CURIOUS+CASE+OF+BENJAMIN+BUTTON



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THEMES IN THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON **The Curious Case of Benjamin Button THEMES:** **#1 - IDENTITY** "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is the story of a man who is born old and ages backwards. The story explores the way that age dictates **identity;** how //old// we are has quite a bit to do with //who// we are. And not just where physical appearance is concerned. By being born old, Benjamin is born not just with the body and face of an old man, but with the mind and emotions of an old man. Even though he’s a newborn, then, he enjoys the company of old men. As he gets younger physically, his personality changes accordingly: he becomes more vivacious and social. "Benjamin Button" reminds us that age is not, after all, just a number. **Questions About Identity** **MORE TO THINK ABOUT:** "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" argues that age has more to do with mindset than anything physical.
 * 1) What aspects of identity does age define in this story?
 * 2) How does Benjamin deal with his odd aging process?
 * 3) When Benjamin is born, what aspects of him are "old," and which are "young"?

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" argues that the age of one’s mind is entirely dictated by the age of one’s body.

**#2 LIFE, CONSCIOUSNESS & EXISTENCE** By presenting a rather unusual scenario (a man who ages backwards), "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" explores the nature of life, death, and aging in the rest of us. This story poses several questions: what does age really reflect of a person? What is the value of youth, and what is the value of experience? How do we deal with our own mortality and how does the knowledge of our own impending deaths affect the way we live our lives? These are the questions examined in this bittersweet story **Questions About Life, Consciousness, and Existence** **FURTHER DISCUSSION:** Benjamin makes the most of the life he is given.
 * 1) How does Benjamin die? How does Fitzgerald treat the end of Benjamin’s life, and what effect does this have on the story’s tone?
 * 2) "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is the story of something extraordinary; but what does it have to say about "normal" life?
 * 3) Fitzgerald writes that Benjamin quite simply "took life as he found it" (1.3.6). How is that Benjamin is able to so calmly accept what is happening to him?

Benjamin is unable to enjoy his life because of his condition.

**#3 Theme of Family** We tend to think of family as the people who support us at all possible times. This is not the case in "Benjamin Button." Because Benjamin is different, his parents have difficulty accepting him for who he is. They are able to love him only in so far as he plays along with a charade of normality. Later, Benjamin encounters the same problem with his wife, and eventually, his son. Still, if they are unable to love him unconditionally, they are still there for Benjamin out of a sense of family obligation. **Questions About Family** **STILL THINKING:** Because of his condition, Benjamin is essentially alone for his entire life.
 * 1) What role do Benjamin’s parents play in this story? What about that of his wife and child, in the latter half of the tale?
 * 2) Do Benjamin’s parents love their child?
 * 3) Benjamin loses interest in his wife and child as he grows younger. As readers, do we judge him for this? Or do we understand that it’s part of his condition?

Despite his condition, Benjamin makes meaningful connections with those around him.