The Curious Life and Timeline of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Life in Reverse
This timeline summarizes the key events and facts regarding the life of Benjamin Button, the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous short story.
Benjamin Button's Early Years (1860s)
When was Benjamin Button born?
B.B. was born on a beautiful day in 1860.
What did B.B. look like at birth?
He looked like an old man.
Could he understand his father?
Yes, he was able to understand what his father said.
What kind of clothes did B.B.'s father buy for him?
His father initially tried to buy clothes for children, but ultimately purchased an outfit suitable for a fancy dress party (due to B.B.'s aged appearance).
What food did B.B. want initially?
At the beginning of the history, he wanted to eat bread, milk, and porridge. He even smoked cigars.
How did the Buttons try to conceal B.B.'s age?
To help people forget about B.B.'s anomalous age, they cut his hair short and dyed it black. They also shaved his face every day.
What was B.B. looking for in medical books?
He was looking for an answer for his condition.
Adolescence and Adulthood (1872–1918)
What happened a week after B.B.'s 12th birthday?
His hair began changing from white to grey, and he had fewer wrinkles on his face, indicating his reverse aging was progressing.
When did B.B. fall in love?
He fell in love in 1880, when B.B. was 20 years old.
Hildegarde Moncrief: Preferences and Marriage
Hildegarde preferred a man who looked about 50 years old. Yes, she did marry B.B., who appeared to be a 50-year-old man at the time.
Why did the Button family become famous?
They became famous because B.B. went out with Hildegarde, General Moncrief's daughter.
B.B.'s Feelings After the War
After the war was over, B.B. was quite depressed because war meant adventure for him.
Why was Hildegarde unhappy after B.B. returned from the war?
Hildegarde was unhappy because she was a woman of 40 and had grey in her hair, and B.B. didn't look like an ordinary man (he was physically younger than her).
B.B. at Harvard University (1910)
When B.B. registered for Harvard University in 1910, he was chronologically 50 years old, but he looked about 20 years old.
The Final Decline: Childhood and Infancy
Why did Roscoe ask his father to call him 'Uncle Roscoe'?
Roscoe (B.B.'s son) asked this because B.B. looked about 15 years old, and Roscoe's friends thought it was ridiculous to call such a young-looking person by his first name.
B.B.'s Reaction to World War I
B.B. was very happy when the United States entered World War I.
Roscoe's Feelings in 1920
In 1920, B.B. looked about 10 years old. Roscoe loved his father but only when they weren't together in public.
Why did B.B. feel sad in childhood?
He sometimes felt sad when the other boys talked about what they wanted to do when they grew up, because he knew he couldn't grow up; he could only grow younger.
B.B. in Kindergarten
In the third year of Kindergarten, B.B. looked even smaller. He didn't like Kindergarten because the other children were older than him, and he was afraid of them.
How did Benjamin Button die?
He was taken to the park. There, in his final moments, he looked at the world and saw his entire life flash before him. He felt very happy and finally died.