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ANALYSIS:

First, it must be noted that Woolf is exceptionally skilled at describing the most mundane subject in minute detail, a detail so thorough that the reader can see precisely what Woolf herself sees. "The Death of the Moth" can certainly, at first glance, appear as nothing more than a very keen observation of a small thing, a moth. Upon reflection, however, one sees many possible deeper meanings. First, the most obvious, as Woolf describes this insignificant moth: the reader can't help but look at parallels between Woolf and her struggle as a woman, and her fight for recognition for all women, and this insignificant moth's struggle-otherwise unnoticed but for her accidental note. As Woolf describes the moth and its eventual submission to death, the reader is reminded of Woolf's personal struggle with mental illness, as well as the fact that this was written later in her career, and was not published until 1942. Woolf committed suicide in 1941. The perspective in this essay is interesting: objectively watching the struggle of a moth, "conscious of a queer feeling of pity for him." As a cool observer, Woolf comments on this moth's life, which "appeared a hard fate, and his zest in enjoying his meager opportunities to the full, pathetic." As Woolf continues to report with detached curiosity on the moth and its vain struggle and eventual submission to death, it strikes one that this could even be a contemplation, a preparation, for her own suicide. Woolf's description of the moth in death seems as though it is something she imagined for herself: "The insignificant little creature now knew death. As I looked at the dead moth, this minute wayside triumph of so great a force over so mean an antagonist filled me with wonder. Just as life had been so strange a few minutes before, so death was now as strange. The moth having righted himself now lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed. O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am." Death is a topic that both attracts and repels at the same time. Those who are living are so curious about it -- what is it? How does it feel? What happens next? We all know that death is inevitable. Not long after writing this essay, Woolf weighted her pockets with stones and walked calmly into a river, to her death. This essay in some ways is timeless, depicting all of humanity and its struggles in life, and then inevitable death. The Death of The Moth I wrote this essay concerning my opinion on Virginia Woolf's essay "The Death of the Moth," for advanced English. Any thoughts on it would be gladly received. The Death of the Moth, by Virginia Woolf, is an essay inaccurately addressing the precarious and subtle relationship between life and death. This conclusion can be determined through the concept that her assertion that death is more powerful than life was merely a biased and tunnel-visioned opinion. Woolf, being emotionally and psychologically crippled by depression throughout her lifetime, morbidly expressed her perspective of the world in this piece, written one year prior to her suicide. It commences with her observing the activities of a day moth, struggling to escape from the imprisonment of her room, searching for a route within proximity of the window. She admires the vivacity of the moth and it's ardent desire to survive, yet pities it as an insignificant and ignorant being. "It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zigzagging to show us the true nature of life." [6.] Her reference to

the true nature of life could be interpreted to mean that Woolf now sees the operations of life as being pathetic in it's redundancy and futility. She takes the motions of the moth as a representation of what humans do on a more complex level, as people chase tired and unresolvable dilemmas on part of our own ambivalence and flawed nature. It seems that she correlates the trials of the moth with those of human beings; that the trepidation and obstacles we attempt to vanquish are never truly overcome, for we reside in a chronic trap that inhibits us from release and submerges us in an asininity more intricate but just as limiting. The true tragedy, she claims, is that we never come to fully realize this, prancing about in belief that our efforts have satisfied a teleological or highly relevant purpose, or we have at least done all we can to come closer to attaining these objectives. This trap is not everlasting for the individual, however. It ceases to exist by the force of an omnipotent power: Death. After mentally remarking on the pitiful behavior of the moth, the creature begins to gradually end it's battle for escape, drifting into physical incapacitation. "It flashed upon me he was experiencing difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly." [6.] He repeatedly tried to right himself and all attempts were a miserable failure. She witnessed all animation depart from this tiny organism, knowing that any attempt to aide him now would prove dilatory and useless. The moth eventually did right itself, but upon doing so, it collapsed into the realm of death. "The moth...lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed. O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am." [7.] Her refusal to understand the universality and equality of the cycle of life and death is what makes such a conclusion, however eloquent and thought-provoking, incorrect. One could say that rather one force being stronger than the other, they are simultaneous and complimentary components within the entire span of existence. Although everything dies or is eventually eradicated, there is always a successor, and this constant balance is what perpetuates the subsistence of life itself. A mouse dies in the claws of a cat, the cat lives on to give birth to kittens; a cow consumes a plant, but it's defecation provides the service of fertilizer for remaining plants, and at one point the animal's corpse will nourish the surrounding dirt of the its grave; a person will be killed by a virus that will continue to live on by triumphing over a host, but this supposed destroyer of life minimizes the increase in overpopulation [and with most organisms minimizes overpopulation in general,] and thus promotes healthier population densities and immune systems with better adaptations for defense; even the thorough breakdown of entities in outer space will arrive at a time of merging into a new form of existence, such as when a fragment of the Earth will compose the moon or when the supposed explosion of a condition with such concentration of heat and intensity produced all dust particles that later assumed the shape and structure of everything existing. Woolf failed to perceive that Life and Death are not two isolated variables whose interaction is that of Death being resolute in taking Life, so Life must forfeit and hand itself over to the dominant power; on the contrary, they are two variables whose place are so homogeneously assembled that they do not only endorse each other's roles in existence, they are dependent on one another for survival. Death isn't stronger than Life, nor Life Death; they are an equal partnership, standing interdigitated, sustaining the universe as we know it.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Death is a difficult subject for anyone to speak of, although it is a part of everyday life. In Virginia Woolfs The Death of the Moth, she writes about a moth flying about a windowpane, its world constrained by the boundaries of the wood holding the glass. The moth flew, first from one side, to the other, and then back as the rest of life continued ignorant of its movements. At first indifferent, Woolf was eventually moved to pity the moth. This story shows that life is as strange and familiar as death to us all. I believe this story was well written and will critique the symbolism, characters, and the setting. Woolf uses symbolism in her essay when she speaks of the moth and its journey towards death. Eventually the moth settles on the windowsill and Woolf forgets it until she notices it trying to move again, but this time its movements are slow and awkward. It attempts to fly but fails, and falls back down to the sill, landing on its back, tiny feet clawing at the air as it tries to right itself. Woolf reaches out to help when she realizes that it is dying stating the helplessness of his attitude roused me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly. But, as I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself, it came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death and she was reluctant to interfere with this natural phenomna.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
A surprisingly interesting essay, The Death of the Moth contains a wide variety of rhetorical devices that make it powerful yet simple. Although it is relatively short, the author, Virginia Woolf, is still able to write a lovely, detailed story with a strong, underlying metaphor. One of the most common tropes the author uses is simile. For example: ...until it looked as if a vast net with thousands of black knots in it had been cast up into the air; which, after a few moments sank slowly down upon the trees until every twig seemed to have a knot at the end of it, is a simile Woolf uses to describe a gathering of rooks in the trees outside her window. Also: It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zig-zagging to show us the true nature of life, is a simile used to illustrate the moth and the immense amount of energy it has. Another device Woolf uses is parallelism, which occurs when she writes: That was all he could do, in spite of the size of the downs, the width of the sky, the far-off smoke of houses, and the romantic voice, now and then, of a steamer out at sea. A good example of hyperbole is present when the author describes: One could only watch the extraordinary effort made by those tiny legs against an oncoming doom which could, had it chosen, have submerged an entire city, not merely a city, but masses of human beings... Throughout the essay, personification is used to add even more significance to the event occurring. Life, death, and the moth are personified, and by the addition of human-like characteristics, Woolf is able to represent abstract ideas in a more concrete manner. One example of this device is shown when she writes: Yet the power was there all the same, massed outside indifferent, impersonal, not attending to anything in particular. Somehow it was opposed to the little hay-coloured moth. Of course the forces of nature cannot really be opposed to any certain creature, yet this description helps you become sympathetic towards the moth in its struggle against this seemingly evil force. The moth is also personified throughout the essay, several examples are: Nevertheless, the present specimen...seemed to be content with life, the insignificant little creature now knew death, and O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am.

