The curious case of Benjamin Button…..
The curious case of Benjamin Button by Scott Fitzgerald, as you might have known, is about a man who ages backwards. Benjamin starts out old, cranky, dejected, and submissive and grows to be adventurous, joyous, fun seeking and ends up innocent and childish.
Even though it is said that it was a satire written in regard of the young men who died in WW1, who never had the chance to get old, I can't but feel that it is a satire on America, it's "discovery" and it's "formation", especially when Benjamin is born, his father keeps on insisting that he is only a boy, the grandfather grows accustomed eventually with him and considers him company and the rest of the world can’t get their head around the mere idea of it, not to mention the boy, who is completely baffled himself.
As years pass, during his “growth”, he falls in love, runs a business, enlists in the war, goes to college and then ends up an infant. The story begins with satire and as it progresses, it gets melancholic. The story is satire for satire’s sake and there isn’t any bother about character development. People around Ben cannot get accustomed to him or his strange growth through life. He is ever the outcast and instead of getting supporting hands, all he ever sees are furious faces filled with incredulity. The book is a short one and it comprises to a quicker read.
★★★
Did you mean Progeria?
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