Rhetorical analysis of “The Death of the Moth” by Virginia Woolf
“Where there’s life, death is inevitable and the greater fear of death, the greater the struggle to keep on living”, an idea well represented in Virginia Woolf’s “The death of a moth” (Mo Yan Quotes). In Woolf’s book, she describes a moths struggle to hang on to its life before accepting its fate and allowing death to take its last breath away. The longer the moth tried to stay alive, the more it endured. The cycle of life is depicted, showing that no matter how much we try to avoid it, it is inevitable, a part of everyone’s life. Woolf portrays this idea, the struggle between life and death by using rhetorical employing an emotional appeal, visual imagery, and anthropomorphism. …show more content…
In the beginning, Woolf says that the moth was “enjoying his meager opportunities to the fullest”. In this quote, it seems as if the moth has feelings, it’s trying to enjoy every last second of its life. This creates a connection between the moth and the readers, as they are able to understand why the moth is struggling in order to stay alive even though it knows that death is inevitable. The reader has experienced such an emotion, so it will allow him to feel and connect with the scene. In addition, Woolf does not use “it” to describe the moth but rather uses “he”. This is another way to connect with the audience and showing them that the moth goes through the same life stages as they go through. For example, when she says “It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself”. The title gives the insect an identity similar to that of humans allowing them to connect with him. In this quote, people are able to relate to the moth because like the moth people have their ups and downs and sometimes feel as if they can no longer stand, which is a part of life.
Woolf successfully utilizes many rhetorical devices in order to achieve her purpose of demonstrating the connection between the life of the moth and the life cycle of every human being. She compares the two by showing that no matter how small an organism is or how insignificant it might be to people, it too goes through many struggles throughout its life, and eventually like everything else, it
“Where there’s life, death is inevitable and the greater fear of death, the greater the struggle to keep on living”, an idea well represented in Virginia Woolf’s “The death of a moth” (Mo Yan Quotes). In Woolf’s book, she describes a moths struggle to hang on to its life before accepting its fate and allowing death to take its last breath away. The longer the moth tried to stay alive, the more it endured. The cycle of life is depicted, showing that no matter how much we try to avoid it, it is inevitable, a part of everyone’s life. Woolf portrays this idea, the struggle between life and death by using rhetorical employing an emotional appeal, visual imagery, and anthropomorphism. …show more content…
In the beginning, Woolf says that the moth was “enjoying his meager opportunities to the fullest”. In this quote, it seems as if the moth has feelings, it’s trying to enjoy every last second of its life. This creates a connection between the moth and the readers, as they are able to understand why the moth is struggling in order to stay alive even though it knows that death is inevitable. The reader has experienced such an emotion, so it will allow him to feel and connect with the scene. In addition, Woolf does not use “it” to describe the moth but rather uses “he”. This is another way to connect with the audience and showing them that the moth goes through the same life stages as they go through. For example, when she says “It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself”. The title gives the insect an identity similar to that of humans allowing them to connect with him. In this quote, people are able to relate to the moth because like the moth people have their ups and downs and sometimes feel as if they can no longer stand, which is a part of life.
Woolf successfully utilizes many rhetorical devices in order to achieve her purpose of demonstrating the connection between the life of the moth and the life cycle of every human being. She compares the two by showing that no matter how small an organism is or how insignificant it might be to people, it too goes through many struggles throughout its life, and eventually like everything else, it