Notes about Montaigne

This is what i gathered while reading the piece...

The first thing is the introduction of what was thought to be the thesis. Then, the history and discovery of new lands is introduced. It begins with the description of Atlantis, and then preludes into Aristotle. There seems to be like a sub plot of the story involving "i" and then the actual history and gathered notes and recollections of the discoveries. Next is the introduction of the second "thesis." Then i found it interesting the description of Art vs. Nature, and visa versa. Then the rest of the story is about the natives, and their ways of life, and eventually adapting to the more advanced cultures, somewhat like today with the underdeveloped countries. Ah! Then it gets into the actual cannibalism of the different cultures. For instance, the killing and roasting of enemies by the Scythians. What really got me was the dogie bags they sent to their friends who were unable to make the cook off. And in the final paragraph, I found a little comical relief in the sentence "they don't wear breeches."

Alright, now my thoughts... well, to be honest this piece was a little "all over the place" for me in a sense that, Montaigne's first couple pages are all about different cultural names, and the discovery of the new lands and laws and such, which to me was both irrelevant (with all of the characterisation and information), as well as, dragged on. I feel as though it could have been summed up in a few paragraphs. I mean, the title is "Of Cannibals," yet it takes almost half of the text to get into the actual cannibalism that is happening. Just the beginning lost some of my interest as a reader. The moment i read "...they roast him and eat him, in common and send some pieces to their absent friends" my attention was grasped! I didn't mind that he discussed the homes, bed, relationship between wife and husband, because it made it seem like this cute little culture off set from the advances of humanity. It reminded me of Pocahontas. I got so settled in and comfortable as a reader that the moment I read roast em and eat em, I was like WOA! hold up! That was defiantly an attention grabber.

I found it interesting the cultural differences of the then and the now. Could you imagine eating a murder or cooking and serving up an arsonist?! Ridiculous. All together i gathered that the main thesis is the one on page one; judge by reason, not popular opinion. I believe this is so, because the discoverers im sure were quick to judge the justification and reasoning behind this horrible act. Yet, there was an open "law" system, in the sense that there really wasn't one, they just knew what is right and what is wrong. One who is a foreigner coming into a new, undiscovered country has to realize the differences between the two.

Alright, dinner time.. YUMMMMMMMMM!