The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

by

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Roscoe Button Character Analysis

Roscoe Button is Benjamin and Hildegarde’s son. Just like Benjamin, he joins the family hardware business when he comes of age, eventually taking it over when Benjamin loses interest in the company. When Benjamin later becomes a teenager, Roscoe lets his father come live with him—Benjamin, after all, has nowhere else to go. He is embarrassed about his father’s condition, however; when Benjamin eventually becomes a young boy, Roscoe says that he must refer to him as “Uncle” in the presence of guests. Instead of kindly caring for his father, then, Roscoe focuses more on his own reputation, becoming yet another person in Benjamin’s life who fails to give him genuine love and support. And this, in turn, leads Benjamin to a very lonely end, since Roscoe—the only family member left to comfort him as he nears death—shies away from connecting with him. Instead, he hires a professional nurse, Nana, to take care of Benjamin.

Roscoe Button Quotes in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The The Curious Case of Benjamin Button quotes below are all either spoken by Roscoe Button or refer to Roscoe Button. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Age, Development, and Identity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

But though he was welcomed in a general way, there was obviously no heartiness in Roscoe’s feeling toward him—there was even perceptible a tendency on his son’s part to think that Benjamin, as he moped about the house in adolescent mooniness, was somewhat in the way. Roscoe was married now and prominent in Baltimore life, and he wanted no scandal to creep out in connection with his family.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Hildegarde Moncrief, Roger Button, Roscoe Button
Page Number: 176
Explanation and Analysis:

“And another thing,” continued Roscoe, “when visitors are in the house I want you to call me ‘Uncle’—not ‘Roscoe,’ but ‘Uncle,’ do you understand? It looks absurd for a boy of fifteen to call me by my first name. Perhaps you’d better call me ‘Uncle’ all the time, so you’ll get used to it.”

With a harsh look at his father, Roscoe turned away. . . .

Related Characters: Roscoe Button (speaker), Benjamin Button
Page Number: 177
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

Roscoe took them both to kindergarten on the same day and Benjamin found that playing with little strips of colored paper, making mats and chains and curious and beautiful designs, was the most fascinating game in the world.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Roscoe Button
Related Symbols: The Colorful Paper
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 179
Explanation and Analysis:

Roscoe’s son moved up into the first grade after a year, but Benjamin stayed on in the kindergarten. He was very happy. Sometimes when other tots talked about what they would do when they grew up a shadow would cross his little face as if in a dim, childish way he realized that those were things in which he was never to share.

The days flowed on in monotonous content.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Roscoe Button
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button PDF

Roscoe Button Quotes in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The The Curious Case of Benjamin Button quotes below are all either spoken by Roscoe Button or refer to Roscoe Button. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Age, Development, and Identity Theme Icon
).
Chapter 9 Quotes

But though he was welcomed in a general way, there was obviously no heartiness in Roscoe’s feeling toward him—there was even perceptible a tendency on his son’s part to think that Benjamin, as he moped about the house in adolescent mooniness, was somewhat in the way. Roscoe was married now and prominent in Baltimore life, and he wanted no scandal to creep out in connection with his family.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Hildegarde Moncrief, Roger Button, Roscoe Button
Page Number: 176
Explanation and Analysis:

“And another thing,” continued Roscoe, “when visitors are in the house I want you to call me ‘Uncle’—not ‘Roscoe,’ but ‘Uncle,’ do you understand? It looks absurd for a boy of fifteen to call me by my first name. Perhaps you’d better call me ‘Uncle’ all the time, so you’ll get used to it.”

With a harsh look at his father, Roscoe turned away. . . .

Related Characters: Roscoe Button (speaker), Benjamin Button
Page Number: 177
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

Roscoe took them both to kindergarten on the same day and Benjamin found that playing with little strips of colored paper, making mats and chains and curious and beautiful designs, was the most fascinating game in the world.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Roscoe Button
Related Symbols: The Colorful Paper
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 179
Explanation and Analysis:

Roscoe’s son moved up into the first grade after a year, but Benjamin stayed on in the kindergarten. He was very happy. Sometimes when other tots talked about what they would do when they grew up a shadow would cross his little face as if in a dim, childish way he realized that those were things in which he was never to share.

The days flowed on in monotonous content.

Related Characters: Benjamin Button, Roscoe Button
Page Number: 180
Explanation and Analysis: