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The Death Of A Moth By Annie Dillard

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"The Death of a Moth" by Annie Dillard is a reflective essay that uses vivid imagery and metaphor to explore the concept of mortality. Dillard uses the metaphor of a moth's life and death to reflect on the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death.

The essay begins with a vivid description of a moth flying around a windowpane, trying to escape the light. The moth's desperate struggle to escape the light serves as a metaphor for the human struggle against death. Dillard writes, "It was a small thing, a moth, but it seemed to me a magnificent moment, the stillness of the moth’s body as it died, the awful effort of its last stiff wings." This passage evokes a sense of empathy for the moth and its struggle, and also highlights the …show more content…

She writes, "Moths, small and insignificant, die as we all must die: alone." This sentence serves as a reminder of the universality of death and the fact that, no matter how insignificant or unimportant we may feel in life, death will come for us all.

In addition, Dillard uses imagery and metaphor to draw a contrast between the moth's brief and fragile life and the seemingly infinite and unchanging nature of the universe. She writes, "The universe is no narrow thing and the order within it is not constrained by any latitude in its conception to repeat what exists in one part in any other part." This passage serves to remind the reader that, in the grand scheme of things, our individual lives are small and insignificant, but the universe is vast and unchanging.

Finally, Dillard concludes the essay by reflecting on the idea of living fully and embracing the fleeting nature of life. She writes, "I would like to hold the slit open for a long time and stare at the corpse. For a long time, like this, I am staring at the light. It is not possible to say just what I mean. But a part of it is a terror of the soul at the loss of life, and a part of it is a love of the very process of life." This passage serves as a call to action, urging the reader to embrace life and to not take it for

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