Death: The Only Guarantee in Life

In the personal essay “The Death of a Moth”, Virginia Woolf compares the brief life of a moth to the nature of life and death. Through the narrator’s experience of watching a moth slowly die in her window sill, she illustrates that death is inevitable and simply a part of life. Woolf is able to make this claim to the reader through an array of techniques. Her language and sentence structure varies greatly throughout the essay as her style and tone at the beginning give the reader a sense of life, happiness, and free will. Towards the end of the essay she shifts these elements in unison with the context in order to hint the moths oncoming death. She is able to symbolize the moth as a representation of life and death through her use of pronouns and word choice when describing the moth. Overall, though Woolf’s constantly changing language and sentence structure, along with her relationship development between the reader and the moth, she exemplifies to the reader that death is a part of life and that nothing in life should be taken for granted.

To begin the essay, Virginia Woolf takes the reader into her world in order to set a the mood of life. She writes about the setting in a very descriptive way and uses extremely specific language. In the first paragraph when describing the day,  she writes, “It was a pleasant morning, mid–September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than that of the summer months”(1). Her long, vivid, smooth flowing sentences that make up the beginning of the essay give the reader a sense of life and positivity. By doing this she introduces the first part of her theme. She puts the audience in a positive mood, making them feel the like life is endless. The theme of death is nowhere to be scene. She gives examples of different types of life multiple times at the beginning of the essay. When describing the flock of birds outside the window, she says, “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”(1). Again she uses an extremely long and animated sentence to portray the setting. Her example here of the birds completely changing the scene of the tree is Woolf’s way of demonstrating the power of life. Though the beginning of the essay it is clear to see the mood the author is trying to set, however this mood does not stay constant throughout the remainder of the essay.

As the story progresses, the full scope of Woolf’s theme becomes more and more evident as she shifts her language and sentence structure to reflect the idea of death. In the story the moth is stuck inside the narrators windowsill. It is trapped and the narrator decides to sit there and watch its actions very closely. Her way of subtly shifting the mood of the story from life to death is done through her use of sentence structure and word choice. As the moth is nearing death, she writes, “Stillness and quiet had replaced the previous animation”(1). Her transformation of diction and her direct statement that pervious animation is now gone, clearly shows the shift in balance between life and death. Along with this shift in diction, Woolf’s long, fluid sentences from the beginning that resembled life and freedom, now transition into far more choppy and simple sentences that hint towards the oncoming death. She continues this change when she first introduces the the moth. She writes, “One could not help watching him. One was, indeed, conscious of a queer feeling of pity for him.”(1). Along with the choppiness of the sentences, Woolf continues to bring the reader in with her language. She indirectly tells the reader exactly how to feel with her description of the scene by implying that one should feel “pity” for the moth. Overall, her transition of diction and sentence structure from the beginning to the end is what ties together the theme of the inevitability of life and death.

The last aspect of Woolf’s essay that contributes to the theme of life and death is the relationship that she builds between the reader, and the moth. To begin, her use of pronouns immediately establishes sympathy between the reader and the moth. The entire time she refers to the moth as a male, usinging pronouns such “he”, “him”, and “his”. Although the narrator would have no way of determining if the moth was male or female, instead of referring to the moth as “it”, she identifies the moth as male in order to create compassion within reader. Her overall description of the moth, as weak and desperate emphasises that its abilities are limited leading the reader to infer that the death is approaching quickly and inevitably. Along with this growing personal relationship with the moth, the author uses the moth as a symbol of life and death. She states, “He was little or nothing but life. Yet, because he was so small, and so simple a form of energy…there was something marvellous as well as pathetic about him”(1). Again Woolf ties the moth back to the theme of life, however in this instance she describes the moth’s life as pathetic. This extreme contrast from the beginning of the essay brings her theme full circle. In the final sentence of the essay, Woolf concludes with a statement that remind the reader that death is inevitable and there is no way of avoiding it. She closes with, “O yes, he seemed to say, death is stronger than I am”(1). She evokes emotion into this final statement by being sure to word it in a way that alludes to the moth itself is admitting defeat, further cementing her argument. Woolf’s decision to use a moth as the subject of this story helps reveal the silver lining in her theme. By using an animal that has so little talent and so little impact on the world, she compels the reader realize that as a human being, they are extremely fortunate for the life they have. She writes, “the thought of all that life might have been had he been born in any other shape cause one to view his simple activity with a kind of pity”(1). Through this hypothetical statement Woolf remind the reader how lucky they are to be a sophisticated being. She again offers them to have pity for the simple creature, as it was never able to experience the things that other beings get to.

