Austen and Montaigne
David Foster Wallace wrote in "Good Old Neon" that what goes on inside is to fast and huge that when spoken out we only understand a little bit of it. This is because people are not walking in your own shoes. Michel de Montaigne and Jane Austen support this in there writing.
Montaigne's techniques support what Wallace is saying above because in "The Essays of Michel de Montaigne" Montaigne is writing about how things should be from his perspective. Throughout the book Montaigne is writing about the past and the present and how people should treat other people. An example is friendship. This is coming from inside of him and we do not know if that is just touching his thoughts or all he has to say.
Montaigne's style provides a window into his thinking because he wants us to understand how he thinks life should be. An example is when he talks about lying and if your going to lie don't say anything at all. This supports Montaigne's thinking because he is thinking about a better world and not lying will make it better.
Austen's technique also supports what Wallace wrote because in "Pride and Prejudice" many of the characters say things that other characters do not understand. An example is when Bingley says he has feelings for Jane. This is good because it was only a little bit of his true feelings. He never truly liked Jane because Bingley ended up marring Georgina.
Austen's style provides a window into her thinking because she is wanting us to develop feeling for the characters. An example is all of the love and marring in the book. All of the sisters find the one and it makes us want to feel happy for them and forget what they did in their past.
Austen and Montaigne support what Wallace is trying to say because in there writing they are both leaving something unspoken. They want us to think about what is truly being said because we will only understand a little bit of it and need to dig deeper.
No comments:
Post a Comment