Dillard and Woolf Compare and Contrast Essay Example

beauty in order to describe death. The death of this moth leaves Dillard contemplating the sense of eternity, and purpose after death. Though the moth dies, and burns to a crisp in the candle, Dillard uses its body long after. For two hours, Dillard uses the moth as a wick and lets it burn in order to read her book.

The moth’s unselfish act displays the idea of eternity, and that there is in fact, purpose after death. Contrary to many people, including Woolf’s, beliefs, death is not the end of life. The moth becomes bigger than itself. It was a normal moth, yet its untimely death benefitted Dillard. Though reading a book may not be considered great, Dillard enjoys it, and would not have been able to enjoy it without the ultimate sacrifice performed by the mere moth, which became bigger in a single moment.

Unlike Dillard’s use of long sentences to create large amounts of description, Woolf uses short sentences to express her emotion. Beautiful adjectives and verbs, such as fluttering, flood Woolf’s writing, compared to Dillard’s gruesome verbs, such as sputtering, and jerked. Adjectives such as insignificant set up a depressing, emotional, and pensive tone. Using shorter sentences, such as, “The struggle was over,” (Woolf, “The Death of the Moth,”) and, “What he could do he did,” (Woolf, “The Death of the Moth. ”) allows the reader to think and reflect about it.

In Dillard’s writing, the reader often can imagine what they are reading from her blunt descriptions. In Woolf’s piece, readers reflect more on the meaning and the impact of the piece through the use of short

sentences. Watching the hopeless death of the vulnerable moth leaves Woolf contemplating her own life, as she compares the moth to herself, and the human race. The moth, caught in a windowsill, is compared to the outside world by Woolf; while the moth flutters and exhibits life, so does the outside world; people are working and the sun is shining; but, when the moth dies, activity outside dies as well.

This untimely death proves how death affects all living things in the universe, even the smallest, including a moth, and attempts to delay or halt it are futile. This is shown in the quote, “... nothing, I knew had any chance against death... ” (Woolf, “The Death of the Moth. ”) An assumption can be conceived that Woolf wrote the anecdote while she was contemplating her own life, and on the brink of committing suicide. The moth represents herself, stuck in a rut, a rut known to the moth as a windowsill, with no logical reason to continue to live.

The essay shows that Woolf believes death must be embraced, because it cannot be avoided, as stated in her essay, “The helplessness of his attitude roared me. It flashed upon me that he was in difficulties; he could no longer raise himself; his legs struggled vainly... It came over me that the failure and awkwardness were the approach of death,” (“The Death of the Moth. ”) The effect of the moth’s death on Woolf differentiates from Dillard, because Woolf believes nothing can overpower death, whereas Dillard may believe purpose after death exists. Both essays bring compelling thoughts with the theme of death.