by Evan Perez
3/31/2023
English 110
The City College of New York
Professor Vicars
Questions for Discussion and Writing
- A toulmin analysis requires the grounds/evidence of a claim and the warrant for the claim. After reading Woolf’s essay, I don’t quite know what is being argued or called upon. I assume it is the insignificance of the moth’s death compared to the outside world, which may represent a parallel to humans as described in the line “-against a power of such magnitude, to retain what no one else valued or desired to keep, moved one strangely”.
- Since this piece used a stream-of-conscious technique, I want to say that Woolf’s purpose in writing this piece was to explore death and the insignificance of humans’ struggles, failures, and successes. The moth is described as putting so much effort into a task no one cares about, yet it dies trying to fly. This can be analogous to human life and struggles.
- I believe this essay really paints its picture well. You can see and almost feel like you can touch the moth when it is being described and the settings are so well conveyed in concise descriptions. All of this combined with the relatable struggle of the moth make it a memorable piece.
