Chapter 1

*Summary*

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Author awaits arrival of the emissary from his publisher to record his words, dictated by blinking his left
eye.

*Favorite Lines/Phrases*

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confined "like a hermit crab dug into his rock"

"The diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly."

*To Analyze/Discuss*

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HE FEELS PAIN (in his heels, hands, and limbs), BUT CANNOT MOVE OR DETERMINE THE REASON FOR
HIS PAIN (HOT/COLD). DISCUSS TIMES WHEN YOU'VE FELT PAIN WITHOUT MOVING OR DOING
ANYTHING TO PROVOKE IT. THINK OF PAIN AS A PREDATOR AND YOURSELF AS ITS PREY - DO YOU FEEL
THAT BAUBY'S INABILITY TO RUN FROM PAIN MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO ESCAPE IT?

WHAT DOES THE DIVING BELL SIGNIFY? THE BUTTERFLY? TO WHAT IS THE BELL ATTACHED? - HIS BODY?
HIS LIFE? HIS BUTTERFLY? CAN YOU DRAW ANY MEANING FROM THE FACT THAT HE HAS CHOSEN A
MAN-MADE OBJECT AND A NATURAL CREATURE TO HELM HIS BOOK?

CONSIDER THIS QUOTE: "In the past you simply died. But improved resuscitation techniques have now
prolonged and refined the agony." DO YOU FEEL THIS CONDITION WOULD WARRANT THE EXTREME
MEASURES HERALDED BY DR. KEVORKIAN AND EUTHANASIA SUPPORTERS? DO YOU FEEL THAT BAUBY
BELIEVES MODERN MEDICINE & TECHNOLOGY GOES AGAINST NATURE? WHAT DO YOU THINK ON THIS
MATTER? WHAT DOES THE AUTHOR MEAN BY "REFINING" THE AGONY?
THE AUTHOR'S BUTTERFLY "WANDERS OFF IN SPACE [AND] IN TIME." ITS LANDING PADS ALTERNATE
BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY, MEMORY AND IMAGINATION. WHAT DOES THIS ALTERNATING
QUALITY SUGGEST ABOUT THE MIND THAT DIRECTS THIS BUTTERFLY?

BAUBY WATCHES A CARTOON OF THE "FASTEST FROG IN THE WEST." HE WONDERS, "WHAT IF I ASKED
TO BE CHANGED INTO A FROG?" WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE THE FROG SYMBOLIZES IN THE AUTHOR'S
MIND? WHY WOULD HE ENVY THE FROG?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: THE WHEELCHAIR

*Summary*

--------------

The author faces the grim reality of his condition: he will never live outside of the wheelchair.

*Favorite Lines/Phrases*

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"shores of awareness" SUGGESTS THAT AWARENESS IS LESS PROMINENT THAN CONFUSION, AS WATER
(CONFUSION) COVERS THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE EARTH.

"I had GRADUATED from being a patient whose prognosis was uncertain to an OFFICIAL quadriplegic."
(NOTE THE SARCASTIC TONE.)

image of African woman with neck rings

"In one flash, I saw the frightening truth. It was as blinding as an atomic explosion and keener than a
guillotine blade." (NOTE THAT THE TRUTH SWOOPS IN FROM AFAR - IN JAPAN, WHERE THE ATOMIC
BOMB WAS DROPPED - AND LANDS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE GUILLOTINE. WHAT A POIGNANT TURN OF
TONGUE...ERM, EYELID.)
*To Analyze/Discuss*

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THE AUTHOR COMPLAINS ABOUT HIS "uncooperative deadweight limbs." WHAT ARE YOUR
"uncooperative deadweight limbs" IN LIFE (THINK METAPHORICALLY)? WHAT'S HOLDING YOU BACK
FROM ACCOMPLISHING YOUR GOALS?

THE TERMS "graduation" AND "brutal downgrading" PRESENT AN INTERESTING CONTRAST. WHO IS
CELEBRATING THE GRADUATION? LAMENTING THE DOWNGRADING? DO YOU FEEL THAT BOTH PARTIES
COULD PARTICIPATE IN BOTH ACTIVITIES SIMULTANEOUSLY?

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE "unremitting drizzle" THAT STREAKS THE WINDOWS (LAST IMAGE
OF THE CHAPTER)?

Saturday, May 30, 2009

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: PRAYER

*Summary*

--------------

The author considers the multitudes and variety of prayers made by friends and family for his sake.

*Favorite Lines/Phrases*

--------------------------

"barrier of affection" - DO YOU BELIEVE AFFECTION BLOCKS WORDS? IS THIS SAME BARRIER PRESENT IN
ENEMIES, OR IS IT A DIFFERENT BARRIER (CONSIDER THE "tourists")?

"chants fly heavenward"

*To Discuss/Analyze*

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JAPANESE INCENSE AMULETS FOR HIS LARYNX, A CAMEROON HOLY MAN FOR HIS RIGHT EYE,
BORDEAUX MONKS FOR HIS HEARING...WHAT SPHERE OF BAUBY DOES HIS DAUGHTER CELESTE PRAY
FOR?

THE AUTHOR SUGGESTS THAT THE MURDERS OF BORDEAUX MONKS BROUGHT EAR PAIN. WHAT CAN
YOU DRAW FROM THIS COMMENT - DOES BAUBY TRULY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER OR IS HE
STRUGGLING TO CONVINCE HIMSELF TO HOLD OUT HOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT?

CONSIDER THIS QUOTE: "[A]ll these lofty protections are merely clay ramparts, walls of sand, Maginot
lines, compared to the 'small prayer' of Celeste.' WHY IS HIS DAUGHTER'S PRAYER SO MUCH MORE
POWERFUL THAN THE OTHERS'?

Quotes

"My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly." Prologue, p. 5

"So it is likely that several years will go by before I can expect to wiggle my toes." Prayer, p. 12

"And proof that I still want to be myself. If I must drool, I may as well drool on cashmere." Bathtime, p.
17

"ESARINTULOMDPCFBVHGJQZYXKW The jumbled appearance of my chorus line stems not from chance
but from cunning calculation." The Alphabet, pp. 19-20
"I try desperately to warn them, but my dream conforms perfectly with reality. I am unable to utter a
word." The Dream, p. 52

"What if someone in perfect health happened to be here when the Madonna appeared? One miracle,
and he'd end up paralyzed." Our Very Own Madonna, p. 64