
The genre of my memoir is a non-fiction short story. It is a text based one which utilizes the linguistic mode. The genre of non-fiction usually refers to stories based on real life. I categorize my memoir to be non-fiction because it is a personal anecdote. There are many other types of non-fiction such as scientific research papers, documentation, manuals, and some journalism. Simplicity, clarity, and authenticity are important features in this genre.
The personal anecdote that I have identified in my memoir is a short incident but it has a long-term influence on me. The incident is presented in a direct way for readers. Since it is a first version of the writing assignment, the intended audience will only be Professor Holt. The group of secondary audience will become larger because my second version of the memoir will be posted on a public website—Weebly. The secondary audience will probably be my classmates, people who often use Weebly, and some who are also working on the similar topic of “space and place.” Some current freshmen at Emory University are also asked to use Weebly for their English projects, thus they may become the audience for my page. Since the theme of my blog is “space and place,” others who work on similar topics may turn out to be my audience if they search the topics online and accidentally run into my page.
The personal anecdote that I have identified in my memoir is a short incident but it has a long-term influence on me. The incident is presented in a direct way for readers. Since it is a first version of the writing assignment, the intended audience will only be Professor Holt. The group of secondary audience will become larger because my second version of the memoir will be posted on a public website—Weebly. The secondary audience will probably be my classmates, people who often use Weebly, and some who are also working on the similar topic of “space and place.” Some current freshmen at Emory University are also asked to use Weebly for their English projects, thus they may become the audience for my page. Since the theme of my blog is “space and place,” others who work on similar topics may turn out to be my audience if they search the topics online and accidentally run into my page.
The overall purpose of my memoir is to demonstrate that sharing an umbrella on a rainy day, which might be considered an insignificant incident by most people, has a significant influence on part of me and has reshaped my values. The shelter under the umbrella is a specific place that embraces me warmly and motivates my sense of trust. It provides me an intimate stage separate from the indifferent outer world. The sense of trust rather than suspicion promotes amiable communication as well as creates a friendly atmosphere under the small umbrella.
When it comes to the context, it generally refers to additional information about my memoir. The medium I use for my memoir is a Word document, but I will put the final version of my memoir on a public website. Although my memoir explores the similar connection between a place and an intimate relationship as what Tuan demonstrates in “Space and Place,” my memoir is easier to understand because of its directness. I use dialogue to make the incident vivid. Since it is not like an abstract philosophy essay or a scientific research paper, readers do not need to sit at a desk with their full attention on the pages. They can read it the same way as they read a small story.
I begin my memoir with a general description of a social phenomenon at that time. The insecure background provides a reasonable explanation of my initial behavior of refusing offers from strangers.
In describing the heavy rain, I use simile, a rhetorical method to compare two objects. I compare the heavy rain with the pouring water to express the sense of bad weather by writing, “the rain was already like water pouring down from a bucket” in my memoir. After shortly depicting a background setting, I use contrast to present reactions when I was first invited to share an umbrella and reactions when I decided to accept the offer and trust the stranger.
I first refused the suggestion but later accepted it. The contrast between these two behaviors highlights a significant change in my attitude that I wanted to trust rather than be suspicious. The use of contrast can function to support the way of reshaping my values as well as building part of my character. In addition to contrast and simile, metaphor is the third rhetorical technique I utilize in my memoir. Instead of specifying a place directly, I implicitly refer to the space under the small umbrella as an intimate place that separates me from the outside world. It is also the place that has made me rethink the value of trust and has influenced part of me.
The last thing that I consider to be a key feature is the form of dialogue I use in my memoir. Since people have conversations in real life, written dialogue gives the impression of reality. Dialogue breaks up blocks of exposition, which makes reading much easier. Thus, it is a great way to capture the audience’s interest. I use dialogue to display conversations between the girl and I because dialogue helps me better expose information about characters, thoughts and relationships.
More important than functions of rhetorical techniques I use independently is how I use them together in my memoir. The planned organization is always an important factor in constructing a successfully purposed essay. I think that my approach of using variable rhetorical techniques is beneficial in generally presenting my ideas.
More important than functions of rhetorical techniques I use independently is how I use them together in my memoir. The planned organization is always an important factor in constructing a successfully purposed essay. I think that my approach of using variable rhetorical techniques is beneficial in generally presenting my ideas.