1. Read The Ladies of Hong Kong. Think of a place you know by smell. Can you adequately describe it? Which situation is more horrific? Bauby's or Jean-Paul K. Please explain your answer.
A place I know by smell is the barn, I don’t think I could accurately explain to someone the smell of the barn except for that it smells like dirt, horse manure, and horse. Besides that any detail would be impossible to go into. I think Jean-Paul K’s situation would be more horrific, because of the atmosphere. Even though they were both put in situations where their future was unsure, I feel like Jean-Paul’s was much worse. He had people surrounding him that were trying to hurt him. While everyone around Bauby was trying to help him.
2. After reading Wax Museum, why do you think Bauby is "fond of all these torturers"?
I think Bauby is fond of all of them, because even though they tend to do things wrong they are there for him. He also sees them as people, outside of their jobs. It seems to give them a more of a human aspect to them rather than the nurses and doctors that they are.
3. Read The Mythmaker and explain why you think Bauby has admiration for Olivier. What is the connection between memory and emotion?
Bauby has an admiration for Oliver because of his ability to come up with stories on the spot.
4. Why do you think Bauby likes the song A Day in the Life? Why do humans always wait for life's crescendo? Why do you think he places this chapter towards the end of the book?
I think Bauby likes the song because it gives him a sense of nostalgia from when he was young. Humans always wait for life’s crescendo because they wanto experience the most exciting parts, and not the boring ones. I think he puts the chapter toward the end so that people can see who he is now before they see who he was before. He seems to be ashamed of some of the acts he has committed previous to his accident, and its almost like he wants to get that across before he opens up who he used to be
5. Read Season of Renewal. Why is he savoring the last week of August? Is there something we can learn from him beause of his reaction to the end of vacation?
He is savoring the last week of august because he is finally starting not feel like death is emanate, and is looking forward to a new start. We can learn from him that the end of vacation is not really an end but a start of something new.