F. Scott Fitzgerald & ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’

Hellooo everyone and welcome back to #alexjostories! I guess all of you heard or have seen the movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ starring Brad Pitt. Right? It’s an amazing movie. I have seen if for a couple of times and I have recently seen it a few nights ago. The interesting thing I have found about this movie is the fact that ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and today I want to talk to you about it as our new Books to read article.

I just finished reading the short story as I am writing the article. The story of Benjamin Button written by F. Scott Fitzgeralds is a short fiction story depicting the story of Benjamin Button that was born in the Button family, a very powerful one in Connecticut. He was born old and as time passed, he was not getting older as the entire planet, but younger. His life started as an old man without any desire to live, without power, without any knowledge and finished as a baby with the same exact aspects.

If we think about the storyline compared to the movie, believe me, it’s like there are two completely different stories. The only thing in common is the fact that the main character has the same name. To be honest, while I was reading the novella, I found it actually funny, but at the same time sad, because he didn’t ask for this kind of life. He didn’t want to be born as an old man that looked like a dry plum or die like a baby. Throughout the narrative, the readers won’t find out what actually happened to him. As a reader, I find this really annoying, but as a writer, that’s a really smart move. It’s better to not write an explanation unless you have a really smart one.

Benjamin felt himself on the verge of a proposal – with an effort he choked back the impulse. ‘You’re just the romantic age,’ she continued – ‘fifty. Twenty-five is too wordly-wise, thirty is apt to be pale from overwork; forty is the age of long stories that take a whole cigar to tell; sixty is – oh, sixty is too near seventy, but fifty is the mellow age. I love fifty.

This is a quote from the short story that I found really interesting and actually beautiful. Taking into consideration that the story was published in 1922, it presents a different approach towards fiction. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote something completely new at that time, a man that was born old and grew younger. For that period of time, that means true creativity. The story envelops through a simplistic language the idea of life. Just like that, Fitzgerald decided to talk about life and how your destiny is decided before you are born. On the other hand, the movie shows the power of love and the idea that: no matter what your destiny holds for you, you will always find someone that will be there, by your side, no matter what.

I really enjoyed this short story. If you are in a rush and you desire to read something that is easy to read and interesting at the same time, do read ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Right now, I am searching for new exciting books that I am going to read throughout summer. I want to find books that keep me really interested and which I don’t want to let go of. Books that I’ll present to you right here on the blog, #alexjostories.

Then it was all dark, and his white crib and the dim faces that moved above him, and the warm sweet aroma of the milk, faded out altogether from his mind

That’s it, everyone! I hope you liked it. Guys, I have decided to read ‘Screenwriting Updated’ because I might start writing movie scripts. Why not right? We’ll see how that goes. Anyway, in two days time, I am going to be back in Bucharest. I don’t even know if I am excited or not, to be honest. I am will try and have the best summer no matter what happens and hopefully I will travel a lot this summer break. I can’t believe I have officially finished the second year of university. Have an awesome time, guys! Read as much as you can and I will #seeyousoon!

Leave a Reply