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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Hsu, Yen-Ting (徐彥婷) Class211
Hsu, Ting
(許婷)
Class211
Teachers：陳姿仲、蔡幸珊、張思韻、黃惠婷
Yan-Ping Private Senior High School
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ⅰ.Introduction
Shakespeare once compared the world to a stage and all people were just like
players. Many people think of our life as a journey which only belongs to us.”
The curious case of Benjamin Button” is an intriguing movie mainly adapted
from a short novel. This movie was nominated the Best Picture, the Best
Director, the Best Actor, the Best Supporting Actress, and was awarded the
Best Art Direction, the Best Makeup, and the Best Visual Effects by the 81st
Academy Awards. The inspiration of the literally creation is quoted from Mark
Twain” Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of
eighty and gradually approach eighteen.” Ordinary people step on the road of
death, meeting their terminal of life. While the backflow of time leads Benjamin
to another bizarre phase. Will it be a better life? The motive that drives us to
look into this movie is to pursue the profound meaning of Benjamin’s life and
our own life.
As a consequence, we compared Daisy’s life with this curious case and the
original novel with the adapted movie. We found a few appealing similarities
and differences. The following is our investigation.
Ⅱ.Thesis
1. Background
A. New Orleans
Located in the southeastern Louisiana, New Orleans is the most important port
as well as the major industrial city in Southerern America, also referred to as
the "most unique" city. The movie started with Daisy confined to bed in a
hospital in New Orleans, and ended with the scene of the disaster brought by
the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, August 25,2005, which was also
displayed in the reality.
B. World War One
At first, the USA didn’t attend the World War One. After Germany announced
the military operation “Unrestricted Submarine Warfare” in 1915, many
innocent American ships were attacked. As a result, America took part in the
World War One, and eventually, they won. On the day they celebrated the
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
triumph of the war, Benjamin Button, the curious man who had an
extraordinary life was born.
C. World War Two
Same as the World War One, the USA wasn’t one of the members of the war at
first. She attended the World War Two because of the Hawaii Operation, which
was provoked by Japan and caused a great damage to America. The boat
which Benjamin labored on, the Chelsea was conscripted into this war. As a
result, Benjamin and the ship’s crew witnessed the horrifying scene of this
cruel war.
2. The characters
A. main characters
a. Benjamin Button
P1
He is the main character in the film, who is featured by Brad Pitt.
He was born in the form of a graybeard and became younger and younger in
his bizarre life. Abandoned by his startled father, he spent his childhood in the
rest-home. Later on, he befriended with several venerable elders such as Mrs.
Maple and Mr. Oti, who broadened Benjamin’s horizon.
He met Daisy there ---the woman who was the treasure of his life.
A whole new fantastic world was revealed in front of Benjamin after he got
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
aboard on the Chelsea to work. The first job and the first love affair made him
no longer foreign to ordinary life. After going through the World War Two,
Benjamin finished endless voyages and went back to rest-home again, where
he had a reunion with Daisy. Soon, he and Daisy fell in love, and they gave
birth to a little girl, who was named” Caroline”. However, while he became
younger and younger physically, his mentality reached elder’s level. He was
even diagnosed with dementia-- which made him forget everything. Afterwards,
Benjamin was attended by Daisy, and he died in Daisy’s embrace in the form
of an infant.
b. Daisy
P2
Daisy was a girl who had talent in dancing. She was so good at it that she was
the only American dancer ever performed in the Bolshoi Theatre. Nonetheless,
due to a terrible car crash, she broke her right leg, which made her unable to
dance anymore. Daisy met Benjamin in her childhood. She knew that he
wasn’t merely an ordinary old man. They became friends and they sent
postcards to each other no matter where they were. At last, Daisy fell in love
with Benjamin. They weren’t married, but they had a daughter who was
named” Caroline”.
