In this story, a baby born in 1860 begins life as an old man and proceeds to age backward. F. Scott Fizgerald hinted at this kind of inversion when he called his era “a generation grown up to find all Gods dead, all wars fought, all faiths in man shaken.” Perhaps nowhere in American fiction has this “Lost Generation” been more vividly preserved than in Fitzgerald’s short fiction.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, originally published in Colliers Magazine on May 27th, 1922. The story follows Benjamin’s life from his birth in 1860. However he is no ordinary child, as he has the appearance of a 70 year old man, already capable of speech. His family soon realizes that Benjamin is aging in reverse, becoming younger as the years go by. The fascinating story looks at his triumphs and struggles as he slowly gains his youth. Adding in themes of love and acceptance, F. Scott Fitzgerald details the difficulties and feelings of not fitting into ones designated age group in an entertaining and insightful manor.
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