By using such a simple creature's struggle against death as a metaphor, Woolf creates a beautiful essay on the fragility and impermanence of life. Her simplicity and detail keeps her essay from becoming overcomplicated, overly dramatic, or depressing. It was a surprisingly light and meaningful essay on an event that most people would probably overlook.

Use of Metaphor inThe Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf


The essayThe Deathof the Mothby VirginiaWoolf, is a pieceof literaturethat describesthe physicalstruggle of a dyingmothandalso, an inner strugglethat the writer is experiencingas well. Throughthese strugglesthat eachof the charactersin the storyendures,the audienceseesa connectionthrough bothsubjects.Analyzinganddescribingthis complexessaystructurecanbe doneby evaluatingthe meaningandmetaphorsusedby the authorto portraythe messageof the story, whichwill allowthe audienceto comprehendwhatthe true meaningof the essayis and cometo understandthe lessonof the story. Analyzingthe contentor idea of the essaycan lead into understandingthe structureof the composition.This pieceof literatureis conveyingthe idea of ironybetweenthe writer andthe moth, while alsoillustratinga kindof connectionbetweenthe twocharacters.Thewriter is alonein her study,with the windowopento the world, whichindicatesthat she is observingthe surrounding outsideandthe life that naturehas. Althoughthe writer seems

The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf


"The

Death of the Moth," written by Virginia Woolf, explains the brief life of a moth corresponding with the true nature of life and death. In this essay, Woolf puts the moth in a role that represents life. Woolf makes comparisons of the life outside to the life of the moth. The theme is the mystery of death and the correspondence of the life of the moth with the true nature of life. The images created by Woolf are presented that appeal to the eye. For instance, the moth's body during the death is appealing to the eye. The image makes the reader more interested. The essence of true life is energy. As Woolf describes, "I could fancy that a thread of vital light became visible. He was little or nothing but life" (Woolf 427). The thread of vital light represents the energy. Woolf employs several stylistic devices that make the essay more interesting to the reader. The changing in tone, lengthy sentence structure, and personification are three devices that are significant in the essay. Throughout the essay the tone changes by Wool...

The death of the moth


The Death of the Moth ' by Virginia Woolf Firstly , it is necessary to outline that The Death of the Moth ' by Woolf is rather symbolic and figurative . The author involves many themes and raises questions , though the whole essay is hardly several pages The author describes a struggle of a small creature - moth - who is trying to go through a windowpane . In the beginning of the essay , the author provides her suggestions towards the nature of moths . She says that flying moths are not properly to be called moths they do not excite that pleasant sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom which the commonest yellow underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain never fails to rouse in us . According to her mind , they are hybrid creatures

A small moth was trying to get thought the window-pane and one couldn 't help but watching her efforts as they appeared to be impossible . Moth is insignificant and petty , because he is just a small creature in the world being afforded simply nothing but life . The moth was trying to make her way through the narrow and intricate corridors . After a certain period of constant effort , he decided to settle on the window ledge and to lie in the sun . The author forgot about hum . Nevertheless , later he started his strange dancing trying to flutter to the bottom of the window , though his efforts failed again Finally , after seven attempts to reach the door , moth slipped from the window ledge , fluttered his wings and fell on his back . The author was touched by his helplessness , because a moth couldn 't raise itself any more . Woolf tried to help a moth with stretching out a pencil and she realized that it was approach of death . Despite the fact that moth 's legs agitated once more , in a minute stillness replaced previous animation . Moth 's body was relaxed and suddenly became grey symbolizing that insignificant creature was dead : O yes , he seemed to say , death is stronger than I am Therefore , it is necessary to raise three main critical questions : what is the main theme of the essay ? What did author want to say ? What did the death of the moth symbolize

In the first of these essays, The Death of the Moth, by Virginia Woolf, the author uses concrete and specific language to contrast the vitality of the English countryside with the death of a common moth. In this essay, Woolf sees the death of the moth as an illustration of the universal dominion of death, the instinctive struggle against death, and inevitable capitulation of every living creature to death. The first sentence gives orientating information by naming the author and the title of the essay, indicating the topic, and stating its mode of development, i.e. contrast. The last sentence states what the writer sees as Woolf's main idea. In describing the activities outside her window on a September morning, she says that the earth was pressed flat and gleamed with moisture where it had been turned by a plow (57). Here the language is concrete, appealing to both the senses of sight and of touch. Above, the rooks were soaring round the tree tops until it looked as if a vast net with thousands of black knots in it had been cast up into the air (57). This is a comparison, a simile, and its impact stems from the vigorous language. The birds are soaring and each appears to be a black knot in a net. The scene that emerges is filled with energy and activity. This paragraph gives two examples of concrete language and documents the quotations. Note how the quoted material is integrated with the writer's own words so that the two form complete, grammatical sentences. Click on this link for infomation on integrating quotations into your writing. The last sentence of the paragraph states the significance of the description.

Turning her attention from this panorama of vitality, Woolf focuses her attention on a simple moth. This is a topic sentence that makes a transition from a discussion of Woolf's view beyond the window to her description of the the moth inside. She calls the moth a specimen, a general representative of its type, (note that the words specific and specimen come from the same Latin root) but she describes him with concrete language. The moth with his narrow hay-colored wings, fringed with a tassel of the same colour, seemed content with life (57). The language shows her close observation and presents a detailed picture: The hay-colored wings are both narrow and fringed, creating a visual image and suggesting a tactile sensation with the word fringed. Near death, he slipped from the wooden ledge [of the window pane] and fell, fluttering his wings, on to his back on the window sill (58). The wooden ledge and the window sill are concrete objects, and the actions of the moth that slipped and then fell while fluttering its wings are easily visualized. In the end, The moth having righted himself now lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed (59). The language is concrete and specific serving to contrast the futile struggle and his final capitulation of the moth with the vigorous activity beyond the window, effectively illustrating the idea that death has dominion. The topic sentence is followed by selected quotations about the appearance and actions of the moth. The quotations are integrated into the writer's sentences and are documented. The writer does not just quote examples of concrete and specific language but emphasizes particular words and phrases to show what is important in the quotations. The paragraph ends by relating Woolf's use of concrete language to the illustration of her main idea.
In "The Death of the Moth," Virginia Woolf used the narration of ones personal experience in order to develop the thematic process of creation. She tells of a moth flying from one side of a window pane to the other and back, until the moth lays down on the window sill in the long run. After sometime, she witnesses the moth attempt to move anew but then, it moves sluggishly and awkwardly. A trial at flight frustrates the moth, its descent causing it to fall on its back, until the moth struggles to turn itself right by clawing at the air. Just as the moth is dying, Woolf sees the moth succeed at righting itself and then, it ceases from moving as its death strikes inescapably. Woolfs narration which resembles a conversational speech attempts to present the battle between life and death which, upon closer inspection, is both pathetic and dignifiedpathetic since death will always triumph despite the stubborn desire to live and dignified when death is stared at winkless, like the moth dying nobly on its feet. Sounding existentialist, Woolf tells of a symbolthe moths sacrifice which is a necessity to the consummation of the creative process for artists like her. Her personal narration brings about the working of the imagination and everything this machination springs from: the

