How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself. The Roger Buttons held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to the This Family and the That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the Confederacy. (1.1.2)
Such an introduction sets us up for the big blow of Benjamin’s birth; we expect Roger Button to be the sort of man who wants nothing to do with a scandal.
Quote #2
"Here now!" cried Doctor Keene in a perfect passion of irritation," I'll ask you to go and see for yourself. Outrageous!" He snapped the last word out in almost one syllable, then he turned away muttering: "Do you imagine a case like this will help my professional reputation? One more would ruin me – ruin anybody." (1.1.15)
It’s part of the humor and irony of "Benjamin Button" that no one takes interest in the phenomenon of Benjamin’s aging because they’re so consumed with silly social standards.
Quote #3
But a frantic inspection of the boys' department revealed no suits to fit the new-born Button. He blamed the store, of course – in such cases it is the thing to blame the store. (1.2.10)
The narrator satirizes Mr. Button and the series of social interactions in which he participates.
Quote #4
"They look sort of funny to me," he complained, "I don't want to be made a monkey of –"
"You've made a monkey of me!" retorted Mr. Button fiercely. "Never you mind how funny you look." (1.2.21-2)
It’s interesting that Benjamin, too, has a social sense of self-consciousness.
Quote #5
"Never you mind how funny you look. Put them on – or I'll – or I'll spank you." He swallowed uneasily at the penultimate word, feeling nevertheless that it was the proper thing to say. (1.2.22)
How does Mr. Button define "proper" here? Why is it more "proper" to treat Benjamin as a baby instead of an old man?
Quote #6
When he was five he was sent to kindergarten, where he initiated into the art of pasting green paper on orange paper, of weaving coloured maps and manufacturing eternal cardboard necklaces. He was inclined to drowse off to sleep in the middle of these tasks, a habit which both irritated and frightened his young teacher. To his relief she complained to his parents, and he was removed from the school. The Roger Buttons told their friends that they felt he was too young. (1.3.10)
The Buttons’ reaction to their son has passed the point of denial and become a sort of ludicrous fantasy.
Quote #7
The registrar pointed sternly to the door. "Get out," he said. "Get out of college and get out of town. You are a dangerous lunatic." (1.4.16)
The registrar, like most of the people Benjamin encounters, fear him simply because he is different.
Quote #8
In one particular, at least, the friends of Hildegarde Moncrief were mistaken. The wholesale hardware business prospered amazingly. In the fifteen years between Benjamin Button's marriage in 1880 and his father's retirement in 1895, the family fortune was doubled – and this was due largely to the younger member of the firm.
Needless to say, Baltimore eventually received the couple to its bosom. Even old General Moncrief became reconciled to his son-in-law when Benjamin gave him the money to bring out his History of the Civil War in twenty volumes, which had been refused by nine prominent publishers. (1.7.1-2)
It would seem that social status is, in fact, all about money.