The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby is a memoir that tells readers about Bauby’s life after, and some memories 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. One type
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A metaphor usually connects two unlikely things. In the Literature text, even Aristotle considered a metaphor as “an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars” (530). An example of one is while Bauby emphasizes his appreciation for his daughter and father, “These two are the outer links of the chain of love that surrounds and protects me” (41). The metaphor certainly reveals that he cares about his family and cherishes the moments he has with them. This metaphor tells readers that Bauby is family oriented. A simile that is used that also has a positive connotation to it was, “On one particularly windy day, I even dared to draw near and bury my face in the folds of her [Eugenie] white gauzy dress with its broad satin stripes. It was as sweet as whipped cream, as cool as the morning dew" (24). In addition, inside this simile is also a metaphor considering Bauby isn’t literally burying his head into the empress of France’s dress. This particular reference to Eugenie shows his admiration towards a previous French empress and his country. As it is clearly shown, both the simile and metaphor has a happy meaning behind them. Metaphors and similes can help people see things in a new light and how they can relate to one
A metaphor usually connects two unlikely things. In the Literature text, even Aristotle considered a metaphor as “an intuitive perception of the similarity in dissimilars” (530). An example of one is while Bauby emphasizes his appreciation for his daughter and father, “These two are the outer links of the chain of love that surrounds and protects me” (41). The metaphor certainly reveals that he cares about his family and cherishes the moments he has with them. This metaphor tells readers that Bauby is family oriented. A simile that is used that also has a positive connotation to it was, “On one particularly windy day, I even dared to draw near and bury my face in the folds of her [Eugenie] white gauzy dress with its broad satin stripes. It was as sweet as whipped cream, as cool as the morning dew" (24). In addition, inside this simile is also a metaphor considering Bauby isn’t literally burying his head into the empress of France’s dress. This particular reference to Eugenie shows his admiration towards a previous French empress and his country. As it is clearly shown, both the simile and metaphor has a happy meaning behind them. Metaphors and similes can help people see things in a new light and how they can relate to one