Journal 2 - Annie Dillard – “The Death of a Moth,” from Holy the
Firm
1. How are the moths in the essay’s opening different from the moth at the campsite? What do the different moths represent?
The moths in the opening were just dead bodies. The moths at the campfire were alive until they flew into the fire of the candle. The different moths represent the different situations that the woman has had to deal with in her life.
2. What lesson does the moth provide that Dillard takes back to her students?
Dillard tells her students about the lesson of determination that is needed if they want to be writers.
3. How many references are there to fire in the essay? What’s the larger significance of fire in the essay?
There are at least three references to fire in the essay. The last fire was when Dillard spoke of the candles that she lights and never extinguishes. The candles help Dillard to see the light in all of her friends.
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
This quote connects to Dillard’s essay in that she feels similar to London’s overall message. She never blows out the flame of her candles which represents what she does in life.
b. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
-William Butler Yeats
This quote relates to the essay because it talks about education and Dillard is a teacher. She talks to her students about giving their life to writing like the moth gave its life when it caught on fire.
c. “A book should serve as the ax for the frozen sea within us.”
-Franz Kafka
The essay and the quote both use an ax as a comparison for writing and education.
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