Virginia Woolf's The Death Of The Moth

While my own version of Virginia Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth” does not have any major revisions, from a comparison of words (only about 6%), it works to highlight the considerable problems in the original essay while simultaneously seeking to stand on its own as a humorous piece of irony. By modifying the creature and what happens to it, the essay overall should be heavily modified, however, the meaning of the story remains unchanged until over half the story has passed. Clearly, then, the essay’s goal remains solely within the final paragraphs, instead of being developed throughout. This is because the essay is written, supposedly, by following causal experiences. However, as my satirical version displays, the goal of the essay was determined …show more content…
With my own piece, “The rooks too were keeping one of their annual festivities; 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; which, after a few moments sank slowly down upon the trees until every twig seemed to have a knot at the end of it. Then, suddenly, the net would be thrown into the air again in a wider circle this time, with the utmost clamour and vociferation, as though to be thrown into the air and settle slowly down upon the tree tops were a tremendously exciting experience,” especially inherents the inflated nature of the piece, but, in this case, ironically for enjoyment. One extremely specific case appears in the needless transitions between speaking voice: “To keep the eyes strictly turned upon the book,” and, “I forgot about him. Then, looking up, my eye was caught by him.” To communicate a first-person experience, one speaks in the first person. Yet, Woolf chooses to alternate between the first person and some universal third-person, who references a specific book as “the book” as if there were a single book in existence that the reader should know to which is being …show more content…
As the major revision was a change from “death” to “sleep”, it is important to show why this transition is justified. Although Woolf admits that the death of the moth could easily be considered inconsequential, she moves to argue and bring light to, “when there was nobody to care or to know, this gigantic effort on the part of an insignificant little moth.” But, while she raises its possible importance, she fails to prove it to the reader. The claim that, “an oncoming doom which could, had it chosen, have submerged an entire city, not merely a city, but masses of human beings,” does not rouse an interest in the death of the moth, as, simply put, the claim is inaccurate to an extreme which prevents it from even being applied as a form of rhetoric. Death does not choose, it is the concept for the conclusion of a set of events. I am, personally, unsure how death could submerge an entire city, without a deadly, unstoppable plague. Therefore, death does not choose and is certainly not responsible. The death of the moth from age is as natural as a young cat falling asleep. It would be ludicrous to claim that, “an oncoming [sleep] which could, had it chosen, have submerged an entire city, not merely a city, but masses of human beings,” is a significant statement, which is the entire basis for Woolf’s