The Diving Bell and the Butter Fly #5

1. One place I know by smell is the beach. I can smell the ocean in the air, from the stinging wind that always accompanies open water, bringing the smell of salt, and see-weed, and  especially at low tide, the smell of the bodies of dead mollusks, and other sea animals. This is probably not explaining it very adequately, because it is not a bad smell, but it is mostly a salty smell, that whips around your face and is stinging sharp.

I think Bauby's situation's is more horrific than Jean-Paul K.'s. For Jean-Paul K., he had something that he knew would keep him sane, he knew he had a chance of being rescued, that there were people trying to rescue him, he had full use of all his body parts, and though he will always live with those memories, he can move on with his life. For Bauby, he must hope that his imagination and memories will keep him sane, and tethered to the real world, although they may not. He knows that the doctors are trying to slowly progress him toward normality, but he also knows that he will never be exactly the way he was before "the accident." Bauby doesn't have control of his body, besides his left eye, and he can't move on with his life, he is stuck in the Naval Hospital in Berck-sur-Mer.

2. I think Bauby is "fond of all these torturers" because over the months he has come to know them, and slowly appreciate their care of him, whether or not he was in a good or bad mood, before or after he could communicate. Even if things they do annoy him ("for a few minutes or a few hours I would have cheerfully killed them"), he realizes that they just try to help him through his condition as best as they can, "eas[ing] our burden a little when our crosses bruised our shoulders a little too painfully."

3.  I think Bauby has admiration for Olivier because he is able to tell stories beautifully. Humans always admire those who have the qualities they don't have/don't believe they have. Bauby admires Olivier for being able to tell such extravagant stories, always willing to back them up, whereas if Bauby was to tell such a story in his conditions, it would not be believable.

Our emotions effect the way we remember things. If I am having a bad day, I may remember the way my teacher asked for an assignment as rude and snappy, rather than how it was really asked, simply a teacher asking a student to hand in an assignment.

4. I think Bauby likes the song "A Day in the Life" by the Beatles, because it sort of describes what happened his life after the "accident." Also, it was the last song heard, or rather he really listened to before the "accident."

Humans alway wait for the crescendo because it's usually the most important part of the song, its the biggest part, most meaningful part. 

I think Bauby puts this chapter at the end of his book because it is the book's crescendo's. It's most important part, the day of the "accident." We learn what happened that way, and that's when I truly get the sense of who Bauby is, before and after his "accident." We, as readers have followed Bauby through his journey from when he first learns to communicate, through the end of his life, although Bauby does not know it is the end of his life. This is the crescendo of the book where his old life and his new one come together.

5. Bauby is savoring the last week of August because he doesn't "have that awful sense of a countdown--the feeling triggered at the beginning of a vacation that inevitably spoils a good part of it." He is happy because people will be coming back from vacations, and they will have stories to tell him, and news to tell him. What we can learn from Bauby here because of his reaction to the end of the vacation is to be gratful to hear others' stories and news of things  that happened over vacations, and let your imagination take flight and delight in hearing about others experiences because there is a chance you may never get to relive them or have experiences or your own that are similar to theirs.

The Diving Bell and the Butter Fly #4

1. I think its necessary for humans to put people in categories because it helps us make judgements, even though those judgements may not even be correct. I think that our language is not so limiting that we must organize people into categories, but rather we do it for our own comfort. "Oh, he's a vegetable." Doing that puts us at ease, as if it helps us to know how the person really is, even though it doesn't. It only helps us understand only one characteristic of a person, if any at all.

2. I hoard almost every letter and card that is sent or given to me. I have three boxes full of all the cards and letters that I have ever gotten. I think I hoard these because it tells me that people love me, or care about me enough to send me a card or a letter, even if its just for my birthday, or Christmas. I think I feel like this particularly because both of my parents are sort of estranged from their families, specifically their siblings, so it's nice when I get a card from them wishing me good thoughts, even if I have received the same card from them before.

3. Bauby's statement, "I know who he is, but who is he really?" really relates to what I said earlier about putting people in categories. Bauby knows who this man is, but he doesn't know who he really is, what he likes, dislikes, what his thoughts are about. I don't think Bauby is really any closer to knowing what makes people tick, because I think that everyone has something different that makes them tick. It seems like Bauby is getting closer to knowing what the people who he knows, what makes them tick. Also, Bauby will never tire of the smell of french fries because the smell is so strong that he can probably come close to tasting them, especially if he adds his memories of what french fries taste like to his mental, gustatory, and olfactory  imagery.

4. A "small near miss" that I have had recently was on an English quiz. One question asked for me to name a certain question asked in the memoir "A Long Way Gone." If I had studied more properly I would understand exactly which question the teacher was asking for, and I could have answered correctly. Instead, I didn't study correctly and I paid attention to the less important question, which led to an incorrect answer, although I could have gotten the answer correct.