human aches and happiness, deepest desires, terrors and anxieties, emotional attachments. As she comments on the moth that lay most decently and uncomplainingly composed, the creative process is completed, the moth being the work of art.[1] There is also pun intended for the use of the verb compose (to mean the end of the moths striving) which may likewise be defined as to create something musical, artistic or literary. This cycle of moths life and death is of course symbolic of the creative process in that Woolf manages to provide survival out of a tragedy. Through her narration, there is suggestion of creativity vibrating into life, the movement of intense concepts arising from an artists consciousness, the abrupt awakening of a mind discovering areas of creation never before explored. Holistically, the moth represents the nonstop strivings of the human brain to inchoate something from confusion: in all likelihood an artists general plight. The moth image is potent enough to assist Woolf into narrating/opening a room on her artistic process. Like "The Death of the Moth," N. Scott Momadays "The Way to Rainy Mountain" also involves narration of the personal experience of the author to show the process of creation, this time of Momadays individual identity inherently tied up to his Kiowa peoples philosophies, remembrances and experiences. The author begins by returning to Rainy Mountain, [a] single knoll [that] rises out of the plain in Oklahoma, north and west of the Wichita Range which belongs to the Kiowas and which is where Creation was begun. His journey back home has for a reason a homage to his late grandmother. The author poetically explored his personal Kiowa world in the latter part of his essay, wherein he told his peoples summer reunions in his grandmothers house, the gossips among women, the frequent prayer meetings, and great nocturnal feasts. He would also regal with stories of playing outside with cousins, of eating, the singing and laughter of people, of laying down with his grandmother as the wind stirred and frogs croaked downriver. In the end, the author heads for the Rainy Mountain to take vigil at his grandmothers grave after a night of communing with the familiar place that is his home. The narratives involved in the two essays use the idea of the talking voice[3] to narrate both authors personal legends. In the process, the theme of creation becomes evident: for Woolf, the process of creation for an artist while for Momaday, the creation of identity. It is noteworthy that while the two essays involved a discussion on death, the aforementioned theme of creation gives the death some sterling quality: the death of the moth fulfills the unsettling flowering of the imagination, while the death of the grandmother is an event that compels the author to return to his Kiowa community and embrace his Kiowa self. Woolf solely used her conversational speech in developing the theme in The Death of the Moth. In contrast, Momaday also uses local storytelling and formal scholastic narration besides the personal narration to create a three-voiced narrative of his construction of Kiowa identity. The first part of The Way to Rainy Mountain has the author narrating the Kiowas mythic history using the colloquial storytellers voice. He told of the time his grandmother was born,

when the Kiowas were living the last great moment of their history. The Kiowas lived undisturbed as a tribe until they were overthrown by a military trackdown. Their legend has it that they entered the world through a hollow log, and the mythical voice of Momadays Kiowa ancestors handed down their centuries-old oral tradition, translated and transcribed until such time the myth is spoken by the narrator. Their legend boasts of kinsmen in the night sky in the embodiment of seven sisters who would comprise the sever stars of the Big Dipper when a tree brought them there to escape their bearmetamorphosed brother. In the middle part of Momadays essay, the narrative voice shift to that of a local historians, when the narrator tells of the extinct rituals the Kiowas performed when his grandmother was still very young. The Kiowa Sun Dance involved decapitating a buffalo upon the medicine tree in the Washita River atop Rainy Mountain Creek. It was a dying tradition because buffalo were nowhere to be found, and the demise of which was accelerated by the dispersing tactic of Fort Sill soldiers. The Kiowas would remember July 20, 1890 as the day their faith was killed at the enormous bend of the Washita River. While Woolf has one dominant existential voice narrating in her essay, Momaday remarkably recreated a journey in a triple narrative style: the colloquial, the formal and the poetic.[4] The interoral narrative[5] by Momaday develops his intensifying Kiowa identity consciousness because of the mythic and historical bind that connects his present-day narration of memories and self-construction. The idea of traveling in his essay manifests the important narrative flow of his personal legend. Woolfs existential narration reveals her deeper self recognized more in her essays such as "In Search of a Room of Ones Own." She seems to tell that the moth has the fervent desire to live, only to meet the ultimatum of death. She saw it flying helplessly until its inevitable life sacrifice. This, Woolf seems, is a perception of life as futile and void, as only a reprieve of something inescapable to everything with life. [6] Even the images of the world outside the windowthe plowed field, the black net-like birds gliding midairspawn an uneasy feeling of gloom. The moth is seen as a creature pointlessly attempting to gain freedom it will never approximate, and decides that the moth is pathetic. More than the existentialism that Woolf seems to regard her life with as the doom of being secluded by life and her impending decline as a writer would overrun her, the narrative in The Death of the Moth seems to comment on the masculine oppression prevailing in her time and even before which renders the struggles of womenthe moths, so to speakstunted. The symbol of the moth batling against death is likened to the feminist movement wherein Woolf is one of the earliest icons. The women attempt to protest the formidable glasswall set by masculine authority. Even as they are victimized by patriarchy through slim opportunities at proving their intellectual capacities, the women try to fly to liberate themselves. There are setbacks as may be symbolized by the failure to spread their wings (their might), by the slow, awkward movement brought about by macho bondage, by the seemingly senseless clawing in the air to be able to right themselves from landing on their spine, but all these become nothing when one

realizes the heightened degree of determination to strive, even to face death in full dignity. Meanwhile, the multigeneric narrative voice in The Way to Rainy Mountain sounds just as pure and determined in its creation of the identity. It may be that the Kiowas golden time has faded away with the assault of a repressive state apparatus that is the military, but the Kiowas preservation of their sanctuary has hardly contaminated the lives of its descendants that include the author. Momadays ability to sustain the Kiowa in him and the construction of his Kiowa identity by virtue of his evocation of personal myth, history and experience may also qualify as a peoples struggle to keep its culture. Outside forces may be too cruel to infiltrate the Kiowas with modernity, marginality and other forms of colonization, but their postcolonial tradition lets them survive with nobility. To the present days, Momaday continues the journey of his peoples striving to remain a legendary Kiowa by being a Kiowa himself. Both The Death of the Moth and The Way to Rainy Mountain were able to show parallelisms of cycle of life and death and evidence of constant struggles but, most importantly, both present the thematic process of creation. The moths death is to the artists crystallized imagination what his grandmothers demise is to Momadays journey to identity-construction.Through Momadays, Woolfs essay has shown how an idea comes alive in an ironic twist of life sacrifice .

Virginia Woolf - Death of the Moth

As she examines the struggle of a moth trying to achieve something impossible by going through a windowpane to reach the outdoors, Virginia Woolf sees the moth in a new light, a light that identifies the moth not as insignificant and in demand of pity, but a small creature of the world, a pure being that was afforded the gift of being nothing but life. The very fact that Woolf chooses a moth as the primary focus of her observation could be random; however, it would appear not to be. Moths are commonly thought of as dull, gray creatures, often despised, always thought of as insignificant. By pointing out the beads of life evident in the lowly moth, Woolf shows the value not of being a moth, but of being intent on a cause, being willing to dance. The gray moth is separated from the colorful world outside the window, but he does not know that he is simply a moth, that he doesnt hold the right to pass through the window. The moth doesnt see himselfthere are no mirrors for him to peer into: the moth could just as easily know he is a butterfly, a beautiful creature who would be welcomed into the outside world. He was nothing but life, and life is not required to take a specific form; life does not give preference to outer beauty. Whether he knows he is a drab gray moth or thinks he is a butterfly vibrant with color, the moth chooses to live his life through a cause, and even though it may show itself to be futile in the end, he has had a cause for living, a passion, and this is ideal for Woolf.

