Journal 2: Death Of A Moth

1. How are the moths in the essay’s opening different from the moth at the campsite?  What do the different moths represent? 

At the opening of the essay, the moth bodies are described as wingless and huge and empty. They are reduced to a nub in the spider’s web. The moths at the campsite are singed and melted. The moth in the beginning of the essay is different from the moth at the campsite because it changes. The other moth stays the same, even while being burned for two hours. The differences represent what will remain of you after your death. Will you be the moth that died in the fire and will be remembered or will you be the other moth who faded away.

2. What lesson does the moth provide that Dillard takes back to her students? 

The lesson is whether you are willing to give your whole life to something, or will you go at your life with a “broadax.”

3.  How many references are there to fire in the essay?  What’s the larger significance of fire in the essay? 

There are references to the fire in the essay in almost every paragraph. I think the larger significance of fire in the essay is life. What you’re life will or will not turn out to be.

4. Address how each of the following quotes connect to Dillard’s overall point.  

a.      “I would rather be ashes than dust!
          I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.
          I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in        magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.
          The function of man is to live, not to exist.
          I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.
          I shall use my time.”

                    -Jack London

In this quote, it is connected to Dillard’s overall point by saying that instead of wasting time not doing anything important, you should use your time wisely so you will do something great.

b. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

          -William Butler Yeats

Education is not the only thing you need to do something great in your life.

c. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”  

          -Franz Kafka

Books are helpful to us because they provide information and imagination.