The Curious Case

The curious Case
Sabrina Gardner
Dr. Maxwell
Psych 2301
October 16, 2013

The Curious Case “What if I told you I was getting younger not older (Benjamin Button)? What would people do if every day they grew younger instead of older? If people started life as an old woman or man close to death to only have their time clock go backwards almost if they got another chance at life. How does someone who grows younger view the world, what are they aware of, what motivates them, and how do they learn and how it affects the people around them. This is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a child born an old man. When Benjamin was born his mother died giving birth to him so his father already resented him and when he saw Benjamin for the first time he did not see a child he saw a monster. His first reaction was to get rid of the thing that took away his wife. He thought of killing the baby by throwing him into river, but he was stopped and ended up leaving Benjamin on the steps of a nursing home. The flood of emotions Thomas Button experienced when his wife died giving birth to their son he was angry and when he saw Benjamin’s strangely aged face that gave him the emotion that motivated him even more. The need for Thomas to get rid of this thing, creature, and monster was so great that he did not hesitate when he grabbed the baby out of its cradle and ran. As Thomas approached the river and was about to throw Benjamin into its unforgiving currents he was interrupted and his fight or flight sense kicked in and he ran leading him to the nursing home he left Benjamin at where he was took in by a kind woman named Queenie who cared for him as her own. Elizabeth Abbott the woman Benjamin Button had an affair with dreamed of being the first woman to swim the entire English Channel. She attempted it once but gave up half way there she did not finish and she regretted it. Elizabeth probably grew tired of the feeling of regret she had for not finishing the swim because she went back to complete this challenge she gave herself and she did just that; she had finally finished what she had started. That feeling of regret she had fueled her motivation to go back and try again and her past failure gave her the determination and motivation she needed to see what she had started through, her combining emotions and motivations lead her to a victory. Benjamin who was said to die soon after he was born, lived and he grew despite of what the doctor would tell his mama. As he grew so did his curiosity which is common for young children, but in Benjamin’s case he felt and thought as a young child even though he did not look like one. He was treated like the old man he resembled by others because older people know better than to do certain things like when he almost wheeled himself of the porch. In reality Benjamin knows only what he has experienced in the nursing home. I cannot imagine having a child’s mind and energy but being trapped inside the body of an 80 year old who cannot even walk with their own two legs. Benjamin in his early stages of life perceived the world as a child with his youthful and wondering mind but he sensed it as an old man with his old ears, eyes, and body. Benjamin could not walk, he could barely hear, he wore glasses, and he did not have the ability to bathe himself. Surrounded by other old people he thought this was normal, but it he had been surrounded by children it would have been frustrating because he would not have been able to do the things that they did. Benjamin as well as the others around him all took notice to the changes he went through. In a nursing home changes were probably usually not good changes, but for Benjamin his change was great. Benjamin as he got older began to walk on his own, he could hear just fine, he no longer needed glasses, and he was fully independent and no longer needed help to bathe himself. These changes is Benjamin did not go unnoticed as his friends commented on how great he looked from the time before they had seen him. As Benjamin grew bigger and older he became more and more aware of himself as this individual person. He notices the while everyone else was losing hair he was growing hair in various places, he noticed as others grew weaker that he was growing stronger. He began to realize that he was not like the others I the house that he was actually completely different. As they grew older, sicker, and eventually died; he grew younger, healthier and had no idea when he would die. Benjamin became so self-aware Queenie let him go off on his own and got himself a job working on a boat and went to sea and eventually joined the army. Living in a nursing home Benjamin was accustomed to death; it was the norm. Benjamin watched many of his friends come and go while he remained death became so routine that no tears were ever shed. Even though death was common in the house “When someone died there was a silence that fell over the house” said, Benjamin. That silence that fell over the house represented a whole losing a piece of itself, Benjamin watched his father and his mama die it must be awful to witness almost every single person you love die before you do. The only one he did not watch die was Daisy the love of his life and the mother of his daughter. Having a baby made Benjamin wake up out of his daydream and bought him back to reality. Realizing that he would not be able to watch his daughter grow and that he could not be the father she needed him to be. Benjamin loved Daisy and his daughter Caroline very much but he knew had to leave due to that he was growing younger; he could not grow old with Daisy or be able to watch his daughter grown older and maybe have children of her own so he left. Daisy questioned him for leaving in the beginning but when he came back to visit years later seeing him as child made her realize that he was right that it would be hard for to raise Caroline and him at the same time it would be too much for he emotionally. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button the story of a child born and old man. Being born and in the state of old person could have many outcomes a positive one being that when you grow younger you will appreciate your youth more than a child who grows older; you would not waste it doing stupid or petty things. The down side is not only are not able to take care of yourself as you reach the end of your life and you would not be able to argue your point of “I can do it myself” because you are just a small child to the people around you even though you have the mind of ninety year old. The funny thing about life is that the way it begins is ultimately the way it ends.