Conflict and journey shape our individual identities through the feelings they inflict on us; these feelings appear very clearly in the reactions we have to what happens to us, especially unexpectedly: they determine and guide the decisions we make, and also how we feel afterwards. Emotions are nurtured throughout our lives, and once in a while they blossom. They're not the product of a single experience, but of many we have during our lifetime. Therefore, our individual identities are shaped by conflict and journey in the sense that our essence is forged by them. In other words, our essence is created as a reaction to the different experiences, choices and inner issues (even unresolved ones) we have to face.
Our individual identities create a bias in our interpretations and in our writing by making us feel in a certain way when reading, watching a movie, admiring a painting, etc. However, interpretation is not something that is restricted to the realms of art; in fact, we're always interpreting the people around us (what they do and say) and even ourselves. Different identities= different interpretations. That's why some people laugh and others cry when watching a Charles Chaplin movie, for instance. That's why some people are sympathetic to Raskolnikov and others think he's the ultimate representation of evil. Our individual identities also create a bias in our writing because whenever we put something on paper, a lot of our personal impressions and beliefs will be displayed, at a higher or at a lower degree, but it'll all be there somehow. Every individual is a series of beliefs and values, and it shows in one's writing. Imagine Dostoievski without his sense of injustice or Nietzsche without his sense of loneliness... Literature is all about individual identity.