Woolf tells of a queer feeling of pity for the moth, germinating from the helplessness of his attitudeshe originally sees him as an insignificant creature, one whose struggles should not touch her. But the struggle of the moth in his valiant battle against so mean an antagonist (death) opens Woolfs eyes, opens her to the beauty of the moth, and to the beauty of the struggle. The moth, through his dancing, doesnt allow the pane of glass separating him from his ideal world to manipulate his life. He does not lie down and die; instead, he continues to struggle, continues to begin futile attempts to conquer the unseen enemy against which he fought. Woolf admires the sense of purpose in the moth, his simple focus on living in whichever way he can. When she lifts a pencil to help him, she withdraws it, allowing him to live his own struggle, for the beauty of his success would not be the success itself, but that he won his struggle toward success. By helping him revive himself with the tip of her pencil, Woolf would take away the most important part of the moths life. Just as we all are like the moth, struggling to enter our paradises, the window too is symbolic of a broader meaning. Woolf depicts the window as the boundaries we all recognize, those we either place upon ourselves or those which we feel society has placed upon us. The moth, however, knows no society, knows no self-limitation; what is special about the moth to Woolf is that he does not necessarily see the boundaries of the window. He knows there is something blocking his entry into his paradise, but he knows not what. He is willing to fight this cause anyway, willing to keep pressing on towards his goal. The simplicity of his fight, the purity of his strugglethe very nature of the fact he is willing to dance in the face of what is inevitably his deathis what Woolf so admires in the moth. The moth knows he has no control over death (O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am), yet he never gives up his struggle. If he shall die anyway, why not die dancing? In dancing upon the windowsill, dancing in the arms of death, the moth stands up against his formidable foe, and fills Woolf with wonder at his own ability to exert so great a force. The moths purpose is pure, and Woolf admires its simplicity. The moth does not fear death; he fears losing the struggle. This is worse than death for the moth, and the moths ability to overcome the livings fear of death is what draws Woolf to him and causes her not to pity the insignificant moth, but to admire him in his simple existence and courage to dance upon the windowpane that brings his death.

1) WHY DID THE MOTH MAKE SUCH AN IMPACT ON WOOLF?


A "bead of pure life", the moth, which Woolf values so dearly is her simplified symbol of being. She examines this struggling insect and compares it with the night moths at the beginning of the story. She labels this particular brand of day moth with "zest in enjoying his meagre" life. Moths that twist about taking on existence and that are persistent even to the point of death. Throughout narrating her study of the animal she goes about it in a "romantic voice". Woolf is captured by the efforts of the moth and watches as it eagerly moves about in the window. Describing its movements and how it repeats itself over and over again. As quickly as she is captivated by this vein effort, the insect makes a simple mistake and as she describes struggles against death itself. And,

following this battle, Woolf recognizes that "death is stronger" than the moth. Stronger her than life too. This personifies the very resistance for life that mankind goes about every day. Moth's inherit desire to subsist, and move and try to go farther or die trying is the "fluttering" "attitude" of survival. Life will attempt to keep up, and stand again. By contrast, death is "the enemy in which" life "struggles". It fights equally as hard. Woolf, by displaying the quick end of her moth, shows her deepest sympathies. Ending on the grim note of how short lived one's existence could be.

2) The moth may have impacted Woolf because of how its death relates to the rest

of the world. It traveled for a prolonged time across the world which it knew, a lot like how Moses traveled across the desert for 40 years. Both the Moth and Moses had a promiseland of sorts held before them, in plain sight. And both were denied it, dying quickly thereafter. Perhaps Woolf made a biblical connection like this. Or, perhaps, she saw how similar the world was to this moth's life. The outside world was reverent as the moth died, much like we are with a relative on their death bed. But life didn't stop for them, as it doesn't for the late relative's family. We realize that we don't get forever, that someday, we die. This might have dawned on her as she refrained from assisting the moth with a pencil. The moth kept busy, living like a dying spark flying from a fire. But it got nowhere, wasting its time. Perhaps she realized the same was true for the world of incessant work all around her. She put aside her tasks to discover a truth in the moth's struggle; that living is more than just killing time with frivolous acts, such as fluttering across a window, or working the fields season after season. Maybe she saw herself in that moth. The world before her, she too was trapped within that house with life waiting to be lived outside. Maybe she saw in its death a realization that life can't be lived from afar, and that wearing the jewelry is better than looking at it through the display window, so to speak. Perhaps it was all of these, or something else entirely.

3) WHY DOES VIRGINIA WOOLFE USE THE MOTH AND ITS


DEATH AS THE SUBJECT OF HER ESSAY?
Virginia Woolfe valued the life of the moth as evidenced by her tone and the diction she used to describe the moth. Woolfe uses diction like vigorous, garnished, and marvelous when describing the moths outward appearance. Woolfe also portrays the moth as a tiny bead of pure life and as the vessel that the enormous energy of the world has been thrust into. Indeed, Woolfe declares that her sympathy was on the side of life. Woolfe even illustrates the antithesis, death, a mean antagonist with power of such magnitude to further emphasize the moths value as a symbol of lifes struggle against death

4) WHY WOULD WOLFE CHOOSE A MOTH TO CONVEY LIFE IS


DELICATE AND QUICK RATHER THAN ANY OTHER CREATURE?
It is clear Wolfe sees the moths life as valuable because he relates it to every humans life. Wolfe is fascinated with the moths small shape and its capability to have life in such a small creature, to Wolfe, It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zigzagging to show

us the true nature of life. Wolfe describes the moths small gurth to show how intricate life actually is. In Wolfes eyes, the moth is a micromodel of the human life, just in a smaller ratio. The moths life and he himself is smaller in comparison to a human. Wolfe watches as the moth struggles to pick himself back up again but then realizes the moths life is done. Ironically, the moths life ends at midday, and the work in the field had stopped. Just as the life around him had stopped, so did his own life. Wolfe uses this rhetorical device to relate the moth to every other human and the world around us, because just as the moths life had been so strange, his death was now strange too. Wolfe realizes the delicacies in a smaller creatures life and relates it to larger life; life doesnt last forever and it ends quickly. Just like the moths struggles ended and he was soon dead, so does life for every human at the end of the day when the work in the fields stop.

5) EXPLAIN WHY WOOLF JUXTAPOSES THE QUALITIES OF THE


MOTH'S ENERGY THROUGHOUT.
In "The Death of the Moth," Virginia Woolf uses conceits and metaphors to convey the value of the life of the moth. Woolf's comparison of the moth's energy to that of "pure," "enormous energy of the world," leads the reader to believe Woolf envies the energy of small creature. Woolf envies the moth's "pure life" due to her own obligations though she believes there is something "pathetic" about the moth. Woolf sees how "frail" this moth's life is, especially when the "approach of death" came. This approach to death was joined with "stillness and quiet" in the fields rather than the commotion that had been going on before. Commotion is what this moth fed off of for his energy. Without it, the moth's "zest" slowly dwindled away to nothing, until he lay "decently...composed."

6) IN WOOLFS ESSAY SHE DESCRIBES THE MOTHS DEATH AS A


SORT OF TRIUMPH BY SAYING, THIS MINUTE WAYSIDE TRIUMPH OF SO GREAT A FORCE OVER SO MEAN AN ANTAGONIST FILLED ME WITH WONDER. WHY DOES SHE DESCRIBE THE MOTHS DEATH AS IF IT WERE A TRIUMPH OVER SOME UNKNOWN ANTAGONIST?
Virginia Woolf uses a moth as her metaphor because she wants the reader to feel how the moth feels. She wants you to understand that the moths struggles arent just the moths and that they are the same thing people go through all the time. We see doors open in front of us and they turn out to just be mirages and we smack our head on the window. We fall flat on our back wondering how and why this could happen to us.

7) EXPLAIN THE PARALLELISM BETWEEN THE MOTH AND THE


NARRATOR DURING THE PASSAGE AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS TO THE READER.

