--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was so much the picture of different…" description: "\"“He was so much the picture of different kinds of assimilation that it was almost a case of multiple personalities.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg" --- # He was so much the picture of different kinds of… ![“He was so much the picture of different kinds of assimilation that it was almost a case of multiple personalities.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg) > ““He was so much the picture of different kinds of assimilation that it was almost a case of multiple personalities.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assimilation can fragment identity, creating multiple personas that conflict within a single individual. **In simple terms:** Identity can split into many selves. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate conflicting parts. Themes identity psychology conflict Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - immigration - cultural adaptation - personality disorders - workplace dynamics Key Concepts self‑fragmentation social integration Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile differing cultural influences? - When does integration become loss of self? A Different Perspective Over‑emphasis on fragmentation can ignore cohesive aspects of self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assimilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) [Assimilation Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation-case-3609107/) [Edward-said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edward-said/) [Kinds Assimilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-assimilation-3609108/) [Multiple personalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/multiple-personalities/) [Personalities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personalities/) ## Related quotes > [“It was at a conference in Cyprus in 1976, where the theme was the rights of small nations, that I first met Edward Said.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-was-at-a-conference-in-cyprus-in-1976-where-the-theme-was-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Arab nationalism in its traditional form was the way in which secular Arab Christians like Edward had found and kept a place for themselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/arab-nationalism-in-its-traditional-form-was-the-way-in-which-secular/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Edward genially enough did not dis agree with what I said, but he didn't seem to admit my point, either. I wanted to press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/edward-genially-enough-did-not-dis-agree-with-what-i-said-but-he-didn/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“There came an awful day when I picked up the phone and knew at once, as one does with some old friends even before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-came-an-awful-day-when-i-picked-up-the-phone-and-knew-at-once/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Hitherto, the Palestinians had been relatively immune to this Allahu Akhbar style. I thought this was a hugely retrograde development. I said as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/hitherto-the-palestinians-had-been-relatively-immune-to-this-allahu/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Edward had a personal horror of violence and never endorsed or excused it, though in a documentary he made about the conflict he said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/edward-had-a-personal-horror-of-violence-and-never-endorsed-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Inevitably came the time when he angrily repudiated his former paladin Yasser Arafat. In fact, he described him to me as 'the Palestinian blend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/inevitably-came-the-time-when-he-angrily-repudiated-his-former/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Some lurid things have been said about me—that I am a racist, a hopeless alcoholic, a closet homosexual and so forth—that I leave to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/some-lurid-things-have-been-said-about-me-that-i-am-a-racist-a/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I had not particularly liked the way in which he wrote about literature in Beginnings , and I was always on my guard if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-had-not-particularly-liked-the-way-in-which-he-wrote-about/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I was to grow used to hearing, around New York, the annoying way in which people would say: 'Edward Said, such a suave and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-was-to-grow-used-to-hearing-around-new-york-the-annoying-way-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I certainly didn't concur with Edward on everything, but I was damned if I would hear him abused without saying a word. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-certainly-didn-t-concur-with-edward-on-everything-but-i-was-damned/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“I resolutely refuse to believe that the state of Edward's health had anything to do with this, and I don't say this only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-resolutely-refuse-to-believe-that-the-state-of-edward-s-health-had/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Though he never actually joined it, he was close to some civilian elements of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/though-he-never-actually-joined-it-he-was-close-to-some-civilian/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“As he defended the book one evening in the early 1980s at the Carnegie Endowment in New York, I knew that some of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-he-defended-the-book-one-evening-in-the-early-1980s-at-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Then all at once our personal and political quarrels were made very abruptly to converge. In the special edition of the London Review of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/then-all-at-once-our-personal-and-political-quarrels-were-made-very/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Assimilation quotes > [“The Portland school board's policy equated integration and racial assimilation. This policy, Rist explains, is a "means of socializing nonwhite students to act, speak,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/the-portland-school-board-s-policy-equated-integration-and-racial/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [“Being an immigrant is not a status but a state of mind. It doesn’t stop when you “assimilate” or “integrate” or when you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/being-an-immigrant-is-not-a-status-but-a-state-of-mind-it-doesn-t/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Great genius takes shape by contact with another great genius, but, less by assimilation than by friction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/great-genius-takes-shape-by-contact-with-another-great-genius-but/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [ “\[I\]nclusion, not assimilation, should be the key concept in seeking, ever seeking, a more perfect national union. Our own history has shown that we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/i-nclusion-not-assimilation-should-be-the-key-concept-in-seeking-ever/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“It's a fact— everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Ignorance is our deepest secret. And it is one of the scariest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/it-s-a-fact-everyone-is-ignorant-in-some-way-or-another-ignorance-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“Fuck I hate fucks Who think they’re so fucking great They know everything about fucking, When they’re just fucking fucks fucking! And no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/fuck-i-hate-fucks-who-think-they-re-so-fucking-great-they-know/) [Initially NO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/initially-no/) > [Jewish history turns out not to be an either/or story - as in, either pure Judaism detached from its surroundings or else assimilation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/jewish-history-turns-out-not-to-be-an-either-or-story-as-in-either/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“It’s a great honor, m’ijo. We know that. I’m sure everyone in Ysleta is proud of you. But this is who you are," she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-troncoso/it-s-a-great-honor-m-ijo-we-know-that-i-m-sure-everyone-in-ysleta-is/) [Sergio Troncoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-troncoso/) > [Intellectual life requires for its expansion and manifestation the influences and assimilation of the interests and affections of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/intellectual-life-requires-for-its-expansion-and-manifestation-the/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [“Does assimilation mean that they never came up against naked prejudice? Does it mean that you understood where the limits of your social world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/does-assimilation-mean-that-they-never-came-up-against-naked/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Knowledge is a free good. The biggest cost in its transmission is not in the production or distribution of knowledge, but in its assimilation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-arrow/knowledge-is-a-free-good-the-biggest-cost-in-its-transmission-is-not/) [Kenneth Arrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-arrow/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Finally it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mckinley/finally-it-should-be-the-earnest-wish-and-paramount-aim-of-the/) [William McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mckinley/) > [If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-w-eckert/if-you-would-be-a-writer-first-be-a-reader-only-through-the/) [Allan W. Eckert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-w-eckert/) > [We must have life building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-have-life-building-man-making-character-making-assimilation/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) [Browse all 141 Assimilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was so much the picture of different kinds of assimilation that it was almost a case of multiple personalities.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different-kinds-of-assimilation-that-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assimilation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different-kinds-of-assimilation-that-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd4/christopher-hitchens-117_assimilation_he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different_1202100.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was so much the picture of different kinds of assimilation that it was almost a case of multiple…” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was so much the picture...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different-kinds-of-assimilation-that-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/he-was-so-much-the-picture-of-different-kinds-of-assimilation-that-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```