THE DEATH OF THE MOTH Virginia Woolf By Sarah An and Yat Huynh Period 1.
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Transcript of THE DEATH OF THE MOTH Virginia Woolf By Sarah An and Yat Huynh Period 1.
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 PURPOSE 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
Eff ectiveness 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