Blog #3

The two essays I read have similarities and differences with the previous essays. First, let us begin with the similarities. Both Orwell and Montaigne are both telling the essays from their point of view (1st person). Both allows the reader to dig deeper and investigate how they felt about race and death. They both developed their individual essay and gave us as readers a window into their souls. After reading Orwell, I probed myself to see how I felt about race. And I can identify with Orwell being the minority. Also I looked at my life and where I made a decision solely based on outside pressure. Now with Montaigne, I examined death and how I would handle it. As a reader both authors did their jobs. They made me reflect on my own feelings on race and death.

The differences between Orwell and Montaingne are many but I will just list a few. First Orwell used the elephant and whether or not you precieved it as harmful or harmless was all based on your cultural experience. I thought that was brilliant. Orwell also showed the ugly part of race by sharing his feelings about being a police officer, ill- education, and on his life in Burma. His focal point was the elephant. Orwell's words were more harsh and sharp, and that was very different from the previous essays we read.

Montaingne talked about death. What I liked was that he looked at life through death's eyes. Will you die "patiently and tranquilly" and that is how you judge the man. Not judging the man on his life and accomplishments but on how he dies. Montaingne also dealt with God, because back then religion was very important, and most, if not all, the people could not wait to meet God. This was different from the earlier essays because Montaingne's focal point was death and that was the test of a man not his accomplishments or the way he lived his life.


sue