B. supporting characters
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a. Queenie
Queenie used to be an attendant in the
rest-home. Because she lost the ability to bear
a child, she took pity on friendless as well as
helpless Benjamin, and adapted him. Instead of
being nauseated toward Benjamin, she treated
him as her own son. She was a significant
person in Benjamin’s life.
P3
b. Captain Mike
During the Great Depression, Benjamin
stepped his foot on the Chelsea,
coming across another indispensable
person-- captain Mike. He brought
Benjamin to the pub and let him
observe and learn from the real world.
Captain died in the World War Two,
leaving thought for Benjamin---“You
can be as mad as a mad dog at the
P4
way things went. You could swear,
curse the fates, but when it comes to the end, you have to let go. He
helped Benjamin develop a profound philosophy toward life.
c. Elizabeth Abbott
Elizabeth was the first woman Benjamin had a
love affair with. She was already married when
they first met. Nonetheless, after their secret
chatting every night, gradually, they fell in love.
Elizabeth was once a top-notch swimmer, who
dreamed to swim across the English Channel.
However, she gave up when the opposite bank
was almost seen. She felt very remorse about
the failure. Finally, she succeeded at the age of
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
63.
P5
d. Thomas Button
Playing the role as a father, Mr.Button didn’t
fulfill his obligation. He abandoned Benjamin
because of his unbelievably ugly looking.
Although he did such a cruel thing, he still cared
his son a lot. When he encountered Benjamin at
the brothel, he noticed his identity instantly.
After Mr.Button was seriously ill, he offered a
sincere apology to Benjamin, and admitted the
truth that he was his father.
P6
e. Caroline
The whole film was unfolded through the
statement of Benjamin’s daily diary narrated by
his daughter-- Caroline. The name “Caroline”
was named after Benjamin’s mother.
P7
f. Mrs. Maple
She was an old lady who taught Benjamin” the
true meaning of losing our earnest love” in the
rest-home. Mrs. Maple told him that “We are
doomed to lose our beloved, or how will we
know how much we love them?” And she also
taught him how to play the piano.
P8
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
g. Little man Oti
Mr. Oti was a Pygmy, which means he was very
short. He was Benjamin’s first friend, and he
was also the first man to find Benjamin’s curious
characteristic. He helped Benjamin to contact
with the world outside of the rest-home.
P9
3. The plot
On November 11, 1918, an infant was born with the appearance and physical
condition of a man in his early-eighty just as the residents of New Orleans
were celebrating the end of the World War One. The baby’s father, Thomas
Button, abandoned him on the porch of a rest- home. Queenie, who was the
attendant in the rest- home, was unable to bear a child, deciding to adopt the
baby. She named the baby Benjamin.
Benjamin began to grow younger biologically. He met a 6-year-old girl named
Daisy, whose grandmother lived in the nursing home. In 1934, Benjamin went
to work on a tugboat for a tattoo craftsman, Captain Mike. Later on, Benjamin
left his hometown with the tugboat staff for a long-term employment. While in
the Russian port city of Murmansk, he came across a love affair with the
married Elizabeth Abbott.
While in Russia, Captain Mike’s tugboat was assigned into the United States
Navy because of the World War Two. Undergoing this devastating ordeal,
Captain Mike unfortunately passed away.
The 21-year-old Daisy has become a household name as a ballet dancer in
New York City while Benjamin afterwards returned to New Orleans.
Nonetheless, a car accident became an obstacle in Daisy's otherwise
successful dancing career. In 1962, Daisy returned to New Orleans and
reunited with Benjamin. Of the same physical age, they fell in love and had a
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daughter named Caroline. Nonetheless, Benjamin was convinced that he
could not be a normal father due to his reverse aging. Accordingly, he left
them.
Years later, Daisy received a phone call, which informed her that they found
Benjamin — now a young 12-year-old boy, who was suffered from dementia
and he could not remember his past. Daisy moved into the rest- home where
Benjamin grew up and took care of him.
In the spring of 2003, the 84-year-old Benjamin, who was now physically an
infant, died in Daisy's embrace. At the moment before Benjamin died, Daisy
could tell from his look that he recognized who she was. Finally, the 2005
hurricane cuts the electrical system, Daisy passes away.
