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THE DEATH OF THE
MOTH
Virginia Woolf
By Sarah An and Yat Huynh
Period 1
VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882-1941)
Her novels experimented with time and narrative.
She is considered a master of the stream-of-consciousness
technique.
She battled mental illnesses throughout her life.
Committed suicide by drowning herself.
SUMMARY
A mid-September morning
Very lively and exciting
Feels pity towards a moth that can’t enjoy his life
Tiny bead of pure life
Struggle
Helplessness
The power of death
PURPOSE
To share to other people her viewpoint of life
Show the relationship between the life and death of a moth to the
life of a human
Emphasize that death is inevitable
HOW THE P U RP OSE IS ACHIEVED
Diction – “pure” “dancing” “him, he, his”
Symbolism – moth represents human being
Tone – sympathetic, helplessness
Narrative – First person, the reader observes the dying moth.
DICTION
Woolf describes the moth’s life as “pure,” this gives off a feeling
of innocence and makes the reader feel caring. The type of care a
person feels towards a child.
The moth was “...was tired by his dancing...” and “He was trying to
resume his dancing...” Woolf chose to describe his struggling as
dancing to give a sense of liveliness.
DICTION
Woolf addresses the moth by “him, he, his” which relates an insect
to a human.
Uses description to convey ideas:
“He was so small, and so simple a form of energy that was rolling
in at the open window” (266)
“He was trying to resume his dancing, but seemed either so stiff
or so awkward that he could only flutter to the bottom of the
window-pane” (267)
SYMBOLISM
The moth’s struggle to live symbolized Woolf ’s struggle in life.
“I stretched out a pencil, meaning to help him to right himself…I
laid the pencil down again” (267)
“One’s sympathies, of course, were all on the side of life.” (267)
Fighting death: “Nothing I knew had any chance against
death…the legs fluttered again. It was superb this last protest, and so
frantic…” (267)
TONE
The tone is very sad and sympathetic.
• “feeling pity for him.”
• “What he could do he did.”
• “The helplessness of his attitude roused me.”
• “It was useless to try to do anything.”
NARRATIVE
Stream-of-consciousness:
• Witness to death
• Uses moth to display her perspectives on death/life.
• Sees death flash before her eyes.
• Reflects her own life because of moth
Effectiveness
Very effective.
Topic that everyone relates to.
Invites readers to sense Woolf ’s pain and feelings.
Creates image in one’s mind about death’s power and moth’s
(human’s) mortality