5.  When Bauby says he has "butterfly hearing" in Duck Hunt, he means in the silence, he thinks he can hear his heartbeat, and because of his heartbeat, he can use his butterfly to escape from his diving bell, so in the silence, he can take off into his imagination, he can hear when he is leaving his diving bell.

6. I think Bauby dreads Sundays because it is the day when he is least taken care of. Very few staff are around, and those who are don't really communicate with Bauby, and/or are hungover. The TV is left on the same station for 3-4 hours, and some of the programs hurt Bauby's delicate hearing. His bath "bears more resemblance to a drawing and quartering than to hydrotherapy. A triple dose of the finest eau de toilette fails to mask the reality: I stink." No one reads to him on Sundays, and even when a large black fly is on Bauby's nose, no one is there to get rid of it for him.

White Man's Burden

In class today, there were four things about the movie clip that we watched that really surprised me, making me think twice. When I first see the maid serving her master and his friends outside, I actually had to look twice at her to realize that she was white, not black. Another thing that really made me think was in the factory, almost all the workers were white. I hadn't thought that I believed that most factory workers were black, but I was still surprised to see that they were all white, except for the foreman, and he was doing a higher level job than the other workers. Another thing that made me think was how when the white character is driving through the rich neighborhood everyone is black. There were no white people anywhere, and none of the blacks would look at him.  The last thing that really surprised, was the racial profiling of the police in the movie. I was shocked at the way they treated John Travolta's character. They thought he was a criminal, but they didn't check before they basically started beating him up, and arresting him. It made me wonder if, in the real world, that really happens, like with white police officers and black suspects, which made me think back to Blink, and I realized that it does happen, which really made me think about the race issues our country still has.

The Diving Bell and the Butter Fly #3

1. In the last line of Guardian Angel, Bauby says "And I have to admit that at times I do not know anymore," in response to Florence question of "Are you there, Jean-Do?" This is significant because Bauby seems to be losing himself a little bit, like the diving bell is taking him over, and he can't connect to the real word anymore, he's just trapped in him mind, in his memories and imagination.

2. The ironic thing about the photo Bauby receives is that it is him as a boy, visiting the same town in which resides the very hospital he now lives in, 33 years previous to the present.

3. Bauby's dreams give us some insight to his condition. We see the heights of his imagination and how his past and his memories effect him in the present. In his dream he is walking with his best friend, Bernard, in snow trying to get back to France which is in the midst of some general strike (which was happening at the time of Bauby's "accident"). In Bauby's dream the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic, performs a tracheotomy on him, because he's having trouble breathing, which is part of Bauby's condition.  Then he ends up in a study in a cellar having an amber liquid, presumably beer, poured into his mouth through a tube, like the way Bauby eats. In the end, he ends up hostage for an unknown cult and wishes to warn his friends so that they do not end up in the same trap, but he is unable to speak which "conforms [his dream] perfectly with reality. I am unable to utter a word." This shows Bauby's frustration his condition, as well.

4. In My Lucky Day, Bauby's butterfly is hidden, inactive. His diving bell consumes him, pulling him down, as nothing is going right for him. The tape on his right eye has come undone due to his sweat,  the alarm on his feeding tube has ben incessantly beeping, and his urinary catheter has become detached, and he is soaked in his own urine.

5. After reading Our Very Own Madonna and Through a Glass, Darkly, I can think of a time in my life that I did not truly appreciate until it was over. In eighth grade,  my best friend at the time suddenly hated me for a month. I hadn't realized how much  I was depending on her, how much support I got from her. I no longer had anyone to talk to or sit with at lunch, I couldn't call her to get the homework, or talk to her about my problems. What was worse still is that when she started hating me, most of our mutual friends hated me too, thereby not becoming mutual anymore. I was shocked at how isolated I was without her. It was then I truly appreciated the support I had gotten from her, but it was also then that I truly appreciated some of my other friends, whom I did not see as much, and also how I used to be independent without her. She and I have since made up, but because of what happened, I don't put myself completely into my friendships anymore, and I try more to appreciate the friendships I have in the moment, rather than after we have to separate for some reason, benevolent or hostile, and I have to learn how to stand on my own again.

We can learn to live by appreciating significant moments by realizing that they're significant and why while they're happening or immediately after the fact. It might not be possible all the time, but it certainly helps, and works for part of the time, which is important.

The Diving Bell and the Butter Fly #2

1. In Bathtime, I think Bauby's statement about how clothes represent life, and proof that he still wants to be himself, and "If I must drool, I may as well drool on cashmere,"shows that even though he trapped in his own mind, he still has a life, is still himself, and if he must be "locked-in,"  at least he'll look somewhat like himself before his "accident."

