Andrew Y. Kim / 12. La Canada High
The process of writing the memoir "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is an inspiring story in itself.
The author Jean-Dominique Bauby editor of the French magazine Elle suffered a stroke and was left completely paralyzed except for his neck and left eye. Although trapped in a shell like a diving bell his mind was fully intact radiating with creativity and freedom like a butterfly. With the help of a speech therapist in reciting the alphabet and the blinking of his eye Bauby was able to craft his memoir letter letter word by word chapter by chapter.
His resulting work not only illustrates Bauby's physical and psychological difficulties but also the universal potential of the human imagination and a passion for life.
The memoir is not a complete narrative of Bauby's life but rather a collage of memories images and fantasies that Bauby recalls during his stay at the hospital Berck-sur-Mer in Northern France. Although the content may be less linear than most other memoirs Bauby is able to add depth and personality in all that he describes. Through events and images Bauby introduces deeper ideas about life relationships and travails; he associates a simple memory of shaving his father's face to his conflict of being an absence in his family's life a visit to a church to a visit to Lourdes and his humanistic world view. Through this unique perspective the reader no longer sees memories and people but symbols in an allegory of life.
Although Bauby died shortly after the publication of his memoir "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" still stands as a lasting testament to the power of the human mind and the beauty of life.