Nothing goes unnoticed or without the acknowledgement of another. Everything is said or done with a purpose and was influenced by something that was earlier said or done. One random thought has meaning as does one intentional. They are all interconnected in the most sense of the word. David Foster Wallace emphasized that nothing’s parts can be analyzed under a microscope because then the whole picture is being missed and the meaning is lost. Similarly, Montaigne expands on this idea of connection and chaos within the human behavior. It may seem that all humans have their own unique skill or attribute, but in reality they are all the same.
There is nothing that can describe how the brain works. Montaigne brilliantly illuminates this concept through his writing. Using his pure thoughts and sporadic thinking, Montaigne helps his readers gain a better understanding of the strange tendencies that humans, in general, carry with themselves everyday. Many of Montaigne’s subjects take the form of pure connected randomness. He starts his essays out with explaining the selfish nature of humans to take advantage of others to personally grow. This later extends to the topic of habit, learning, relationships, and many more that are hard to relate to one another. Montaigne uses the natural tendency of the mind, to drift and wonder into places that seem so obscure, to his advantage in his use of stream of consciousness. When Montaigne states one idea or general opinion about a tendency, for example “On Moderation,” he starts to develop an idea and then slowly questions another subject at hand. From moderation to cannibalism, Montaigne makes it nearly impossible for readers to understand his point.
The style of Montaigne is not one of structure or predictability. One subject leads to another that is so different from the one before that the fact that they are so different makes the two subjects connected. Montaigne connects his ideas through his own wonder-prone mind. He is a window to his own mind and those around him. The essays help portray the idea that Montaigne and Wallace had a general understanding of how everything has a purpose. One small aspect helps develop a bigger story. For example, this idea can be seen in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice where the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is told from both the eyes and mind of Elizabeth and an outside narrator that tells of pure actions. Elizabeth gives her opinion about those around her and throughout the story is questioning herself. This shows the tendencies of the mind to stray from a certain subject. As Elizabeth is worried about confronting Darcy, he is walking towards her and the subject of time is lost. Reader’s lose a sense of what the situation looks like because they are being told from the opinion of the one living in it. Relating to Montaigne, Elizabeth gives a one sided, stream of consciousness portrayal of events. Pure, grammatically incorrect ideas are unconsciously flowing from the individual directly to the reader establishing a focused and provincial view of the world. In contrast, Jane Austen also utilizes the technique of a third person point of view and allows the reader to gain understanding of the events around the internal conflicts. Through this extra set of eyes, readers can see the interconnectedness of the storyline. Each event is based from the one before it and contributes to the relationship blooming between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The relationships that are established show the proximity that all humans live in. The world is a small place and it is only seen as bigger from the different view points of those living in it.
The notion made by David Foster Wallace is similarly comparable to those made by Montaigne and Jane Austen. The idea of human interconnection relates the seemingly big world by the process each person goes through when a situation happens. They think and then act. There is no stray from this general idea and if an individual analyzes the little things, then the whole concept is lost. Montaigne reiterates the idea of ideas and pure, genuine thought. He shows his worries, loves, and questions just in the same way the Elizabeth does in Pride and Prejudice. This shows the unspoken liaison within the human race; we are all the same no matter how different each one believes to be.
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