Use Of Figurative Language In The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby is a memoir that tells readers about Bauby’s life after and some before he had a stroke. He was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, who suffered from a stroke at the age of forty-three that leaves him paralyzed. Unfortunately, he suffers from “locked-in syndrome” until he passed away. Throughout the memoir, Bauby still uses many different types of figurative language, especially symbols and metaphors, and can still find the irony in certain situations, considering he composed it with just the use of blinking his left eye. It shows that imagination isn’t always lost in times of hardship and it can help readers gain some insight through the author’s point of view.

To begin analyzing the

The butterfly represents his mind flying away with beautiful wings into his own little fantasy world. On the other hand, the diving bell represents him feeling trapped in his own body. Both of these symbols make sense, considering butterflies are usually seen as harmless animals that fly around. A diving bell can be perceived more as being trapped deep down in the water. One can only imagine what suffering from “locked-in syndrome” is like to endure, so the diving bell can help those capture what it would be like. For some it might evoke the feeling of panic and confinement. “My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly” (5). Bauby mentions it here and how his mind is like a butterfly and is somewhat of his salvation. Symbols are important to a story because they give an extra hidden meaning readers have to discover for themselves. Without recognizing the symbols, it takes away from the significance of the literature. Irony is another important figurative language. Readers can also detect some irony in the memoir. An example of this was before Bauby was paralyzed, when he’s describing a memory of his trip to Lourdes with Josephine. They come

He gives it humanistic characteristics such as a beacon of hope, “I saw it: tall, robust, and reassuring in red and white stripes that reminded me of a rugby shirt. I placed myself at once under the protection of this brotherly symbol, guardian not just of sailors but of the sick-- those castaways on the shorts of loneliness” (28-29). The sentence brought the lighthouse to life and brought readers a better understanding of what it meant to Bauby. Personification gives readers something to relate to in more humanistic terms rather than talking about a simple inanimate object. In time of need, many people look for some kind of comfort, in which Bauby finds in the lighthouse. The connection he finds with the lighthouse can somewhat parallel to the butterfly symbol. They both bring him a euphoric feeling to hold onto while living in the hospital. Another important aspect that isn’t lost in the memoir is his word choice. It clearly doesn’t lack his intelligence in diction, even while suffering from locked-in syndrome. Readers can detect his time as an editor of Elle due to the sophisticated vocabulary he writes in. Diction is one of the reliable indications of whether the writing is noteworthy or bad. One sentence that readers might find his eloquent diction would be, “My jovial cackling at first disconcerted Eugenie, until she herself was infected by my mirth” (25). The words Bauby chose