- Duality - Montaigne always presents both sides of an argument, to the point where it sometimes seems as though he's trying to persuade himself. For every idea there is one that opposes it, and Montaigne never shies away from saying so.
- Subject Association - It never takes very long for Montaigne to go from one subject to another, but he always transitions between topics smoothly and his essays remain concise.
(I'm going to write a short essay in which I utilize the key features from Montaigne's writing)
Of Nostalgia
I could never write an objective review of the 1987 animated
film “The Brave Little Toaster.” It’s not that I have preconceived notions
about the personification of kitchen appliances, but simply because it was one
of my favorite movies as a child. I have personal memories attached to that
movie that are more important to me than what makes an objectively good movie.
Every generation seems to have a bad case of “nostalgia glasses,” through which
they perceive that the best few years of their lives were undoubtedly the best
few years the Earth has had in its billions of years of existence. Let’s be honest, would “classic rock” be a genre
if all of our dads hadn’t gotten laid in the 70’s because of Aerosmith?
Probably not. When memories are attached
to a piece of art or entertainment, it becomes something more. It becomes
personal. Nostalgia in this sense is sometimes looked at negatively, but I ask
why? There is a limit to objective quality, and nostalgia allows us to enjoy
things to an extent that would be otherwise impossible.
The two features you noticed were very interesting and I wish I would've seen them myself! I honestly loved the example of The Little Toaster and found your writing to be very entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree! Your writing is really interesting and keeps the reader engaged throughout the entire piece. You have a talent of using conversational tone, being intimate with the reader and making the reader laugh!
ReplyDeleteI also really liked your point on nostalgia. : )
Good job!
Great points about Montaigne's style.
ReplyDeleteI dig your emulation. It's so funny, and so relatable. It's a great balance of being hilarious without losing the value of the message. Great job.
Zane, you've already gotten a short comment in email form, but I'll say again that the things you're noticing about Montaigne are smart. Your noticing, that is. Is Smart. And the things. Is. Are.
ReplyDeleteSmart.
To me, this essay requires more from the commenters, who are being super-nice, and probably made you feel good, but I think they should be driven to respond with their own bits of nostalgia, or their own ideas for where you could go with this. I'm not asking for 15 minutes, but we can't be limited to 15 seconds. This is a chance to go ping-zang-zoom with our firework thoughts.
So, yes, I'm nostalgic for Short Circuit, a film from, I believe, 1985. And when I read essays by students who were, perhaps not born in 1987, or 1994, I get to thinking that my 1994 is their 2005, and so on. We will, of course, valorize certain eras, and that's odd. How much of American culture has sprung from the valorization--perhaps worthy valorization--of the postwar period?
As for ideas for expansion: obviously you'd be able to look at the counterpoint: the idea that nostalgia can be bad. And it can, of course. It can keep us locked-in, keep us grudging, keep us dissatisfied with the present because some soda fountain back in 1957 was just so perfect.
Anyway, good start. Let's push it on the comments, though, and it's not outside of your ability to ask the commenters to answer specific questions or to give you suggestions.
DW