Reflection:
Well to be completely honest I struggled with this essay. Something about quotes being used to introduce the prompt freaks me out and makes it nearly impossible for me to write a decent essay, but it is something I need to work on (so bring it on quotes!!!). Although I enjoyed the quote itself and thought to my self, "Wow Sharp, this looks like it could lead to great discussion." I fell short, but thankfully by my last count we still have just over 259 days until AP Testing Begins for 2014. Any who without any further ado:
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. Intellectuals such as David Foster Wallace and others, state that our minds and beings are so complex but yet our words can only just scratch the surface of what we truly mean and feel. But if that statement is actually true, why do we as humans still attempt to express ourselves through the written word? Perhaps it is because we feel that even though our best attempts will never quite do the job, we still need to express our ideas. Authors and intellectuals such as Victor Hugo, Joseph Heller, and Stephen Hawking are actual proof support Wallace's idea that our minds are so complex in a way that words can never express. Other authors such as Montaigne, who's essays set the pace and template for future essay writing throughout the world, and Jane Austen who's novels impacted the modern novel and forever changed the way books were written, also support Wallace's claim. And while it is much more obvious in Montaigne's essays, this claim also comes full circle within "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen although in different ways.
Montaigne is round a bout writer, his essays revolve around one topic and yet in attempt to discuss his opinion he begins following tangents, while Austen is more direct within her writing, she like all writers before and after, she can only do so much when it comes to expressing her own opinion. And quite simply that's just human nature. Michel de Montaigne inadvertently expressed this through his work, for example in his essay titled "Of Custom, and That We Should Not Easily Change a Law Received" most of his writing is tangents and his attempt to express his ideas on a certain subject actually provides his opinions on other issues such as chastity and education. And it isn't a bad thing that he does this, for it also provides the readers a glimpse into what Montaigne was really thinking when he was writing his essays, and perhaps even his attitude and personality in a manner that isn't fully seen in "Pride and Prejudice" with Jane Austen for the sole reason of format. If Austen were to express tangents and personal opinions in her book, based solely on the time period of which the book was written, very few would read it. But as far as the idea of what goes on inside of us being far too complex to express both Montaigne's and Austen's writing support that. Austen's work was instrumental in shaping how the modern novel is written, but at the same time portions of "Pride and Prejudice" exhibit a struggle to express what Austen is really feeling. And it is the same exhibit with Montaigne, but where Montaigne begins to follow tangents, Austen adds dialogue or abruptly ends the chapter.
Even further than format and overall diction, Jane Austen's and Montaigne's writing styles differ drastically. Austen's syntax, or sentence structure, employs a greater use of description and stylistic flourishes while Montaigne's syntax is straightforward and even at times mildly brash. Perhaps the time period in which each book was written is what makes each authors approach to writing so different but yet even through all their differences both authors have similarities within their writing and their writing styles. For example it is obvious that both authors are educated and aren't afraid to show their knowledge, as many allusions and metaphors that aren't noticed by the reader the first time it is read eventually become clear and obvious during the second or third time the piece is read.
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. It is just human nature, we struggle to accurately express our selves. Yet through the template of literature we perhaps scratch the surface of meaning and ingenuity. Authors such as Montaigne and Jane Austen prove that. Though they lived almost 200 years apart and their writing styles are distinctively different they both somehow share similarities and manage to some point express their opinions through their works. And while like all other authors and human beings their writing can be powerful at times, they still seems to struggle with what they really mean.
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