Virginia Woolf creates the image of this moth's life and the traits of its power by juxtaposing it's significance in the window, in view of the writer. While watching the moth, Woolf uses imagery to convey the moth's life "with a kind of pity" and empathy for the moth as it dances in front of the window. By doing this she presents humanity, the moth, and the window as the small

brief frame of life we have. As Woolf describes the moth with light, whimsical words to express the the moths "dance", it gives the reader the sense of their own life and how short it is in comparison to the world's life, but what an impact it can have. The small moth, although seemingly insignificant expressed so much "zest in enjoying his meagre" life, as we all do in our nature. In this way, Woolf illustrates her element of life and the beauty and wonder it emits.

8) HOW DO HUMANS LEARN THE VALUE OF LIFE?


Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth" describes in its entirety the struggle of humanity against the inescapable hand of death. Woolf looks upon the moth with a sense of pity that its life is coming to an end, and yet he cannot help but envy the moth's relentless attempts to combat an indestructible enemy. Death is a part of life, but no one has told this moth that it cannot fight with every breath in its body. This tiny "bead of pure life" is putting up more of a fight than mammals a million times its size with a heart a thousand times as big. Sometimes life is more precious to those who understand its value more than others. Humans have so many things to worry about that in reality, the value of life is not something they truly get to understand until they are about to die. Animals such as the moth, on the other hand, are concerned only with living and breathing. When you lead such a simple life, life begins to have more meaning. This is in complete contrast to Woolf who watches the moth struggle with a sense of pity and mild respect. Woolf begins to value the meaning of life amid this moth's own struggles in a desperate attempt to live and be free.

9) HOW DOES THE IMAGERY DESCRIBED THROUGHOUT THE


STORY EFFECT THE TONE OF THE SHORT STORY?
Virginia Woolf creates an undeniable parallelism in her story, "The Death of the Moth" between the moth and the narrator. The moth goes through a basic life cycle from being young, scared and inexperienced to transforming into a confident, energetic age, hitting bumps and struggles that must be overcome along the way, finally growing old, weary and tired of life and then eventually dying. Just as the narrator has started out immature and inexperienced and has become an experienced and wise human being. The narrator reflects on these things as it watches the moth dancing around on the window. The narrator pities the moth but can relate to its confusion and learning experiences.

10) WHY DOES WOOLF VIEW THE MOTH'S LIFE WITH PITY BUT
VIEW HIS STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN HIS LIFE WITH RESPECT?

Humans learn the value of life through simplicity. When we take a step back from our hectic lives and reflect on simple joys of life, we can then see the full value in life. When a child is born, the mother realizes that she will stop at nothing to protect the new life she created. Although she has just met this little creature, she understands how fragile life is because she now has the responsibility of two lives. Woolf analyzes the last efforts of survival of a moth. She sees that life is usually undervalued until the final battle with

death. The moth struggles to live because it is a natural instinct. Rarely does one kindly welcome death, but very few ever truly live.

11) WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT IN WOOLF'S CHOICE OF THE TITLE

BEING "THE DEATH OF THE MOTH" INSTEAD OF "THE LIFE OF THE MOTH"?

Humans learn the value after they understand and grasp the concept of death. Virginia Wolf describes the life of the moth as "pathetic". The moth only flutters around the window, watching the excitement of the world pass by. It is not until the moth dies that the narrator realizes that death takes away life no matter how "insignificant" the moth's life was, the moth won't ever get another chance. His time has passed. The narrator now understands how quickly life passes, one moment we are fluttering around enjoying life's excitement, the next we are struggling to stand. Just like humans don't understand the importance of light until we experience the dark, life cannot be understood with out death to enforce its importance. John Steinbeck once said "death is but an intellectual matter";therefore, humans cannot learn the value of life until they learn the value of death, even if it is as "insignificant" as a little moth.

12) HOW DOES THE IMAGERY OF THE MOTH PARALLEL TO


WOLFE'S CONCEPT OF DEATH?
Wolfe's idea towards humanity is that we are all capable of living but cannot simply grasp the abstract thought of death, let alone dying. Our lives are based and surrounded by mundane tasks that leave us comfortable and passive. Yet, we have so many things on our minds through the day. Human life can be known but never understood. Honestly, humans cannot truly learn and cherish the value of life. We are faced with multiple life threatening situations everyday and still continue our daily routines. We lean back in our chairs with knowledge that we may fall. That does not stop us. We stumble on stairs. Yet, we continue to climb. We do not value the live of others enough to truly cherish our own. In a world where we can only value something when it' s threatened to be taken away from us, is not a world where an actual lesson can be learned. That is, if you survive the fall.

13) WHY DOES VIRGINIA WOOLF EMPHASIZE THE MOTH BEING


"INSIGNIFICANT" THROUGHOUT THE PASSAGE?
Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth" is a prime example of the tiniest things humans partake in to deeply think and value our own lives. Woolf describes the way of the moth to be "marvelous as well as pathetic " which is exactly why the moth is so interesting, and in watching it vigorously moving and fluttering starts to view it as more than just an insect "underwing asleep in the shadow of the curtain". The moment Woolf started viewing the moth as so, she developed almost sympathetic feeling and interest in it, and when it began to struggle. Once it was seen as an actual life, Woolf unconsciously begins to see her own life flash before her eyes, or anyone's life in general, and feels like she must help. The ongoing, busy, superficial life around her is temporarily non-existent and the value of life is somewhat understood because she just witnessed a creature living and dancing, and was so fasinated such a tiny insect could make her so intrigued. Then witnessed the

insignificant moth struggle to it's death in only a short time span. Humans must take time to live life slowly at times, and think about their existance, and significance, and some even be lucky enough to experience such things as see a life end in order to really value, and cherish their own lives.

14)WHAT DOES WOOLF SEE AS THE PURPOSE OF MANS


STRUGGLES IN LIFE In "The Death of the Moth", Virginia Woolf compares the life and the struggles of the delicate moth to the realities that all humans must face. Humans are able to learn the value of life by realizing that all creatures are merely "forms of energy" and are all forced to deal with similar struggles. Woolf links all forms of life together by stating that "death is stronger" than any of us and we all face a common fate. Although the moth is a frail and weak creature, when Woolf observes it, she focuses on its unyielding fight for life. Just as the previous "animation" remained when the day became "still and quiet", the impact that one makes on the world lasts forever once the physical body has vanished. Although the moth is a very simple form of life, Woolf can relate to it's struggle to survive.

15) WHAT MADE LIFE SO STRANGE, AND WHY WAS DEATH JUST
AS STRANGE?
The narrator, being the only human in this story, learned that life is a cycle and one day, one hour, one minute, life will cease. The "helplessness" of the moth's ritual of death, was watched with curiosity, and a tiny glimmer of hope. The fact that the moth was forgotten, and "insignificant" was merely a way that life is viewed today. Casualties are viewed as numbers, not people, not human beings, not personalities, simply numbers. The insensitivity of the moth's death correlates directly to the way that humans outside of our personal circles are viewed. If a person is not known to ourselves, then that person dies a number. If a moth has not been discovered by humans as Virginia Woolf shows, they are simply another worthless nuisance that passed from this earth.

16) WHY DOES WOLF FIND SO MUCH INTEREST IN DEATH AND


THE SPEED AT WHICH IT CAN TAKE AWAY LIFE?
Humans learn the value of life simply by seeing the effects of death. This is shown in Virginia Woolf's essay "The Death of a Moth" by examining the author's emotions while watching an "insignificant little creature" face death. The essay explains how Woolf felt wonder after watching a moth struggle for its life before her eyes. By being exposed to this final stand, she seems almost perplexed by the concept of death itself. At the end of the essay, Woolf comments on the strength and peculiarity of death. By truly realizing these attributes, she can compare herself to the moth and come to value life.

