The Death of the Moth

The Death of the Moth The Death of the Moth is the kind of essay that makes you step back and look at your life. It makes you reevaluate yourself. I find this essay quite intriguing; it goes from observing the moth to speculating the significance of the moth. The beginning is just an observation of the moth. The color, the wings, the size are all taken into account. Just like your everyday routine; when you look at your routine, that’s what it looks like, a routine. You go about your day going through the motions to get through another day. You take for granted that the world will be here and everything in its place. Observing is one of those things that we’re all capable of. And yet, how many of us are willing to fully grasp and/or write down the little things that we observe just as Woolf has done? The essay quickly changes into speculating the moth. Personifying the moth to a tiny bead of pure life, it was set “dancing and zig-zagging to show us the true nature of life.” The moth has a symbol. That symbol is life; it has a purpose if you will to go out and explore the world’s mystery and what it all holds. In real life, we all feel like we have a purpose on this planet. Whether it’s to make a difference in the world, in another’s life, or to just explore and observe just as the moth is represented as. To see life fully, you must value what little life you have left. Yes, in the end death is much stronger, but are you willing to just let it overtake you without a fight? You have to try to leave your legacy in this world so as not to be just another person amidst it. The moth chooses to live his life through a cause, and even though it may show itself to be futile in the end, he has a cause for living, a passion, and this is ideal for Woolf.