What would life be like if humans didn't have the ability to form their own ridiculous opinions and thoughts privately in their own minds? Although it appears that some people do not contain a filter and speak their minds immediately, the majority of the time people tend to contemplate their thoughts before publicly verbalizing them, but does this actually do justice to what they are really thinking? David Foster Wallace says no, according to his 2001 story "Good Old Neon", but every single individual on this planet contains various capacities and Michel de Montaigne was able to do just that. He presented many topics in his essays and was able to clearly state his opinion on every one of them without leaving any ambiguity for the reader. Jane Austen was also able to express her viewpoint on a couple of key subjects, but in a more indirect and less intensive manner through the use of characters and their scandalous arrangements. Both authors open their windows to their thinking, but in very opposing fashions.
The Complete Essays of Michel de Montaigne was undoubtedly the longest "book" I have ever come across, and yet it was just access to Montaigne's understanding and reflections on specific topics. This protracted book contravened Wallace's notion because the readers can clearly understand Montaigne's thoughts and are provided with his thought process that brought him to his conclusions. He enjoyed making biblical references to solidify his points and described his thoughts almost in way that persuaded the reader to agree with his statements through his use of exposing the hard truths of reality. He liked to skip around from very serious subjects, such as defects in our government, to more absurd commonalities that we never stopped to question such as the custom of wearing clothes, which provides a more relatable sense to his views and what the heck he is talking about. In his essay "Of the Inequality Among Us", Montaigne goes on about the nature of human beings to immediately judge others, especially on their possessions. He stated, "The pedestal is no part of the statue. Measure him without his stilts; let him lay aside his revenues and his titles, let him present himself in his shirt." to reiterate the fact that exterior possessions are no match for their interior possessions, although this concept seems harder and harder to grasp by today's society. Montaigne follows with a metaphor by comparing people and their possessions and souls to a king's character outside of his luxurious castle to his stressed and lonely life behind castle walls, explaining that external commodities do not parallel the struggles behind their obviously contempt smiles. He also says that the mind and body are in disorder when they serve the external conveniences, which puts it in more understandable terms that allow the reader to really grasp his viewpoint. He then goes on to declare, "Tis fruition, and not possession, that renders us happy." to explicate how attaining desirable objects bears us more joy than actually owning the object, which appears to be true because people are never fully satisfied and a truth that never really crosses one's mind. After explaining his thoughts on immediately judging new faces, Montaigne states that it is much more pleasant and facile to follow than it is to lead which illustrates the fact that everyone unintentionally critiques people because it is an acquired habit learned through the use of others. This was only one essay in his entire collection, and yet the reader has a clear sense of his explanations and thought process that led him to believe what he believed. Not only did Montaigne address this shameful nature firmly established in every human being, he buttressed his opinions through comprehensible metaphors and concise statements that are still relatable and quotable today.
At a glance, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a timeless classic that contains various suspenseful love stories with the ultimate plot twist, but the characters also resemble Austen's thoughts and feelings about important topics during the time period in which she lived. The means by which Austen presented her opinions varied from Montaigne's style because she hid behind the bold characters who weren't afraid to challenge the social norms while Montaigne plainly voiced his opinion. For instance, Elizabeth plainly disobeyed Lady Catherine when they had a discussion about Lady Catherine's desires for Elizabeth not to marry Mr. Darcy, but she declared she would make no promises and eventually married the man. Jane also traveled for three months during the harsh winter to find Mr. Bingley even though her father disapproved of the idea and it was viewed as a little desperate by the village and Mr. Bingley's family. Mr. Bingley's family opposed his infatuation with Jane, which is why they made it impossible for her to find her beloved man on her quest for him, but with a little nudge from Mr. Darcy he returned to Ms. Bennet and they sealed their love with a wedding. Throughout the novel, Mr. Collins was a very despised man because of his lack of compassion, which is why he was one of the few characters who married solely for the purpose of having a wife. Austen was a firm believer that the marriage between two people should be about their infinite love for one another and not about their social ranking or superfluous financial situation. She presented these characters with typical occurrences but had them deal with them in an unusual way that she thought was appropriate. She was able to distinctly express her opinion on matters, particularly on marriage, through the use of characters because her opinions would not have been considered during her era if she were to have written them as raw thoughts fabricated by her own mind as a woman.
It is a difficult task to voice an opinion, not only because it is such a long thought process that also needs explaining, but today's society will immediately shoot it down if it does not comply with what is "normal". David Foster Wallace claimed that this was an impossible feat to accomplish due to the complexity and excessive amount of thoughts that run through the human mind at any given moment, but Michel de Montaigne was miraculously able to perform this task. He illustrated his viewpoints through the use of metaphors, biblical references, lengthy explanations of his reasons, and allusions to issues that face society even in the present day. Given an identical situation in real life that was presented in his essays, a reader could precisely determine how he would react and his reasoning behind his actions, contradicting what Wallace stated. Jane Austen was also a fan of voicing her opinion as seen in Pride and Prejudice but she did so in a way that it did not seem excessive, like in Montaigne's essays. Her characters were dealt ordinary situations but handled them in a rare manner, which were actually Austen's thoughts on how they should constantly be handled. Both of these authors admirably voiced their thoughts and opinions on matters that were never challenged before in a provincial society that learned to never question any little thing in their life, and they did so in a way that was able to be understood by the reader and how their thoughts influenced their final decisions.
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