This short story by Helena Maria Viramontes, she is portraying symbolism in the moths, the sun, and the growth the granddaughter went through into releasing her resentment. Towards the end of the story, the moths came out through Abuelita’s mouth, while being in the bath tub, fluttering into the light. This represented rebirth and liberation in the Abuelita’s soul because in the story, the granddaughter states that Abuelita would tell her about the moths within the soul and slowly eating the spirit up. Therefore, by the moths within her soul escaping and fluttering to the light, it represented more than just Abuelita dying. The moths represented her soul finally at peace. In addition, the moths were also a healing remedy because how she would use the moth wings, during the beginning of the story, to her granddaughter’s hand to shape them and making her feel more confident about her “bull hands.” Abuelita’s soul was portrayed as moths in the sense of freedom, spirituality, and being able to let go of her cancerous body.
Just before Abuelita died, the granddaughter states the symbol...
Both Virginia Woolf and Annie Dillard are extremely gifted writers. Virginia Woolf in 1942 wrote an essay called The Death of the Moth. Annie Dillard later on in 1976 wrote an essay that was similar in the name called The Death of a Moth and even had similar context. The two authors wrote powerful texts expressing their perspectives on the topic of life and death. They both had similar techniques but used them to develop completely different views. Each of the two authors incorporate in their text a unique way of adding their personal experience in their essay as they describe a specific occasion, time, and memory of their lives. Woolf’s personal experience begins with “it was a pleasant morning, mid-September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than that of the summer months” (Woolf, 1). Annie Dillard personal experience begins with “two summers ago, I was camping alone in the blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia” (Dillard, 1). Including personal experience allowed Virginia Woolf to give her own enjoyable, fulfilling and understandable perception of life and death. Likewise, Annie Dillard used the personal narrative to focus on life but specifically on the life of death. To explore the power of life and death Virginia Woolf uses literary tools such as metaphors and imagery, along with a specific style and structure of writing in a conversational way to create an emotional tone and connect with her reader the value of life, but ultimately accepting death through the relationship of a moth and a human. While Annie Dillard on the other hand uses the same exact literary tools along with a specific style and similar structure to create a completely different perspective on just death, expressing that death is how it comes. ...
Bess beetles range in size all the way from 21 millimeters to 80 millimeters. The beetles are named after the French word baiser, which means “to kiss”, due to the fact that they often make a smooching sound with their legs. They have a small horn that protrudes from their head, and use their antennae to drive them forward when experiencing new smells. Though the beetles may look quite menacing, they are surprisingly docile. They enjoy feasting on rotten wood, moss, and adult beetle fecal matter after it has been partially digested by bacteria. A scientific experiment was conducted to test these beetle’s pulling power in relation to their mass. The hypothesis stated,
ImageText BoxImageOne of the biggest threats to the environment of Ontario is the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar dispar). The species itself is native to Europe and Asia. How this affects us is by weakening trees across Ontario and North America. The first time the gypsy moth was found in Ontario was 1969. The gypsy moth can be found in southern Canada (Ontario), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. It is known to weaken trees and the caterpillar form live in trees and during most outbreaks its caterpillar feces would fall from the trees to the ground or even on top of humans. The average Gypsy Caterpillar can grow 5-6 centimeters long. With five pairs of blue spots and six pairs of bright red dots on their back. The female moth are white and can fly on the other hand, the male moth are brown and can also fly. The female have a 5cm wing span but male have a 2.5cm wing span. The gypsy moth usually lives in open forests and other forests and take up at least 20% of the space. The Gypsy moth are about 4cm long, tan coloured and can be located on tree trunks, furniture, and buildings. (OFAH Invading Species Awareness Program, 2012)
The theme of “The Moths” is produced mainly by the character, conflict, and language of the story. The characterization brings to life the initial turmoil as Abuelita begins to nurse the girl not only physical, but also mentally into embracing her own hidden emotions. The conflict furthers shows the painful experiences the girl experiences so that this spiritual awakening may occur. Language is used to describe this process, giving a glimpse into her life style and uses colorful to portray the girl’s awakening and Abuelita’s ascent to heaven.
As stated in an online biography, Virginia Woolf’s life started out normally, she was born into a privileged English household with her three full and four half siblings and was raised by her well to do parents. Both of her parents “were extremely well connected, both socially and artistically” (Virginia Woolf Biography). Although her brothers went to college at Cambridge, her sisters, as well as Woolf herself, were schooled at home with access to an extensive Victorian library. Her open-minded parents brought her up to look at things from a different angle, rather than the straight forward route. Virginia Woolf is one of the few authors that uses the stream of consciousness writing style which immerses the reader in the text. In the case of “The Death of the Moth,” Woolf starts on a normal level, describing the “pleasant morning, mid-September”, and then dials in solely on the moth, to the point where one can visualize the energy the moth emits (Woolf). Not only that, but her stories, such as Mrs. Dalloway, raised awareness for controversial topics such as feminism, mental illness, and homosexuality. Because of her parents’ open mindedness, she was able to learn about a variety of topics while studying at home and form independent, non-socially influenced thoughts, which she later developed into her
In the story “The Death of the Moth,” Virginia Woolf illustrates the universal struggle between life and death. She portrays in passing the valiance of the struggle, of the fight of life against death, but she determines as well the futility of this struggle. Virginia Woolf’s purpose in writing was to depict the patheticness of life in the face of death. Woolf’s conclusion, “death is stronger than I am,” provides the focus of her argument. Throughout the piece, she has built up her case, lead to reader emotional states its concept of the power of death. The piece would begi...