17) DOES THE MOTH'S TRIUMPH BEFORE IT DIES SUGGEST THAT

WOOLF STILL HAD SOME HOPE REGARDING BEING ABLE TO GET THROUGH LIFE?

Virginia Woolf describes the moth's death as if it was a triumph over some unknown antagonist because the antagonist is the struggle and pain of living itself, and the fact that the moth is going to die eventually. By dying, the moth is released from its struggle to keep on living, and Woolf uses that extended metaphor for human life, likely because she had a very troubled life herself, and a year after writing "The Death of the Moth", she committed suicide. Like many people who are suicidal, they see death as the ultimate way to avoid their unhappy lives. Whatever or whomever is making their life horrible can no longer torture them if their victim is no longer living. Also, Woolf believes that the moth's struggle should be pitied, saying that the moth's life " appeared a hard fate" and that "his zest in enjoying his meagre opportunities to the full, pathetic". From Woolf's perspective, beings that keep on fighting the fight that is living, should be pitied because their struggle is "pathetic"; they are going to die one day anyway or they could go ahead and succumb to death; they would no longer have to carry on, yet they still keep on fighting, thinking that there is hope. The narrator expresses this view clearly when she decides not to help the moth get up with her pencil. Instead of allowing the moth to struggle further, she probably thinks she is doing the moth a favor by allowing it to die and to let the natural process of death occur. Eventually, the moth does right itself, but alas, it still dies. At least though, the moth reaches its goal of righting itself before it dies, and this implies that the moth's death was not in vain, even if indeed, "death is stronger" than the moth.

18) DO YOU THINK A LESSON COULD HAVE BEEN LEARNED FROM


THIS STORY? IF SO, EXPLAIN THE LESSOn
Virginia Woolf's short story " The Death of the Moth" describes the fight that this moth fought just for the gift of life that many humans take advantage of. Through this short story explaining each minuscule struggle that the moth attempted to make, though small every step and final breath the moth took,emphasized how precious the gift of life is. Unlike the moth in this story, who valued every small step, every breath, and every second he had left in his short lifetime, most humans take life for granted and unless faced with struggles we wouldn't be able to value life. Through struggles, loss, and triumphs we can learn only a small percentage of such a great gift, but we learn to value life more. Life is the most precious gift that we could be given, but until faced with the loss of someone close in our lives or the risk of even loosing our own, it is hard for any human being to imagine the immensity of such a gift.

19) WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND WOOLF'S CONTINUOUS


REFERENCES TO ENERGY?
Humans learn the value of life, through observation, through experience, and through death. All three of these ways are exemplified in Virginia Woolf's "The Death of the Moth". In observation of the moth Woolf is awaken to the

realization that even though the moth "was so small and simple" its struggle for freedom, for life shows "the true nature of life". Proving sometimes the smallest and simplest moments can reveal profound and complex realities; that we are mortals fighting, struggling "vainly" for time. Pushing, ramming against that limitation, that barrier of time. Such observation births sentiments of pity for the moth's "helplessness" moves Woolf from an "indifferent" spectator to an engaged participant. Seeing the "tiny bead of pure life", so insignificant compared to the rest of the world like ourselves, overcome by its weakness caused Woolf to sympathize and have compassion on it. However, though wanting to help, "meaning to help him" she realized the inevitable "approach of death". Through Woolf's experience of the moth's death she sees that life is precious though fleeting and must be spent wisely enjoying life, "dancing", and savoring the "value and desire to keep" life as long as one is living.

20) HOW CAN LIFE NOT BE LOOKED UPON HELPLESSLY KNOWING DEATH IS
INEVITABLE? Virginia Woolfs The Death of the Moth provides a prime example of an account of a tiny bead of pure life. Woolf observes enormous energy in the life of a simple moth. She then speculates on how easy it is to forget all about life; however, it is not until the approach of death that she begins to understand how helpless the moth and life is to death. She herself marvels at life, but does not truly place value upon it until death conquers it. Woolf infers that humans only begin to learn the value of life through the oncoming doom of its loss. This doom is all encompassing and must be accepted as inevitable; however, it is not until doom lurks that humans cherish the barest form of life: unadulterated, simple, and pure.

21) HOW DOES WATCHING THE MOTH CHANGE THE


PROTAGONISTS VIEWS ON HIS SURROUNDINGS?
Virginia Woolf gives evidence to how short and sweet life can be in the simple form of a moth. The moth flutters around the window panes with "zest" and "enormous energy" even though it might not be completely aware of it but all its attempts are in vain. The protagonist though the whole thing sees the moth fail at trying to escape the confides of the home but simply sits back and watches the moth continue to struggle with the simple task. I believe that Woolf made the moth (which represented life) purposefully weaker and smaller than the protagonist because life should be full of a "vital life" while, the protagonist is clearly the personification of death and while he could have helped the moth to escape or even help it up he knew that death was inevitable. As a personification of death he saw the "zeal" and "light" that the moth seemed to be filled with and watching that changed his entire spectrum on everything else around him.

22) EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS SO SMALL, WHAT DOES THE MOTH


SHARE WITH US HUMANS?
Humans can search deep into the meaning and value of life just by simply observing a moth "fluttering" across a windowpane. The moth, yet so minute in appearance shares the same common desire to have

meaning in this world as any other being. "The same energy" for life that drives every species on this earth is present in a body as tiny as a fingernail. The moth is full of life,just a "tiny bead" that has the heart of a stallion, a heart that perseveres. Whether it be a horse plowing a field or a man struggling to have his name remembered in this world we all can learn to keep our "wings fluttering" by observing the amount of determination a moth shows just to stay aflight. Although so tiny, the moth has it's own purpose in this world. Perhaps they exist just to be an example to us that even when we seem to be lost in our lives just as the moth repeatedly crashes into the same "windowpane," we should never stop pursuing to acheive. All the sudden, just as the moth's wings cease to flutter we will all come to an end on this earth and the "struggle" will be over. So let us dream and desire no matter what the cause, even if it is just to fly in freedom. Let us hold on to the "bead of pure life" that we all share because in the end "death is stronger" than our bodies but not our spirits.

23) WHY DID VIRGINIA WOLF PUT THE PENCIL BACK DOWN?
Humans learn the value of life by, going through obstacles. If humans were to never have any struggles in life, we would not appreciate what is given to us. Humans must learn to appreciate the little things to help us overcome the real challenge which is life itself. The moths challenge was to go through the window. The moth tried as hard has it could, flying from one corner to another. If the moth would of just accepted the fact that there was no way to get inside, the he would have had an appreciation for the window and the obstacle it presented.

24) WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR LEARN FROM THE MOTH AND THE WAY IT
ACCEPTED ITS DEATH? The moth shares the ability to enjoy life to its fullest like some humans, mainly children, are capable of doing. The moth almost acts as childish figure, the way it enjoys the short time the moth has by "dancing and zig-zagging" about the room acting like a child running around for no apparent reason. The moth just lives life, no complications, the way a child might. Unfortunately though adults relate less to the moth, adults stress about obstacles that overcome their lives, while children (and the month) just simply go with the flow. The month finds the stress of flying through the closed window, but it seems unfazed, and adjusts to his new discovery.

25) WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMOUNT OF ACTIVITY


OUTSIDE?
As soon as Virginia realized the moth's struggle was "the approach of death" she laid her pencil down. She knew that death is not something anyone can

control no matter how "pure" a life they lead and that no one has any control over the "struggle" of death. Death overcomes everything that is living even a "bead of life". We are helpess to the inevitability of it. But just like the moth we try to struggle with it. This struggle with death is extremely personal and can not be dealt with by another form of life. Virginia realized the moth struggle was its own and that is why she put down the pencil.

