"The Death of the Moth”
In the essay The Death of the Moth, Virginia Woolf illustrates the worldwide struggle between life and death. Her style and the moth’s vulnerability reinforce the idea that when fighting for life, death becomes dominant over one's existence. Her argument using personification was "Death is stronger than I am,”. The author personifies death by comparing it with an individual's overall strength; physically and mentally. When the signs of death arrived, she describes how it is useless to try and avoid it. By using things like imagery, “sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom,” and pathos, “the death of the moth,” throughout the piece, she built up her case. The imagination that the author created for the reader made …show more content…
But at the first indication of death, her style changes immediately with choppy phrases such as "so stiff or so awkward,” (Woolf). Also, she shifts from using authentic, transparent descriptions to using alliteration, anaphora, and sentences disregarding length, further hammering her point across. “Stillness...stood still... insignificant little creature… insignificant little moth,” (Woolf). Also, she repeatedly uses “pity” in her diction to further portray the moth as a victim. Her entire style and sentence structure are transformed by the compelling approach of death, just as the moth's physique changed dramatically as it was dying. As the moth went from being energetic to being pathetic and insignificant her writing did the same to intensify emotions and the feeling of being helpless while dying. Finally, she goes on to describe the death of the moth and writes, “The body relaxed, and instantly grew stiff. The struggle was over,” (Woolf). Her word choice demonstrates that the moth’s death was in its best interest because it put an end to its hardships. She specifies her message primarily through style, provoking the audience to scrutinize the relationship between life and
In the essay The Death of the Moth, Virginia Woolf illustrates the worldwide struggle between life and death. Her style and the moth’s vulnerability reinforce the idea that when fighting for life, death becomes dominant over one's existence. Her argument using personification was "Death is stronger than I am,”. The author personifies death by comparing it with an individual's overall strength; physically and mentally. When the signs of death arrived, she describes how it is useless to try and avoid it. By using things like imagery, “sense of dark autumn nights and ivy-blossom,” and pathos, “the death of the moth,” throughout the piece, she built up her case. The imagination that the author created for the reader made …show more content…
But at the first indication of death, her style changes immediately with choppy phrases such as "so stiff or so awkward,” (Woolf). Also, she shifts from using authentic, transparent descriptions to using alliteration, anaphora, and sentences disregarding length, further hammering her point across. “Stillness...stood still... insignificant little creature… insignificant little moth,” (Woolf). Also, she repeatedly uses “pity” in her diction to further portray the moth as a victim. Her entire style and sentence structure are transformed by the compelling approach of death, just as the moth's physique changed dramatically as it was dying. As the moth went from being energetic to being pathetic and insignificant her writing did the same to intensify emotions and the feeling of being helpless while dying. Finally, she goes on to describe the death of the moth and writes, “The body relaxed, and instantly grew stiff. The struggle was over,” (Woolf). Her word choice demonstrates that the moth’s death was in its best interest because it put an end to its hardships. She specifies her message primarily through style, provoking the audience to scrutinize the relationship between life and