The Death Of The Moth And The Sixth Extinction?

Rooks flying above the trees, soaring up and falling back down, a net cast into the air only to sink back to earth, and settle amongst the branches once more. Picking decomposing bats off of the ground while amidst giant icicles, some with dead flittermice trapped half-within. Virginia Woolf’s “The Death of the Moth” and Elizabeth Kolbert’s “The Sixth Extinction?” both present the common theme of the death of animals. Specifically, they share the use of the presentation of the death of animals, and vivid imagery to accompany it. There are many differences between the two essays, especially regarding matters such as voice, tone, and the intended audience, there is a larger similarity in how both essays approach their common subject with imagery. I suggest, that because of the overwhelming presence of imagery, despite differences in other rhetorical strategies, both Woolf and Kolbert’s essays show a deeper understanding of how to emotionally draw in readers, and that quality of excellence in writing and impact is what makes them more similar than different. In comparing them, this analysis will first establish that the differences previously mentioned do exist between each essay, and then continue on with an explanation of how imagery is used in each essay, and conclude with an further explanation of how a single common rhetorical strategy can outweigh many different ones, and how this similar feature works with each essay to achieve the goal of causing reflection within the