The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (short story)
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | |
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| Author(s) | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Publication date | May 27, 1922 |
| Media type | Print (magazine) |
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a short story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in Colliers Magazine on May 27, 1922. It was subsequently anthologized in his book, Tales of the Jazz Age, which is occasionally published as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories.[1] Development rights to the story were held for years by the late Hollywood mogul Ray Stark. Stark retained those rights until his death in 2004, when they were purchased from his estate and used for an adaptation of the story as the 2008 film of the same name, directed by David Fincher.
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[edit] Plot
Benjamin is born with the physical appearance of a 70-year-old man, already able to speak. His father Roger invites neighborhood boys to play with him and orders him to play with children's toys, but Benjamin only obeys to please his father. At five, Benjamin is sent to kindergarten but is quickly withdrawn after he repeatedly falls asleep during child activities.
When Benjamin turns 12, the Button family realizes that he is aging backward. At the age of 18, Benjamin enrolls in a university but having run out of hair dye on the day of registration, is sent home by officials, who think he is a 50-year-old lunatic.
In 1910, Benjamin turns over control of his company to his son, Roscoe, and enrolls at Harvard University, having the appearance of a twenty-year-old. His first year at Harvard is a great success, and he is dominant in American football, notably obtaining revenge against Yale for his earlier unpleasant experience. However, by the time Benjamin reaches his last 2 years, he is a weak sixteen-year-old, unable to play football and barely able to cope with the academic load.
After graduation, Benjamin returns home, only to learn his wife has moved to Italy. He lives with Roscoe, who treats him very sternly, making Benjamin call him "Uncle" in front of his house guests. As the years progress, Benjamin turns from a moody teenager into a young child. Eventually Roscoe has a child that later attends kindergarten with Benjamin. After kindergarten, Benjamin slowly begins to lose memory of his earlier life. His memory fades away to the point where he cannot remember anything except his nurse. Then everything fades to darkness.
[edit] Film adaptation
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was released as a motion picture late in the 2008 season starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and directed by David Fincher. The screenplay differs greatly from the short story. Only the title, Benjamin's name, and most aspects of the aging process are retained in the screenplay.
[edit] References
- ^ F. Scott Fitzgerald (2008). The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0143105493. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143105493.
[edit] External links
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Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
- Full text of the story online at The University of Virginia
- Full text of the story online at Feedbooks.com
- Tales of the Jazz Age at Project Gutenberg
- Complete recording of original unabridged version of the 1921 short story at Archive.org
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