26) IN YOUR OPINION WHY WOULD VIRGINIA WOOLF USE A MOTH

INSTEAD OF ANYTHING ELSE TO SYMBOLIZE US AND DEATH?

The actual paper it's self was an examination of life and inevitable death. Woolf seems to be suprised that something so small and insignificant can possess life. Yet, as the moth lay there isolated and dieing, it continues to struggle to evade death. Woolf begins to see a connection between the moth and humans. That as much as we try to avoid or delay death that it will eventually going to get us. So that little insignificant moth and us share a bond more powerful then most of us fail to realize.

27) WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMPARING THE STILLED MOVEMENTS


OF THE ANIMALS OUTSIDE AND THE FRANTIC MOVEMENTS OF THE MOTH INSIDE? Though Virginia Woolf had picked up the pencil in an attempt to assist the moth in getting off its back, as she watched his struggle, she realized what was going to happen. Placing the pencil down is a display of how people are aware of death, and the acceptance of it; Animals do not truly have a concept of death as they live, and dont allow it to prevent them from living life, much like children. They are driven by one instinct after another, the urge to complete that goal running higher than anything else. At first, the moth had been completely determined to get through the window. It fluttered from one corner to another, rested, then continued its dance, seeking a way out. Even as Woolf realized and accepted the moths inevitable end, as it fell on its back, the moth was then filled with the desire to get off its back. The weakened position of having ones belly exposed it something most creatures do not enjoy, and even as the moths life slipped away, it refused to stop attempting to right itself. However, the moth, after managing to achieve its goal, it realized what its fate was to be- the insignificant bug responded with a uncomplainingly composted posture as it faced death.

28) WHY DOES WOOLF FEEL A SENSE OF AWE WHEN OBSERVING THE MOTH?
WHY DOES SHE REFER TO IT AS A "PURE BEAD" OF LIFE? Woolf first raises the pencil because she pities the moths struggle, the helplessness of his attitude. But when she realizes that death is gripping him, she knows that her efforts will be futile. She expects the moth to die that way, turned upside down with his legs struggl[ing] vainly. She figures it [is] useless to do anything. She is taken by surprise when the moth rights himself after all, and she calls this his last protest. If she had helped the moth onto its feet, it would not have triumph[ed] and died with dignity. The dead moth rests in a composed manner rather than awkwardly and pitifully upside down. The fact that the moth achieved this peace on its own is what makes it so significant to Woolf and to the story.

29) WHY IS VIRGINIA WOLF SO MESMERIZED BY THE TRIALS OF THE MOTH?


The little moth showed obvious signs of death as it attempted to get off it's back. The longer it tried to right itself the more apparent, to the moth and Virgina Wolf, that it's efforts were futile. However it did not give in but continued it's struggles until it completed it's task and got onto it's feet. This little moth didn't give up in the face of inevitable destruction, but instead accepted the reality of death and sought to live out the rest of it's life to it's full capacity. Witnessing "this minute wayside triumph" of the moth, filled Virginia Wolf with "wonder" and encouraged her accept the reality of death and use it to spur herself on to do all that is possible in life. Death is strong, but not strong enough to limit life.

30) WHAT DOES THE THE MOTH'S FIGHT REPRESSENT?


In 'The Death of the Moth" Virginia Woolf states that the moth had "given up" and said to itself "death is stronger than I am", the moth that was once dancing on the window pane is now lying on its back, shriveled, cold, and motionless. No matter the efforts the moth gave, death was uncooperative with its "dancing" and stood firm on the decision to eliminate the moth. Woolf learns that the no matter how hard the moth twitched its legs, there was no escape from the overwhelming death that was suffocating him. When the twithching stopped, this was the moth's white flag, his surrender to death, but unlike a bloody war, it was more of a peace treaty, a peaceful acceptance. The moth knew that his death was inescapable, much like that of the human generation. Death is inevitable, no one human can nor will escape death, but this should not handicap our lives, just like the moth's life. Like the moth's life, the human should not look toward the future into death, yet make life a "dance. So that when our time is up, we are in no way regretful of anytime spent, yet ready to accept death in all of it has to offer. Woolf states that the moth had given " gigantic efforts" and that these efforts "moved" her, especially when the moth relaxed its perfectly crafted down and feathers, and tiny, exhausted legs. This acceptance was due to the fact that the moth had no more fight, and no urge to keep fighting.

31) WHY DO YOU THINK VIRGINIA WOLF WAS SO MESMERIZED BY THE MOTH
"DANCING" IN THE SUN? The author learned the acceptance of struggle and defeat from the timely death of the moth. The moth vigorously tried to lift off multiple times, yet failed to do so each and every attempt. It had the lively energy and will to keep going until the end, but that got drained quickly. It is almost as the moth knew it was going to die, yet made every possible attempt to flap its wings. It lacked acceptance. Blocked by complications, the moth is worn out and finally stops for its final seconds of its life. The death of the moth signified an importance of the ability to keep pushing until the very end, no matter the outcome, no matter the character, no matter the nature.

32) HOW DOES THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MOTH RELATE TO VIRGINIA

WOOLFS OWN FEELINGS TOWARD THE VALUE OF LIFE AND DEATH?

Virginia Woolfs The Death of a Moth wraps the motif about the undeniable strength of willpower and the inevitability of physical death into a single frail and diminutive moth. The moth, although beaten down and tired, tries vigorously to fly once more, stirring pity within Woolfs heart. Woolf does not understand why the moth, who approaches evident death, would desire and constantly try to resume its dance, its chance at life, instead of accepting its demise. Her thoughts on the moths attempts underlie her own true emotions toward death; she believes that since death is stronger than any tangible force or manmade creation it would be senseless to fight against such overwhelming power. She states the moths efforts as if they were a waste of time, even calling them pathetic. However the moth, unlike what Woolf may have done, doesnt let its last moments of breath go to waste at all, fighting to stay alive no matter how pointless its efforts would result in. Woolf had already given up on the moth seeing as its struggles would end soon regardless. To her surprise, the moths willpower refuses to succumb to death so long as it still had a chance to live. Yet the vibrant bead of life became stiff and composed, unable to enjoy anything any longer and settled into a perpetual state of rest. Woolfs pity then turns to sympathy because the sight of the energetic moth has turned into stone. The sudden drastic change of the zealous moth into a lifeless creature shows the great extinguishing effect death has on life: with death there are no second chances, once youre gone there is no coming back. She then learns that even though death is unavoidable, that though life itself is a constant challenge of ups and downs, life is too sweet and temporary to easily give up on. Woolf sees that even before death the moth must right itself so that it may rest in peace uncomplainingly, the moth had done all it could. The moth may have been physically defeated but its willpower proved to be victorious. Woolf understands the moth was not fighting death out of fear but out of the joy and pleasures of being alive so that when it finally died it laid silently composed. Accepting its fate, indeed the moth knew it was not stronger than death but had the pleasures of dancing one final time.

33) HOW IS WOOLF ELABORATING SO IN DEPTH ON HOW THE MOTH

STRUGGLES TO ESCAPE. AID THE READER IN FEELING PITY FOR THE MOTH AND THE HELPLESSNESS OF LIFE?

Virginia Woolf goes into detailed descriptions using diction and imagery to show that when looked upon closely, life is extremely delicate. By watching the moth struggle to free itself from the confinement of the window, Woolf learns how pathetic life actually is, that no matter our futlie efforts, there is an end. Life is helpless. Death is inevitable. Woolf emphasizes the quick death of the moth by only using two brief sentence to allow us to capture the image of it becoming "relaxed" and growing "stiff", while the rest of her passage is dedicated to describing its energy-fiiled and full life. An image that can relate to this passage is the ouroboros; by Woolf imagining the moth saying,"death is stronger than I am", she too learns to accept the circle of life.

