Book & Review Forums: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Sweet, sad
What struck me as most poignant about this gentle story,
is how in Fitzgerald's depiction, "growing young" does not seem entirely dissimilar from the confusion and alienation I fear many may feel in growing old. The point is, coming from one direction or the other, we have no control over it; we are book-ended with oblivion.
Replies (1)
Posted by
-
Great point. I was reading an essay today (in Peter Manseau's and Jeff Sharlet's Killing the Buddha, which isn't on this site) that pointed to the oblivion at the beginning of our memories. It's strange that people can't remember the first time we spoke, the first time we felt sad, etc--for information about these things, we have to rely on other generations (i.e. parents). You're right that Fitzgerald points out how we are bracketed by oblivion. It's the general state of people, I think. We are floating in space without really knowing what's around us. We look out to the universe and see an infinity we can't reach, and we look in at the microscopic world and see the same.
Feb 26, 2009 4:24 pm
by Dinosaur
-
More about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: