The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

PLOT

This story had a very interesting plot. I had heard about the story before when the movie came out but I never seen it. Due to the fact that Benjamin's life is lived backwards it kind of seems to make the plot seem a little awkward in the beginning. The plot starts out with by revealing the way that Benjamin was born. After that much of the plot deals with the obstacles and problems with growing backwards. By being born as an old man the plot causes the reader to see many connections with the old and the young, for instance when says, "And a cane, father.. I want to have a cane." Just as small children have trouble walking so do old people. Another time this happens is when Button is in kindergarden and is "fed on oatmeal and nice soft mushy foods with a spoon." Old people have similar problems eating solid foods.

Point of View

The point of view in this story is 3rd person omniscient. This point of view allows the narrator to tell the story from an unbiased perspective and "let [us] judge for [our] self." (pg 5) The omniscient side of it allows the narrator to let us know what all the characters are thinking which becomes pretty important when Benjamin is first born so that we know what Mr. Button is thinking. "A grotesque picture formed itself with dreadful clarity before the eyes of the tortured man--a picture of himself walking through the crowded streets of the city with this appalling apparition stalking by his side." This insight is only possible with an omniscient narrator, without it we would not truly know the level of disapproval that Mr. Button has for his son.

Characterization

This story starts off with one paragraph that mentions Mr. and Mrs. Button and then follows with some a information packed paragraph that uses direct characterization. It says, "The Roger Buttons held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to the This Family and the That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the Confederacy." It goes on to begin the story but strangely enough the narrator completely shifts into indirect characterization when it comes to revealing Benjamin. We only really find out how he is through his actions and I think this is due to the fact that he is the main character. It doesn't matter as much if we learn about his parents it is easier to just tell us but if the story was just them telling us about Benjamin Button in the same manner it would be extremely short and probably very boring.

Setting

The setting in this story isn't terribly crucial except for a few instances. For the most part the story takes place in Benjamin's hometown in Maryland but really it could be in almost any state and nothing would really change. The few settings that actually matter are when Button is in the Spanish American War and also when he goes to college however the college location doesn't really matter. The various settings also contribute to the main theme of comparing the old to the young. In both of these times in Benjamin's life he is confined mostly to his home due to his physical limitations.

Theme

The theme to this story seemed to mainly be the comparison between the young and old. The story has a very interesting way of doing this however in my opinion it is very effective. I think it is effective mainly because it causes the reader to draw these conclusions without specifically spelling them out point blank. In the second to last paragraph it says, "and then he remembered nothing" the loss of memory is something that is often associated with growing old and Alzheimer's. The continued comparison between the old and the young make me think that this has to be the main theme although one could also argue that it is something like live life to the fullest regardless of your circumstances.