StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Character of Benjamin Button - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "The Character of Benjamin Button" focuses on the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” which is a film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story. Benjamin Button was born in 1918 at the close of World War I with an octogenarian’s face and bodily structure.  …
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.6% of users find it useful
The Character of Benjamin Button
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Character of Benjamin Button"

Benjamin Button
The movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” is a film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story about a man who ages backward.  Benjamin Button was born in 1918 at the close of World War I with an octogenarian’s face and bodily structure.  He was abandoned by his father when his mother died from childbirth.  He was then taken care of by Queenie, a black woman working at the nursing home. The film shows Benjamin’s life from the 20th century to the 21st century.  The movie unravels his happy and sad experiences as he lives his life aging in reverse.  He dies as an infant.  The movie shows the audience how Benjamin tackles the problem of reverse aging and how he confronts each situation given his extraordinary state.
Several aspects of human growth and development were demonstrated in the movie.  Benjamin’s physical development was shown from the time he was a wrinkled baby with clogged arteries and arthritis to the time when he was bald, with sight and hearing problems and needing a wheelchair to move around, to the time when he died as an infant when he was 84 years old.  As he grows old, he appears younger.  His physical developments have an immense effect on his relationship with people, specifically Daisy, the love of his life.  
A relevant relationship portrayed in this movie is that of Benjamin and his foster mother, Queenie.  One sees the importance of a mother’s love for his son, accepting him totally.  The movie shows the audience the significance of Queenie’s love for Benjamin despite his uniqueness, treating him as if he was his real son.  Queenie emphasizes to Benjamin that each individual is different but each one has to face life.  Queenie’s acceptance of Benjamin’s individuality has a great impact on Benjamin’s acceptance of his own situation.  If Queenie did not let Benjamin feel that he is loved despite his quirks, then Benjamin would have difficulty too of accepting who he is.  It would have been hard for him to learn to love people who are different from him.  One observes how Benjamin has become very open to learning from the people he meets along the way particularly Elizabeth and the Captain.  The way Benjamin is able to socialize with other people despite his abnormalities is quite impressive. 
Benjamin’s life in a nursing home, with residents similar to him in physiology has somehow made the problem of adjustment easier.  Living with old people has taught Benjamin how to deal with death.  Through Mrs. Maple, Benjamin learns that one has to lose the person he loves so that one may realize his importance.  This part of the movie shows the effect of the environment on a person’s development.     
Benjamin’s relationship with Daisy, the granddaughter of one of the tenants of the nursing home, exhibits the difficulties he encounters as a result of the problem of having to grow in reverse directions.  Benjamin met Daisy when he was 12 and with a body of a 70-year-old while Daisy was just a six-year-old girl.  Their emotional development of Benjamin centered on his relationship with Daisy.  Throughout the movie, Daisy plays an important part in his life, peaking at a time when they were both in the same physical age.
Benjamin’s growth into manhood is further illustrated by his relationship with Elizabeth Abbott, a married, upper-class English woman.  One however does not see any emotional attachment between the two as compared with that of Benjamin and Daisy.  Although the relationship between Benjamin and Elizabeth was not as deep as that between Benjamin and Daisy, it is through this connection that Benjamin learns about sex and desire.
The real world was introduced to Benjamin when he joins the crew of a tugboat.  He is also initiated into the pleasures of the flesh as he visits the brothel.  
  One life lesson given by Benjamin in the movie is the advice he gives his daughter when he said that one can be whoever he wants to be and that there is no time limit.  He also talks about how a person’s life is defined by opportunities, those which one may take advantage of or those which one may miss. In the movie, Captain Mike also talks about letting go when one reaches the end of the line.  These are lessons that have an impact on a person’s view on life and may be relevant in the growth and development of an individual’s personality.
The movie gives the audience a glimpse of life’s happy and sad moments through the presentation of Benjamin’s life from birth to death.  It shows the moviegoers the importance of love and how it will see one through life’s various struggles and difficulties.  The film gives a lesson on acceptance, acknowledging one’s strengths and weaknesses and eventually learning to adapt to one’s environment given the qualities that one possesses.  Throughout the film, the audience is shown their coping abilities of Benjamin in dealing with his abnormal physical changes and his physiological development. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Benjamin Button Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words”, n.d.)
Benjamin Button Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/psychology/1433600-benjamin-button
(Benjamin Button Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words)
Benjamin Button Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1433600-benjamin-button.
“Benjamin Button Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/psychology/1433600-benjamin-button.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Character of Benjamin Button

