Apartment Quote by W. Somerset Maugham
“For men and women are not only themselves; they are also the region in which they are born, the city apartment or farm in which they learnt to walk, the games they played as children, the old wives tales they overheard, the food they ate, the schools they attended, the sports they followed, the poets they read, and the God they believed in. It is all these things that have made them what they are, and these are the things that you can't come to know by hearsay...”
About This Quote
Identity is shaped by geography, culture, upbringing, and experiences, not just genetics.
In simple terms: Environment and culture shape who we become.
Key Takeaway
Explore the influences that form your identity.
Themes
identity
culture
environment
upbringing
Mood
thoughtful
introspective
Type
philosophical
personal
When to use this quote
- personal reflection
- anthropology
- creative writing
Key Concepts
socialization
regional heritage
Questions to Reflect On
- Which influences most define you?
- How do you balance nature and nurture?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on environment may ignore personal agency.
![“I had been fed, in my youth, a lot of old wives' tales about the way men would instantly forsake a beautiful woman to flock around a brilliant one. It is but fair to say that, after getting out in the world, I had never seen this happen." [From a column dated November 17, 1928]” quote by Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ffd/dorothy-parker-700_beautiful_i-had-been-fed-in-my-youth-a-lot-of-old_1684942.jpg)
![“My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's [Braun] choice in a man and the fact [Adolf] Hitler had set her up in an apartment. To him it was deeply humiliating that she was living with a man at his own whim at an apartment he was paying for.” quote by Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2a7/gretl-braun-9500_apartment_my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit_40016.jpg)
