Death: Natural or a Struggle?

I found the ending of “The Death of the Moth” to be rather eerie and unsettling. Woolf remarks that the moth appears to admit that “death is stronger than [it is].” Woolf presents death as a struggle, involving a “last protest” and “extraordinary efforts” to attempt to ward off death and stay alive.

This seems to be a very pessimistic view of death. I view death as a more natural occurrence, instead of a struggle. Death is just one of the many milestones in our life, and the fact that it is inevitable should not be a sign of danger. After all, eating our meals and going to sleep are also necessary and inevitable, and people often look forward to them. Yet, in our culture, people are rarely accepting of death, always demanding to know a specific reason or explanation for death. People also have many fears of death. However, any fears are of death are generally due to not knowing about what, if anything, lies after death.

Woolf seems to consider the moth writhing and suffering before its death to be a battle against death; however, I believe this struggle is more a part of life than death. Woolf has just witnessed the moth for a few moments. We have little idea about how the moth has struggled against predators and natural forces from before. Struggles are simply a part of life. They just happened to result in death in the moth’s case.

A striking feature of the moth’s death was that it occurred in isolation. Perhaps Woolf concluded that all death occurs in isolation, a rather depressing view of death. However, in the cases of most deaths of people, including Woolf’s death, the community has a major role in helping people manage their condition and be remembered for their contributions to the world. Death is no fight or struggle; it is simply natural.