The Summer Day And The Death Of The Moth

Name Instructor Course Date Compare and Contrast Essay Essay Title: Comparing/ Contrasting The Summer Day by Mary Oliver and The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf Introduction Different authors while writing their literary essays and other works are guided by a certain theme in order to pass their message across. It is possible for some literary artists to write on similar themes even though writing from different perspectives, times, and geographical areas. While an author can be motivated by an earlier writer and thus write similar stories and poems, others write out of their personal experiences, the time periods, they are writing the artworks, and the prevailing issues thus writing about the same themes. This essay will compare and contrast The Summer Day by Mary Oliver and The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf. The Summer Day Is a short poem by Mary Oliver on the wandering thoughts the speaker has while analyzing the natural world of the grasshopper in a summer day. The poem changes tones from an optimistic wonder in which the speaker is pleased with the working of a grasshopper to questioning of conscience as the speaker injects a new purpose in what she understands. On the other hand, The Death of the Mothis a short story by Virginia Woolf explaining the constant struggle people have against the fear of death. People are filled with cowardice, fear, and betrayal and this makes them fight against the inevitability of death. The author therefore aims at conveying a message regarding the frailty of life while showing the awesomeness nature of death. Even though written by different authors and different perspectives, it is notable that The Summer Day by Mary Oliver and The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf convey the mysteries of life and death by using insects to show how wonderful and mysterious or complex life can be. Compare/ Contrast While written by two different authors and on different issues, it is arguable that The Summer Day by Mary Oliver and The Death of the Moth by Virginia Woolf are similar in a number of ways. The major ones are in explaining the awesomeness of life, the complexities of life, the questioning nature of the world, and how to make the best out of life irrespective of the situation. The awesomeness nature of life is one of the major themes that are presented in the two artworks. As noted in the case of a grasshopper in the The Summer Day by Mary Oliver, it is notable that life is sweet based on the perspective one looks at it from. In this case, the speaker starts by asking who made the world, swan, the black bear, and the grasshopper. Even though the speaker has mentioned a number of insects and animals, he is more interested in the grasshopper “who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up-down”. Looking at the grasshopper, the speaker is not fascinated only by the physical looks and beauty of the grasshopper, but also the manner in which it manages to survive. This is the reason the speaker provocatively asks, “What is it you plan to do with your wild and precious life”. This shows that for anything to live a bearable life, it has to understand that it has a precious life that needs to be enjoyed. By starting to mention other insects/ anima...