All in all, Virginia Woolf argues all humans should be grateful for the life they have. Through the use of the moth she gives the audience a harsh, yet eye opening reminder that death is inevitable and that it is important to make the most out of life. From the beginning through the end Woolf’s variation of language and sentence structure is what truly draws the reader in and swings their mood in the exact direction she want it to. Through the example of the hopeless moth, she is able to create sympathy in the reader and genuinely communicate that death is inescapable and life should never be taken for granted.

In George Orwell’s short story, “Shooting an Elephant”, he uses vivid imagery and complex role dynamics to tell about his personal struggle when he was pressured into shooting a live elephant. As a sub-divisional police officer in the in the British colony of Moulmein, he expresses the difficulty of earning the respect of the townspeople. He truly describes this divide right off the bat with his opening sentence. He begins, “In Moulmein, in Lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people—the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me” (53). Right away by using strong negatively connotated language such as “hate”, he embeds in the reader the true role that he plays in this community and in this story. By eluding that the hate comes from his important status, creates curiosity among the reader to wonder why he lacks this respect. He later writes, “There were several thousands of them in  the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans” (53). His unique language choice here with the word “jeer” puts a very specific imagine into the reader mind. Using a less common word like this presents the idea that this was a very uncommon situation that he was dealing with in Moulmein.

Towards the latter portion of the story, Orwell uses an analogy to describe the isolation and pressure he felt when trying to decide whether or not to shoot the elephant. He states, “They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching” (55). Referring to himself and his rifle as magical shows the true isolation he was going through. With this comparison he is telling the reader that to the locals, he was just an act of entertainment. Although there is no magic going on, through this analogy he clearly portrays the pressure that he was feeling to give the people what they wanted.

In Eula Biss’ short story “On The Coast”, her visual language and character descriptions help set the scene for the reader, as well as introduces the theme of freedom. Biss creates a juxtaposition in this story in regards to the balance of freedom in our world. At the beginning she talks about how she is with complete strangers, and illustrates a sense of freedom when she says “this beach is a kind of no-man’s land” (52). When thinking about no-man’s land the image that come to mind is that rural, uninhabited land. Whereas in this example the no-man’s land is dropped right next to busy city blocks. As she continues on and explains that the beach they are on is not no-man’s land at all. She states how the land they are on is forbidden to the public due to the cemetery, and that the beach just a few blocks north is owned by the city of Evanston and cost seven dollars to visit. The lake itself represents the struggle for freedom as it is a natural wonder that has been taken ownership of.

In regards to the characters, Biss continues the theme of freedom through description of the Polish man named Andre. She tells how he left his home country in search of opportunity, yet now “he isn’t entirely sure that he didn’t make a mistake” (52). Her use of double negatives in this sentence furthers the tone of negative energy and lack of freedom. At the very end of the story Biss shifts her portrayal of Andre when she refers to him as “the immigrant, the pioneer” (52). Her reference to Andre as a pioneer goes hand in hand with her previous analogy to Lake Michigan as “an endless prairie of water” (52). Yet instead of the pioneer being able to explore and venture about the prairie, he is stuck having to abide by the laws of authority.