34) HOW DOES WOOLF JUXTAPOSE THE LIFE OF THE MOTH AND THE DEATH
OF THE MOTH?

The moth made a huge impact on Virginia Woolf because she realized how simple and inevitable death really is. Prior to the moths death, Woolf had imagined death to be a sad, gloomy event. However, when she witnesses the demise of the moth, the day is sunny and upbeat, even claiming that the moth was content. When the moth died, the rest of the world goes on living, showing the insignificance of the moth. Woolf recognizes this is the same for all living things; when one dies, it means nothing to the rest of the world. This revelation brings her to respect death, and its superiority over her. She realizes when ones time is up, it is better to embrace death, rather than fight it, for death will always win.

35) WHAT DOES THE MOTH TRULY SIGNIFY?


Virginia Woolf understands, however "frail" and "diminutive" moths that fly by day may be, they are "content with life", marvelous to not only Woolf, but other human beings. This moths zest in employing his paltry opportunities allows for Woolf to see the world from a different angle, one where the approach of death allows her to embrace and cherish life. It seems too easy to forget all about life unless one is on the brink of death; only then, can one take pleasure in the simplicities: life, freedom, happiness, such as this insignificant little creature had done. As Woolf focuses on the so simple form of energy, the tiny bead of pure life, the pathetic and pitiful creature that awaits a tragic fate, she comes to the realization that the moth had truly lived, if only for a day, and he was complacent with the idea of death, after persevering to the very last flutter. The moth had decently and uncomplainingly accepted that death is stronger, a concept that some humans have yet to discover.

36) WHY CAN VIRGINIA WOOLF NOT HELP BUT FEEL PITY FOR THE MOTH.
WHAT MAKES THE MOTH PITIFUL? In witnessing the moth's last fleeting moments, Woolf experiences a profound revelation, a revelation that reminds Woolf of humanity's fragility in the face of death, and how it is not only futile to fight death, it is in fact beneficiary for us to accept death when death is due. In the "Death of the Moth", Woolf details the slow process of the dying Moth. In the beginning, the Moth was "stiff" and "dancing" awkwardly, after having rested for a moment in the sun, trying with all his might to break free of death's grasp. Here, the moth stands for the tragedy of man's will to live. For one moment we are dancing in the sun, and in the next we are withering in its light, fighting death at every corner, only to realize that it will end in failure. Only one truth seems to hold true. Life is futile. And by observing the flailing moth, Woolf begins to realize that our grandiose image of dying, where we are at the center of the world, being watched, mourned and revered, and where the earth stands still to pay tribute to yet another brave soul embarking on an adventure into the glorious life beyond, is that our view of death is wrong. Outside, the world is "indifferent", "impersonal", and not willing to "[attend] to anything". Our quest for life over death is not met with triumphant cheers, but with a cold shoulder. Yet we keep on fighting, and for one last brief moment, we raise ourselves up, believing ourselves conquerors, and escaping the clutches of doom and despair. But alas, in that brief moment, the sheer futility of life is revealed in all its glory. Woolf watches the moth being crushed under the weight of death's strength, accepting its inevitability. In a last act of sheer will, the moth gives itself up to death, and in the process, ironically ends up

"righted" and most "decently and uncomplainingly composed". Indeed, Woolf reaches a epitome with this final observation of the dying moth. In accepting death and ceasing to struggle, life is no longer futile, but is instead fulfilled.

37) WHY DOES THE AUTHOR CHOOSES THE TONE SHE CHOSE AND HOW DOES
IT AFFECT THE PASSAGE? All creatures, and all things that experience the wonders of life, are greeted by a final breath, where our bodies finally give in to eternal peace and our souls are purified by innocence. Humans, who believe that they dominate this world, take life for granted, unless stricken with the fear of having seen death through trembling eyes. They also carry on as if each day is a given right instead of a given gift. As the author watches the moth's slow struggle to death, he reflects upon his own life and realizes that death is stronger than I am. Even the invincible man is weaker than the destiny waiting for us all; Death. We can fight through pain, deny the truth, and search for the fountain that promises forever young as long as we live, but death is not something that can be conquered. There comes a time in every living creature's life, where one must listen to the fateful truth and humble our egos as we confess that death will triumph, as we take our final breath in this world and take our first step into eternity.

38)

WHAT LESSONS DOES THE MOTH TEACH THE READER ABOUT LIFE?

Virginia wolf watches this moth as it is struggling to try and get through the window "flying from one corner to another" and there is no way through. Wolf watches as the moth embraces death and even though the moth is starring death in the face it is still enjoying the limited time it has Left by "dancing and zig-zagging" around the room. The moth shows Wolf courage, strength, and determination by fighting death in its last moments and trying to survive. Although the moth is small it has a large impact on the Authors view on life as she sees the "tiny bead" full of life "fluttering" around and attempting to conquer the obstacles of life just like humans. Wolf observes the moths extreme determination to overcome its obstacles like most humans attempt to do but unlike many humans when the moth failed he still showed the same determination that it did the first time and keep on trying until that obstacle becomes the death of it. The moth shows how a tiny creature can still take on giant obstacles and never quitting. The moth shows her that giving up is not the answer to any problems and that even in the face of death you should continue to fight.

39)

WHY DO WE STRUGGLE TO KEEP OURSELVES ALIVE JUST AS THE MOTH DOES, EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW DEATH IS SOMETHING INEVITABLE?

Virginia Woolf learns how both humans and moths share the same struggle ... to survive. Whether an intelligent human or an insignificant moth, we both fight against death but share the fact that death is inevitable. She compares death to life as well, saying how "just as life had been strange a few minutes before, so death was now as strange" meaning no matter which situation we are in , life or death, they both are similar in the way that their purpose is a mystery. So in saying that, by the moth accepting it's death, both the moth and Virginia are able

to understand that neither life or death have a true and obvious purpose for living creatures, and that this natural occurence is something to be accepted because even then, our struggle may be just as insignificant as the moth's struggle to inevitable death.

40)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WOOLFS ATTITUDE TOWARD DEATH?

Virginia Woolf shows how human learn the values of life by comparing us to the moth. It is inaccurately addressing the precarious and subtle relationship between life and death. The life of a moth is a model for human life, describing the short life of a day moth represents the commentary on humans life. Every human in this world no matter if youre the most powerful, riches, strongest; can escape death. Woolf puts the moth in a role that represents life so that we can compare the two. A "bead of pure life", shows us how life can be pure yet how hard it is to get through. We learn that how we struggle through work in the fields, the moth has struggled at the end where She now lay most decently and uncomplainingly. At the end, The struggle was over. Every life has and end and a beginning. As Woolf describes, the thread of vital light became visible, She is relating that to energy in the real world.

41)

WHAT PRIMARY EMOTION IS CONVEYED THROUGH WOOLF'S INTERPRITATION OF THE MOTH'S DEATH?

The reason why the moth left such a profound effect on Woolf can be analyzed through several examples of the document, as well as the key points of the document. The moth, throughout Woolf's narrative, became slowly more significant in Woolf's eyes. At first described as "pathetic," and "simple," in life, the moth's encounter with death slowly revealed the basis of Wolfe's psyche regarding death, metaphorically analyzing the human attitude towards death as well. As the moth epically struggles against death, emotions of sympathy in Woolf are roused. Because the moth struggled so voraciously against it's death, Woolf deemed it worthy of the quintessential law, that "nothing [has] any chance in death." And in death, to Woolf, the moth appears "decent," and "composed."

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