 He would later say that , in retrospect , his parents ' decision to send him so far from the Middle East was much influenced by " the prospects of <unk> people , like us , being so uncertain that it would be best to send me as far away as possible " . The realities of a peripatetic life — of interwoven cultures , of feeling out of place , and of being far from home — affected the schoolboy Said to the degree that , in adult life , the themes of dissonance continually arose in the academic , political , and intellectual works wrote . Said matured as an intellectual — a polyglot young man , fluent in English , French and Arabic , earning his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Princeton University in 1957 and 1960 respectively , followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in English Literature from Harvard University in 1964 . Despite his many intellectual achievements , Said 's battle with his identity as it related to language ( Arabic and English specifically ) continued throughout his adult life . He discusses the battle with language in both Out of Place ( 1999 ) and Reflections on Exile ( 2002 ) by it describing as something he had to carry with him throughout his life and career . Many of his peers also examined this particular aspect of his identity as intellectual porter ( of language , briefcases , among other things ) . 