In the short excerpt, “In The Imagination”, Eula Biss uses multiple perspectives to examine different sides racial inequality. In the first half of the piece she focuses on her cousin’s experience as a white person in South Africa. Biss quotes her cousin when she says, “‘I realized this is what white people do to each other—they cultivate each other’s fear. It’s very violent’” (43). By implementing an outside quote like this that uses short simple language, the author is able to be clear with their point. This being that white people create their own fear among themselves when it comes to racial inequality. Throughout this paragraph the author writes about her cousin’s perspective. Constantly saying “her” and “she”, establishing one clear side of the issue. In the next paragraph, Biss switches voice to talk about her own life and the things that her and her husband notice. Here she repeatedly uses the word “we”. This furthering the relationship between the audience and the author. By stating thoughts such as “We know that white folks have reaped some ill-gotten gains in this country. And so, privately, quietly, as a result of our own complicated guilt, we believe that we deserve to be hated, to be hurt, and to be killed” (43) Biss engages the audience and makes them feel apart of the problem. When someone feels like they are affected by an issue, it naturally makes them want to create change.

This method of using different sides of the issue brings the reader into the text and makes the audience realize that feeling a certain way based on your race is all about perspective. Biss shows how in South Africa a person that identifies as white may feel unsafe. Whereas in the United States, white people feel guilty about the privilege they recieve. The common aspect being, all of this is based on one’s surrounding and upbringing.  

In “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, Sherman Alexie argues that books and knowledge are a key part of bettering your life, and moving up in the world. Growing up on an Indian reservation where reading and writing was not highly valued, Alexie realized early on the importance of books and their ability to propel him towards a better life. He writes, “Indian children, we were expected to fail in the non-Indian world” (Alexie 28). Realizing this at young age Alexie knew he wanted to break this social norm. Going to school with non-Indian kids and teachers, Alexie’s value of books was far greater than others as he was not supposed to be one of the smart students. His ambition to make the most out of his intelligence is shown when he says “They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers…we were Indian children who were expected to be stupid” (Alexie 27). From this it is obvious that Alexie incorporated a new meaning to this passage. While his argument is centralized around the idea that books bring knowledge and opportunity, the hidden meaning within the passage is conveyed here. He explains the fact that it is important to take risks and pursue what you believe in, even if there are people trying to stop you. By being a minority student who not much is expected of, he easily could have not tried in school, but instead he recognized his talent and went against the grain to chase it. Later on in the passage he comes full circle as he talks about his present day life as an author and how he now visits kids on reservations to teach them about poetry, short stories, and novels. He concludes the passage by stating “‘Books,’ I say to them. ‘Books.’ I say. I throw my weight against their locked doors. The door holds. I am smart. I am arrogant. I am lucky. I am trying to save our lives.” By ending the passage with this he ties back to his original argument about the power of books. However, this time he is not just stating that he knows about the power of books, but is now passing his knowledge down to the next generation.

In this short story, “Goodbye to All That”, Joan Didion portrays her battle with loneliness and uncertainty while living in New York, through her use of descriptive imagery, negatively connotated word choice, and symbolism. Throughout the entire piece Didion explains the eight years she spent in New York, including the struggles, and the sense of optimism she began with. On the first page she writes, “I cannot lay my finger upon the moment it ended…the heroine is no longer as optimistic as she once was” (57). Right from the beginning she sets the mood of optimism through the symbolism of the word “heroine”. Looking at the different meanings of the word, the reader is able to take a much deeper look into the struggle that she faced while in New York. In the context of this sentence she refers to her former self a heroine who was young and excited to take on the world. However, it is not until reading the rest of the passage that the reader can understand the symbolism of the word heroine as it relates to the other meaning of the word. To Didion, New York was like a drug. When she first began it made her feel euphoric, but as time went on the effects started to wear on her just as a drug such as heroine would.

Didion continues to explain her struggles when she compares life in New York to life at a fair. She says, “it is distinctly possible to stay too long at the fair…Everything that was said to me I seemed to have heard before, and I could no longer listen” (60-61). For her this was a when she shifts over to explaining her downfall. She does this by putting a image into the readers head. While not everyone can picture exactly what the struggle was like for her, everyone has battled with their own struggles and can relate when Didion uses such strong imagery. She continues with her heavy language choices when she says, “I had never before understood what ‘despair’ meant, and I am not sure that I understand now, but I understood that year” (61). Diving deep into the meaning of despair at the end of her piece leaves the reader with a feeling of uneasiness. The same type of uneasiness that forced Didion to finally move out of New York and start her new life in Los Angeles.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton