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Universitatea Dunrea de Jos

Facultatea de Litere
Specializarea Romn-Englez
Anul III



American Literature Homework

Scott Fitzgerarld The curious case of Benjamin Button - In light of the
thinking that life can only be understood backward,but it must be lived
forward, explain how this particular story can or can not help you
understand your life better.

Scott Fitzgerarlds short story haves a great impact on the human conscience, making
us mediate upon all the moments and events that occur in life. When we are just children, we
dont care so much about the next day, we dont need to stress ourselves with the daily
problems, the only thing we crave is attention and the need to play. But as were getting
older, our mind starts working better and we start understanding that life isnt all about us and
we start thinking what we need to do to be accepted in society. As we age, we start
encountering different situations that build us mentally, our body starts failing and in the end
we are again just like babies: we cant walk, talk, we dont hear and see so better and in the
end we die. This cyclicity defines our lives, as nobody is eternal and we all must return from
where we first appeared, and that only God knows.
The curious case of Benjamin Button present us a fictional story where Benjamin, the
main character, is born old and resembles to a 70 years old man and grows up backwards,
ending his life like a new born baby. According to the story, age isnt just a simple number, it
involves more because not only it shows our physical condition, but also our personality.
Despite that Benjamin was born as an old man, he also haves the mind and tastes of one, and
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while he is getting younger instead of growing older, not only his body changes and becomes
to be more attractive, but also his interests change and he wants to feel life.
This story can help me understand life better because after reading it and also seeing
the movie adaptation I realized that time flies so fast and we never appreciate what we have
until we lose. Looking back in my life I can see all the mistakes I did and how I didnt known
to appreciate things, words and people around my life, but also beautiful moments that
marked me. This story made me think about my life at the actual moment and made me
realize that nothing lasts forever and I must seize the day, but also I must think everything I
do so it wont influence me and my future or the people that surround me. Life is complex, it
haves many steps and with every step there is a trial that we must pass with our heads up
even if we are crawling.




















Student: Pavel Eliza