Essay #2

      

    

How would you describe life?

      Life is the biggest mystery we will ever know. Many try to describe it, but there is just too much that it's impossible to explain it with our simple human language. Michael Montaigne in his essays tries to describe almost every idea he has about life, it's messy and all over the place but by reading his essays it's evident that Montaigne believes he can describe life, and he does try his best, contradicting David Foster Wallace's statement. Jane Austen on the other hand is a direct example of the statement in her novel Pride and Prejudice, she simply describes one story that outlines a moment in a life during the 1800's. Although Austen and Montaigne are both accomplished authors their style of writing is very different.
       Montaigne is known in his essays for his use of stream-of -consciousness which shows the reader directly how his brain his thinking. We are able to witness as Montaigne jumps from topic to topic through out all of his essays Montaigne also uses many quotes from ancient writers to convey his message, this elevates his writing to a classic by relating major quotes into one work. Another technique used by Montaigne is his conversationalist tone, he breaks the 4th wall countless times through out his essays, for example,“On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.” In this quote Montaigne use of the word we involves his reader in his writing, creating an exciting interactive experience for the reader. 

       Austen has a very different style of writing compared to Montaigne. She writes a story through the view point of a fictional character. In this case we are not able to see Austen's view on life as clearly as we see Montaigne's. Her story is also told from first person perspective and she never breaks the fourth wall, and although this doesn't create an interactive experience her use of dramatic plot line keeps the reader entertained. Like Montaigne, Austen makes references to class historical points. She makes subtle references that the story takes place during the Napoleonic war in Europe. Her use of historical fiction makes the story more realistic because it provides background information. 

       At first it appears that Austen and Montaigne couldn't be any more different in writing styles but after further inspection some similarities pop out. Both authors show the discrepancies of life, the error behind the superficial facade. Another similarity is the uniqueness of both essays, no matter how hard one may try there is no possible way to replicate the time and effort but into the thought of all these ideas. Austen and Montaigne's works have survived through the ages because of there perspectives of lives that forced others to think differently on the way they act.