The Curious History of Benjamin Button by David Fincher

This essay "The Curious History of benjamin button by David Fincher" depicts the importance of life and the consequences of unnatural human desires.... The Curious Case of benjamin button is a fantasy drama employing a narrative structure.... The 2008 fantasy film, The Curious Case of benjamin button, beautifully narrates the story of a man who was born with features of an 80-years-old and starts aging in the reverse direction.... Thomas button, horrified by his elderly features, abandoned him right away at the doorsteps of a retirement home....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Sadown Response paper to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Name Professor Course Date The Curious Case of benjamin button: A Response Originally presented to the public in written form, The Curious Case of benjamin button was written by F.... It was also peculiar that instead of an old man with a beard, the film presented benjamin button as an “old” baby with wrinkled skin all-over his body.... First and foremost, in the story, the name of benjamin's father was Roger but in the film it became Thomas....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

the character of benjamin is one whose origin story is quite complex and, in my opinion, lacking in character development and backstory.... I was very excited when I found out that our reading response for this class was to be based on the story “The Curious Case of benjamin button”.... The Curious Case of benjamin button.... I was very excited when I found out that our reading response for this class was to be based on the story “The Curious Case of benjamin button”....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Developmental Theory

This case will explore the movie, The Curious Case of benjamin button based on the development theories.... Daisy asks her daughter to read the diary of benjamin button.... The reading of the diary introduces the audience to the life of benjamin button who was born with a physical and appearance malady that is associated with old men.... The social workers are bewildered by their physical and mental state of benjamin to the extent that they say that he has dementia....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Benjamins Character

The film The Curious Case of benjamin button is about a child who was born looking old, but as years went by, he grew younger.... This movie shows the entire life of benjamin button, from the time he was born to the time he died.... This paper is going to analyze these film-making techniques used in the film, and describe how benjamin was able to face all the difficulties in his life.... Science fiction is used because benjamin's condition at birth, and the way he lived from old to young cannot exist....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

David Fincher's Film

The focus of the paper "David Fincher's film" is on successful filmmaking ventures, the substance of this prose will analyze the intricate aspects of his blockbuster film 'The Curious Case of benjamin button', a comparison with other Films directed by David Fincher.... Therefore, 'The Curious Case of benjamin button' used exceptional visual effects to help viewers to absorb these motifs.... He has many successful filmmaking ventures under his name, but the substance of this prose will analyze the intricate aspects of his blockbuster film 'The Curious Case of benjamin button'....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This work called "The Curious Case of benjamin button" describes one of the films by director David Fincher.... In the case of this movie, The Curious Case of benjamin button, the director has portrayed the drama that occurs due to reverse aging.... In the case of The Curious Case of benjamin button, the director explicitly showcases the eventual death of the prime character of the movie, Benjamin Button.... The satisfaction of the viewers comes from the fact that the director not only portrays the death of benjamin button on the movie but also showcases the life that is discovered in the movie....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Hyperreality in the Media Matrix

The paper "Hyperreality in the Media Matrix" proves that contemporary society has mislaid its confidence in the metanarratives of the past.... the modern collective is organized around 'language games' that are used primarily to validate people's behavior.... ... ... ... Each avowal takes on the appearance of the movement of a knight or pawn within a complicated game of chess....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us