2. I think that the fact that Bauby spoke French, instead of Japanese or Chinese, mattered a great deal in the writing of his book. There are so many more characters and letters in Asian languages, that I think Bauby would have had a much harder time communicating his thoughts and ideas. Also, because of the amount of characters I think that what Bauby would have been able to communicate might have been lost in translation. Even Bauby writing in French, and us reading it in English, some things maybe lost, like maybe the tone or language Bauby was using could be convey stronger in his native language.

3. Bauby finds his appearance humorous because "Not only was I exiled, paralyzed, mute, half deaf, deprived of all pleasures, and reduced to the existence of a jellyfish, but I was also horrible to behold. There comes a time when the heaping of calamities brings on uncontrollable nervous laughter--when, after a final blow from fate, we decide to treat it all as a joke."

4. After reading Cinecitta, if there was one place I could visit for an afternoon, because it was my last opportunity, I would go to New York City. I chose NYC because I have never been. I would love to go there to see the city, the people, all the tourist parts, but also the real part, the not so beautiful part. I'd go see a play on Broadway, go to a museum of Art and look at all the beautiful masterpieces, maybe do some drawings on my own, of the artworks there, or paintings, trying to mimic their style. I would go shopping in stores, both expensive and inexpensive. I would go to NYC for the experience of going to the big city. Plus I've already been to London and Paris. 

5. After reading Tourists, I think we don't make more of an effort to connect with those who might look or act differently from us because they have a different life path then us, they might not understand us, they might fear us, we might fear them, we might not understand them, that it might be impossible to fully connect with those who act or look differently from us. Because we're not connected by the way we look or the way we act, we live in different environments, which lead us down different life paths, to the lives we lead or want to lead, which makes it harder for us to understand each other.

6. After reading Sausage, if there was one meal I would miss the most it is my dad's shepherd's pie. It has my favorite combination of food: corn, mashed potatoes, and beef, with some herbs and spices mixed in. Everything about it is so fulfilling. The creamy mashed potatoes with some paprika on top, the sweet-and- salty corn, and the protein enriched beef seasoned with unknown herbs and spices, it come together to create the perfect, hearty, home-cooked meal.

Pink Noise

I think Pink Noise works because the sounds of nature, like " rustling of tree leaves or rushing water," are calming to us, because they're simple. Thinking about the simplicity of nature relaxes us, sort of like going back to basics. Also Pink Noise had "deep, rich tones" which helps to block out the uneven drill noise that was presented for audio during the podcast. Personally, I don't think that the Pink Noise works. When I listened to it, it reminded me of static, which I find annoying. Also, like it was said in the podcast, you can still hear the drill behind the Pink Noise. I can still hear, so it still bothers me. 

I don't think that Sturgis should pump Pink Noise through school, because I don't think we have that much trouble with noise issues.  Yes, the walls are thin, and we can hear each other through them, but I don't really think that effects student learning. Unless, the classroom is silent, the teacher speaking in the class you're in is usually loud enough to draw your attention. If, the classroom is silent, like during a test, and another teacher or class is being to loud, your teacher should go ask them to quiet down, because that is what's courteous, not drowning them out. 

Also, I know the Pink Noise will distract me, and probably other students, which is hindering, and could hurt more than it would help some students.

If Sturgis pumped Pink Noise through the school, we wouldn't be able to hear any announcements through the intercom, because it "completely filter the human voice." Also, I don't know, but would we be able to hear the fire drill through the Pink Noise? Even if we could, it would most likely be fainter, possibly not heard by a noisy class because they were so loud, because they could be because of the Pink Noise. 

The Diving Bell and the Butter Fly #1

1. What is "locked-in syndrome?" 'Locked-in syndrome' is when the "brain stem [is] out of action" and the patient is "paralyzed form head to toe, [but with the] mind intact, [he] is imprisoned inside his own body, unable to speak or move." One might consider Bauby's condition a prison because he can't leave, he can't communicate, he is trapped. The significance of the butterfly is that it is Bauby's only means of escape. With his butterfly, his imagination and memories, he can go into his past, or anywhere in time or space , in his mind because it is the one part of his body that he is not trapped in.

2. What is Bauby's "frightening truth"? Bauby's "frightening truth" is that he will always be in a wheelchair. "'You can handle the wheelchair," said the occupational therapist, with the smile intended to make the remark seem like good news, whereas to my ears it had the ring of a life sentence. In one flash I saw the frightening truth." 

3. I think Bauby should measure progress in how much he does each week. He should meaure moving from a bed to a wheel chair as progress. At least he'll be able to move around, rather than just lying in bed for the rest of his life. Progress does not come quickly, and it is not easy. It happens little by little, slowly over time, with hard work. I think Bauby ends the chapter "Prayer," with the phrase "I set out for the kingdom of slumber with this wonderful talisman, which shields me from all harm," because his daughter's prayer for him, protects him from his own dark thoughts, but also harmful thoughts of others, and he hopes that her prayer, will protect him from his condition getting any worse, as he sleeps.