Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Essay Example

People then were impartial to slavery, “nativism and religious beliefs. “(Baltimore” n.d.) The birth of Benjamin came at a time when people have no knowledge of medical research and science, and the phenomenon that happened in the story was not understood. Even medical science books did not provide information about the advanced stage of mind and body of Benjamin when he was born. Since people are bound by religious beliefs, a baby born out of the ordinary situation is a clear sensation in such a small community of Antebellum, Baltimore.

The population of Baltimore in 1860 was only 212,000 but the city was bustling in the economy because of trade brought about by the railways and steamships, and the first transatlantic cable system. (“Baltimore”) The family of Benjamin was one of the elites in the society and they had anticipated the birth of their son with much enthusiasm. This is the time too that discrimination is rife because of the existence of black slavery. Discrimination is shown in the story not by the color of Benjamin’s skin but by his physical appearance that led to his non-acceptance to Yale.

Yale and Harvard are the two most prominent schools most wealthy families send their children for schooling, but it could be seen that there are also student discriminations on these two colleges. The period of 1869 to 1896 was the construction boom in Baltimore. Construction of housing became the major factor in Baltimore’s economy. (“Baltimore”) It is assumed that this is the time where Benjamin took control of the hardware business of the family that gave them immense wealth.

By that, it is calculated he is 20 years old with looks of a 50-year-old man when he began to help his father in their business. Baltimore, during the time of the story, was torn by civil war. It was also agog with politics that kept people interested in their three-party political system, powerful bosses, orchestrated political violence and the emergence of the working class. However, neither of these political scenarios bothered the young Benjamin who was in himself concerned by his dissimilarity of appearance.

In time, he was accepted by his father, and later on by a woman who fell in love and married him. The mystery of his body creation was never explained because he became restless as he grew younger in vitality and energy. He threw this energy on the Spanish American War in 1898 where he became a decorated hero. The Spanish American War was brief but had left momentous memory particularly the celebrated charge upon an obscure Cuban Hill on July 1, 1898, where Benjamin joined and was wounded. This incident also became the pivotal time in the career of Theodore Roosevelt who later on became a US President.

(The Roughriders…n.d.) He was determined to be too young when he tried to return to the army when America joined the Allied Forces in World War 1. In 1917, American troops were assembled and were committed to rallying with the Allied Forces, and Benjamin wanted to join it. The life of Benjamin was a lonely one, as he was misunderstood by society, that even his only son, did not take pride in him. The story is also played in two generations when Benjamin was found to be playing and behaving like his own grandson.

His childlike behavior, in his further years, was shown as being enrolled in the kindergarten school which he liked so much, he stayed there for three years. At this time, all the memories of his past were gone, he did not remember anything, and the only familiar thing left to him was his crib, his milk, and his nana.