Amin Maalouf’s Idea Essay

My understanding of Amin Maaloufs concept on identity is that human identity is base on an individuals environment. He defines identity into both categories. One that is inherited through our elders and heathen beliefs vertical, and another that exist according to our generational influence, horizontal. The two categories create our identity as a human and is the source of our behavior. My ingest with the vertical heritage is my belief in Christianity.My ancestors and the community I was brocaded in have traditionally taught me to celebrate religious holidays like Christmas and Easter. I also grew up in a small neighborhood with Christian peers. They have influenced the way I behave and interact by dower to shape my morals. My experience with the horizontal is the communities I have been introduced to, such as, the general and private work environments. They have broadened my personality with their social aspects. One congresswoman of what Maalouf is saying is my switch from public to private school.My personality was much divers(prenominal) in public school than it was in private. In my public school the social standard for academic progress was average. The fact that there was no assigned dress code distracted me because I would attempt to ingrain others with my appearance. This influenced my train of thought, behavior and ultimately my identity, until I was placed into a different setting. When I made the switch to private school the distraction of smell different was taken away, and expectations were higher.My surrounding influenced me again and I became more centre on things that nationaled and more questionable of my beliefs. What I gained from both these settings was my horizontal inheritance. For example, the unison that I listen to and the hobbies I enjoy. Maaloufs point is that no matter your vertical, your horizontal has a bigger affect on your identity, and since the horizontal is based on contemporaries, you are based on the subjects rough you. He points by that there is a gap between what we think we are and what we genuinely are in reality.We may know we are different notwithstanding what we dont realize is in reality we are exclusively becoming alike through arguing are differences. I recall this is a magnificent insight on identity. Mankind changes the world around us and if we all do the same, we end up in apiece others world. We are becoming more and more identical to each other through compromise from arguing our differences because we learn to equal with each other. When we accept differences they soon force norms, and once they are norms, they become a standard. I agree with Amin Maaloufs concept on identity.