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