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
With the final lines give us a better understanding of her situation, where her life has been devoured by the children. As she is nursing the youngest child, that sits staring at her feet, she murmurs into the wind the words “They have eaten me alive.” A hyperbolic statement symbolizing the entrapment she is experiencing in the depressing world of motherhood.
The influence of the people around you has a great impact on your life. In In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez and in Journey to Jihad by Ben Taub, radicalization is due to the influences of others. Minerva’s rebellion was caused by both Sinita and Trujillo. Patria’s rebellion was caused by the influences of Minerva and the Church. Jeojen’s radical actions were due to his girlfriend, as well as his neighbor. Minerva, Patria, and Jeojen all epitomize the significance of influential people within one’s life.
This lost love, Lenore, represents his reality of his wife Virginia slowly preparing to pass away. The character of Lenore directly parallels with the events happening in Poe’s life just before the publication of “The Raven”. This fear is directly referenced again, in stanza five “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before” (Poe). The dreams the speaker alludes to are the authors actual dreams of his wife passing away and leaving him alone. His fear and distraught over his life events even leads him to attempt to speak to the nothingness in the same stanza, which is the start of the insanity that both the speaker and Poe are starting to experience. Not long after this spark of mental weakness, the raven appears before the speaker and sits upon his chamber door, just waiting for deeper entrance. Throughout much of literature, this melancholy bird has been used as an allusion to a much larger image, the image of death. Writers from many times and parts of the word use this creature as a symbol of misfortune and impending death. Poe’s raven is no different, as it is a direct symbol for the darkness filling his life after
The spirituality is not only present in the moth wing balm, but is also evident after the death of her grandmother. A sense of spirituality is apparent in the quote, "Then the moths came. Small gray ones that came from her soul and out through her mouth fluttering to light" (1242). This presents a religious parallel in which the light resembles heaven. These moths represent angels who are carrying Abuelit...
The poem uses many literary devices to enhance the meaning the words provide. The poem starts at the beginning of the story as the moon comes to visit the forge. The moon is said to be wearing “her skirt of white, fragrant flowers” (Lorca 2) as its bright light penetrates the scene. The poem states “the young boy watches her, watches. / The young boy is watching her” (3-4). The repetition of the phrase emphasizes the young boy’s infatuation with the moon. The scene is set with intensity by the phrase “electrified air” (5) and a tense feeling is brought into the poem. As “the moon moves her arms” (6), she is given traits of being alive and having her own human qualities. Personification of the moon into a woman exemplifies the desire that the child would have for the woman, and creates a more appealing form for the moon to appear as. The child cries, “flee, moon, moon, moon” (9) with urgency, showing his concern for her. He warns her “they would make with your heart / white necklaces and rings” (11-12). This refers back to the metaphor that the moon is made of hard tin, but still personifies her by giving her a heart. The moon is additionally personified when she says “ young boy, leave me to dance”(13). She has now taken the form of a sensual and erotic gypsy dancer furthering the desire of the young boy. This brings Spanish culture to the poem because gypsies are known to travel throughout Spain. The mo...
She describes the September morning as “mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than the summer months.” She then goes on to describe the field outside her window, using word choice that is quite the opposite of words that would be used to describe a depressing story. She depicts the exact opposite of death, and creates a feeling of joy, happiness, and life to the world outside her room. After this, she goes into great detail about the “festivities” of the rooks among the treetops, and how they “soared round the treetops until it looked as if a vast net with thousands of black knots in it had been cast up into the air”. There is so much going on around her that “it was difficult to keep the eyes strictly turned upon the book.” Descriptions like these are no way to describe a seemingly depressing story about a moth, but by using these, joyful descriptions, Woolf connects everything happening outside to a single strand of energy. These images set a lively tone for the world around her, and now allow her to further introduce the moth into the story.
Geraldine Brooks the author of People of the Book conveys the story of Sarajevo Haggadah. In the chapter “An Insect’s Wings,” Lola, a young Jewish girl, experiences running away from Nazis and coming back to Sarajevo. In this chapter, it also shares some details of how the famed Sarajevo Haggadah was saved from WWII. This chapter shares the journey of Lola and all the unpleasant events she went through.
This story depicts the love between the unknown narrator and Annabel Lee, a love that even during their childhood was strong enough to make the angels in Heaven jealous. However, the story quickly transitions to that of heartache, for the fair Annabel Lee, perishes from a chilling wind. I felt sorry for the two, they had a love that many wish for, but Annabel had been torn away from the narrator. Having known that Poe’s, wife Clemm died at an early age, this story could possibly reflect the pain that Poe, himself, was experiencing. In the poem, the two lived in a kingdom by the sea, and after Annabel’s death, she was entombed in that kingdom. The narrator believes that the envious angels of Heaven, were the ones to send the wind to kill his love, but firmly states that their love was so strong that their souls would never be separated. “For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;” (“Annabel Lee”). The narrator spent every night by Annabel Lee’s tomb, being reminded of his love by the moon and stars. Edgar Allan Poe did a good job with this poem, his emotions are perfectly conveyed throughout the whole piece. I am surprised by Poe’s ability, to captivate the reader whether with fear, sorrow, or short-lived joy. The poem Annabel