Essay #2

      "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, "wrote David Foster Wallace in his 2001 story "Good Old Neon". He is describing human thoughts and the web of ideas in our head. His description reflects those same ideas in the works by Montaigne. Montaigne's style of writing mirrors that of a human mind in thought. This is a foil to Jane Austen's style of writing and the way she portrays her themes in her story.
          Montaigne is very famous for using a stream of consciousness technique in his writing. He would begin writing with one main idea and as he shared his insight, the ideas begin to expand and split down different paths. Sometimes his arguments come about full circle and other times he gets lost off topic. Montaigne was famous for ranting on about an idea and then forgetting what his idea was and/or his reasoning behind it because he would always write things down too late. This is a perfect example of the human thought process. At one moment it can be pondering a deep philosophical question and the next it could be remembering what it last had to eat. The human mind also easily forgets things as well as has a flow of ideas such as the writing style used by Montaigne. The style of Montaigne's essays are the epitome of what the human brain thinks like and reflects it in every way. This is one of the reasons that Montaigne's writing connects to many people. 
          Montaigne's essays don't have any format to them because they express the human mind and thought process, however Jane Austen's works are very organized and the central theme is expressed and supported in many planned ways. Jane Austen's style of writing is supports the theme in an "if...then...because" sort of process. Every event that takes place in the story Pride and Prejudice can be connected to the big picture and used to support the theme in an essay. Even some of the most nominal events in the story tie back around and are used in the end of the book. Jane Austen doesn't leave any loose ends in her novel and that reflects her style of writing. Montaigne and Jane Austen's styles of writing can be considered complete opposites.
            Montaigne's style of writing is a window to the human mind's natural thought process, and the support David Foster Wallace's notion about the human brain. Montaigne's unorganized style of writing is almost an opposite to Jane Austen's style of writing in her novel Pride and Prejudice. Montaigne's use of stream of consciousness and unorganized style of writing reflects human thoughts and how the thought process is scattered yet it flows like a chain of memories. This is how Montaigne's works attract such a large audience. Jane Austen does the opposite and focuses more on the theme and is still very effective.