"Death of a Moth" Response

Woolf's why seems to lie in her realization that death is stronger than all life in the end. She describes a "moth" that is so energetic and full of life, describing it as one that was "nothing or little but life." She then tells of the death of this moth, one that is inevitable and that she said the moth struggled to escape. She said that the moth was fighting a losing battle, but it stood strong and fought against the immovable object that is death. This is the why, seeing that "pure bead of life" as the moth takes on the inevitable, seeing that one can always leave with a bang, something that spreads meaning. As a reader the story tells me that someone should do what they love until the day the die, like the moth whose only existed to live so it fought to keep living as long as it could. As a writer the selection taught me that there is inspiration in the smallest places, that the world is a text and until you realize that you can't take advantage of it. It conveys an idea that even the most insignificant ideas or phrases can mean two entirely different things to two different people. Woolf describes the moth very well, she lets us know that the moth was lively and energetic and she gives us every detail of its overly dramatic Hollywood style death. This allows us to see the scene or to relive watching a moth die if we have already witnessed this phenomenon. What Woolf does not do well is convey one general tone or mood, I found myself struggling to find if this is a depressing suicide note or a fight to keep one's name alive.  The part of the story that stands out most to me is the first sentence, when Woolf says that the day moth can hardly be considered a moth. This is because that fact seems so insignificant but it explains why the moth is so lively and unique, it almost makes the moth seem extraordinary just for existing.

Donald Perez