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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Age, Development, and Identity
Reputation, Gossip, and Scandal
Expectations and Acceptance
Support and Caretaking
Summary
Analysis
Mr. Button returns with a suit that looked dignified on a mannequin in the store but, unfortunately, looks ridiculous on his son. Even his son complains about how absurd he looks, but Mr. Button forces him to wear it, threatening to spank him if he disobeys. Out on the street, the old man takes Mr. Button’s hand and asks what he’s going to name him. Mr. Button sarcastically suggests “Methuselah.”
Here, Mr. Button treats his son like he’s an actual child instead of an old man. His threat of spanking his son is nonsensical, since the child is developmentally older than Mr. Button himself is. It does say something about Mr. Button’s character, though: because he’s so devastated by the idea that his son might ruin his reputation, he’s ready to delude himself into acting like everything is normal. And yet, he knows this isn’t truly the case, as evidenced by his sarcastic remark that he should name the man-child “Methuselah”—the oldest figure in the Bible.
Themes
Literary Devices