III. An analysis from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
1. the original book
The book’s cover P10
Seeing the book’s cover at first sight, you may think of it as a common book
with a simple cover. Actually, this cover contained plenty of meanings in it. By
depicting a clock and a few gear wheels, it brought out a hint about time. In the
story, Benjamin Button was a man who had a reversing life. He wasn’t able to
do things in time. For instance, he couldn’t attend the university when his
mental age was twenty yeas old, just because of his elder appearance.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Through the cruel experience of Benjamin’s, we noticed the happiness to hold
a normal life.
The book features the story in a way far from the movie. It didn’t portray much
about what Benjamin occurred in his life, but emphasized the impressions
others imposed on him. At first, Benjamin told everyone the truth about his
“real age”; however, no one took it seriously. Moreover, they thought it was an
absurb joke and ignored everything he spoke. After numberless frustrations,
Benjamin learned not to tell the reality but to cater to things others were fond
of.
Through the book, we noticed that our society doesn’t really accept bizarre
people. We are often afraid of contacting new things that have never appeared
in our life. As a consequence, we avoid the unusual things and refer to them as
lies, assuming that doing this can protect ourselves from risks.
Besides, the book added more mysterious elements to the story. For example,
Benjamin was born in the form of an old man, while the movie had him born as
an infant’s stature, but graybeard’s condition. It sounded qutie preposterous to
have such an intact man born from a woman’s womb. However, this was
actually what the author wanted to display – an absurd story that couldn’t occur
in reality. Based on the fictitious background, the author could bring his
imagination into full play, such as a heavenly steed soaring across the skies.
2.Comparison of Benjamin’s curious life and Daisy’s normal life
Unlike common people, Benjamin possessed a unique life. Since born in the
world, Benjamin had grown in the process of adversed background different
from other people. In the movie, the director took advantage of ingenious
technique using Benjamin and Daisy, who feature the two main characters, to
make a vivid comparison.
Born
Benjamin
Daisy
1. Born in infant’s stature, but
with graybeard’s physical
condition.
2. As a misfortune, he was
1. Born just like other normal infants.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
abandoned in the nursing home
by his father.
3. His physical function
practically broke down.
Childhood
1. Since the mature body, he was 1. Free from care, she made friends
confined to a wheelchair, and
with children who had the same age
could not make much movement as her.(except Benjamin)
at will.
2. Under such circumstances, he
could only befriend with the elder
whose age had great differences
with him.
Teenager
1. Physical age strided into sixty, 1.So as to acquire the capability of
ballet, she went to ballet school.
he left home to work.
2. Familiarized himself with the
sophisticated world earlier than
normal people.
3. Having an affair with a married
woman older than him.
Meridian
1. Compelled to the war since he 1. Becoming a big-time ballet
was working on the tugboat.
dancer, but she broke her leg and
2. Attached to Daisy, but because couldn’t dance anymore.
of different ages, he confronted a 2. She held a complex social
cold refusal.
relationship and had affair with many
dancers simultaneously.
Middle-aged 1. Indulging in infatuations with
Daisy (at same mental age) and
had a daughter – Caroline.
2. Caught in a dilemma, he left
Daisy and Caroline since he
didn’t want Caroline to have a
bizarre father.
Old
1. Physical condition grew
younger and younger. But
diagnosed with dementia.
Death
1. Died in the form of an infant.
1. Falling in love with Benjamin and
they had a child.
2. She ran bussiness as a ballet
teacher.
3. After Benjamin left, she married
another man.
1. Attended Benjamin, who lost his
memory.
2. Her physical condition was
reaching to her own limit.
1. Died in one of New Orlean’s
hospital with an aged appearance.
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Sub-issues
A. About “Love”
If the movie was revealed in front of a sophisticated person, he might be
touched a lot; while being innocent people, we can’t not help but think “Why
Benjamin was so persistent in love, but evaded at times?” Love and death are
both the most controversial assignment and challenges in our life. We have no
eternal life; as a result, we couldn’t do nothing but wait for true love to come.
