a) What is 'Locked-in syndrome'? Why would one consider Bauby's condition a prison? What is the significance of The Butterfly?

'Locked-in syndrome' is basiclay when your body is not functioning, almost as if your body is in a coma, but your mind is still completly functional. You are still there mentally, can precive things, but are unable to move, speak, twitch, whatever. This could be considered as a prision because you are still able to form opions, want to speak, want to communicate, want to have contol of your body, but instead everything about you is controlled. It isolates you from the ones that you love becuase of not having an accurate way to communicate. The butterfly is significant because it symbolizes the freedom that he wishes to have.It also shows how his thought proscess seems to flaot around from one thought to the other, and how he does not have a huge effect on what is going on around besides just something to look at.

b) What was Bauby's "frightening truth'?
Bauby's "frightening truth" was that he might be stuck in a wheel chair for his whole life. That he may never fully recover from this state of being.


c) In your opinion, how do you think Bauby should measure progress? Why do you 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."
I think Bauby should meausre progress by what he is able to do. Whenever a part of his body becomes even slightly accesible for him to control i think that should be counted as some type of progress. I think he choses to end the chapter in this way because sleep is the one place where he can feel completley free, he can imagine whatever he wants. He also is comforted by the idea of his daughter praying for his recovery, and this helps guide his dreams to a better place and keeps him positive in a situation that couold lead many to be quite depressed.