We should be on the initiative to pursue happiness, just because time flees in a
twinkling of an eye. We must take advantage of our sights and sounds of
spring in our life, indulge ourselves in our affection, only for fear that it will be
too late.
B. About ”Destiny”
The movie’s illustration of coincidence as well as fate gives us a ponderable
inspiration. All the gains and loses, laughter and tears, be it trivial or significant,
have their reasonable meaning and logical principle behind them. Human
beings have to “live” so as to realize the thing called “life”. Time will pass;
things will change; whether we live a normal or reverse life, it may be the
arrangement of fate, which involves psychological meanings. The habit of
relying on our beloved family members and the hesitation and construction
toward affection are both true experiences of life.
C. An analysis from Benjamin to his daughter’s letter
a. the original text
“To be whoever you want to be, start whenever you want. You can change or
stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the
worst of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you
never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope
you live a life you’re proud of. And if you find that you’re not… I hope you have
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
the strength to a start all over again.”
b. analysis
This letter may not be that abstruse at first sight, but actually, it involved a lot of
philosophic theories. God is fair, he gives everyone, no matter rich or poor,
twenty-four hours a day and it couldn’t reverse. Although Benjamin
experienced a reversing life physically, he still couldn’t make time a turn. As
the proverb goes “One never arranges enough to beat changes.” Occasionally,
things that we put high expectation on them come with accidental outcomes.
Life is a journey pieced up by unexpected fragments, as a consequence,
wonders, excitements and miracles are here, there and everywhere. The only
thing we can do is to face our lives courageously. We dominate our own lives;
we don’t need to be regretful for doing things we draw interests in. And when
we make mistakes, there’s no necessity to be dejected, we should make every
effort to solve problems and make it a try again. There’re lots of interesting
amazements around us, we should learn lessons from these things even they
are tiny things, in order to broaden our horizon, to enrich our knowledge and to
be a person that honor his life.
Ⅳ.Conclusion
The movie wants to express a fabulous fable, an abnormal, reversed-growing
man, and his bizarre experience with some special people. He discovered the
true meaning of love and annotated copiously about the” real life”.
We learn that the sorrow and delight interweave our lives and we have no
alternative whenever faced with some incident. Sometimes we might consider
that our sorrow can be recovered by the fleeting of time, which is called
“eternity”. However, time is not always the best medicine. If we avoid facing
challenges, nothing will be changed. It makes people query about that is
eternity just a daydream?
No matter which kind of life we lives, an ordinary one or a reversed-growing
one, our journey of life never ends. We are bound to fulfill our obligation of life
not only for beloveds but for ourselves. Like Queenie uttered “You never know
what’s comin’ for sure.”
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ⅴ.References
1. 班傑明的奇幻旅程，維基百科，自由的百科全書。
http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/%E5%A5%87%E5%B9%BB%E9%80%86%E7%
B7%A3#.E8.A9.95.E8.AB.96 (檢索日期：2009/10/28)
2. 班傑明的奇幻旅程。ＤＶＤ
3. F. Scott Fitzgerald (2007).The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. U.S.A:
Simon & Schuster Inc.
4. 史考特˙費特傑羅（著）
，柔之、林惠敏、鄭天恩（譯）(2009)。班傑明的奇
幻旅程。台北縣：新雨出版社。
5. (P1~P2) Simon is here 白鴿飛過藍色天空
http://sunshineseed.blogspot.com/2009/01/curious-case-of-benjamin-button.ht
ml (檢索日期：2009/11/4)
6. (P3~P9) Aveleyman – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
http://www.aveleyman.com/FilmCredit.aspx?FilmID=28362 (檢索日期：
2009/11/14)
7. (P10) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at Detronizator.org
http://www.detronizator.org/2009/01/07/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/
(檢索日期：2009/11/14)
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