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Benjamin is born
Benjamin is born and shocks the entire hospital by coming out as a 70 year old man. His father is extremely angry and doesn't even want Benjamin to be part of the family. He goes downstairs to buy his son, and this shows his frustration. He tells the woman his child is 6 hours old, but then has to buy a man's suit. When he gives the suit to Benjamin, and he does not approve of it Mr Button retorted fiercely," Yoou've made a monkey of me" (65)! -
Benjamin starts kindergarten
Benjamin starts kindergarten at age five, with an appearance of a 65 year old man. Because of the fact that he could not help it and "was inclined to drowse off to sleep in the middle of these task, which both irritated and frightened his young teacher" (68), he was kicked out of school. They said the reason they made this decision was because Benjamin seemed to young. This relieved "young" Benjamin who at this time felt like an old man. -
Benjamin's physical transformation is starting to become noticeable
Twelve years have passed from the time that Benjamin was born. His parents had become very used you to him no, and they considered him to be just like every other child. A few weeks after his twelfth birthday, Benjamin noticed something. His physical condition was birthday, some of his wrinkles had vanished, and his hair was changing from white to gray. It seemed that Benjamin was getting younger. Benjamin assured his father, "I am grown, I want to put on long trousers" (68). -
Benjamin's meeting at Yale
When Benjamin goes in for examinations for entrance to Yae College this turn utterly wrong. By this time 18 years have passed from the time he looked like a 70 year old man. By 18, Benjamin looks like a man about the age of 50. The man he met with didn't believe him when he said he was a freshman applying to Yale. The man said wearily, "Now surely, Mr. Button, you don't expect me to believe that" (70). This showed that his physical appearance had not reached a young man's yet. -
Benjamin meets and falls in love with his wife
At this time in his life Benjamin and his father were almost the same physical age. This was also the time that Benjamin cam out socially. One day, he went to a party out in the country, and he met his future wife, Hildegarde Moncrief. He didn't tell her of his weird birth and how he would gro younger. Hildegarde really did like Benjamin saying, " I like men of your age" (73). -
Benjamin gets engaged!
Hildegarde and Benjamin got engaged six months after they first met. By this time people had almost forgotten Benjamins's odd birth, but now it sprang back into their minds. Many thought that it was awful how such a young girl was marry an old man.Everyone agreed thinking, "it was "criminal" for a lovely girl who could have married any beau in Baltimore to throw herself into thr arms of man who was assuredly 50" (74). -
Benjamin's life has come together
By 1895 things had taken a turn for the better. Everyone had gotten over the difference in years of Benjamin and his wife. His father-in-law and the town now thought highly of them His business was prosperous, and Benjamin's life was good. He also found that "the blood flowed with new vigor through his veins" (75). But the one thing that wasn't well was his marriage; he was no longer attracted to Hildegarde. -
Benjamin leaves home.
At this time Benjamin's "home had for him so little charm that he decided to join the army" (75). So he left and was a huge success in the army, but had to return due to his business requiring attention. -
Benjamin fights with Hildegarde
When Benjamin returns home he gets in a fight with Hildegarde. Hildegarde thought that it is all Benjamin's fault for his newfound younger appearence. She said angrily,"You can too. You're simply stubborn. You think you don't want to be like anyone else" (77). -
Benjamin enrolls into Harvard.
Many years before when Benjamin had applied to Yale, people had told him to go to Harvard. Now that he did he embarassed Yale at every chance he got. His freshmen year, Benjamin was an amazing football player. But, throughout the rest of his years at Harvard he found that he had become almost the age of a teenager. College was now too hard for Benjamin. This took a toll on Benjamin, and he found that "In his senior year he did not make the team at all. He had grown so slight and frail"(78). -
Roscoe get angry with Benjamin
Rosecoe had abandoned his father. He found his father's appearance embarassing saying,"and another thing, when visitors are in the house I want you to call me 'Uncle"--not 'Rosecoe', but 'Uncle' do you understand" (79)? -
Throughout his "older" years
Throughout these years Benjamin became less intelligent, younger looking, and eventually was back in kindergarten. Then "He was taken from kindergarten" (82). -
Benjamin dies
Benjamin died at the appearance of an infant, although he was really 70 years old. He found himself not remembering anything, and "then it was all dark, and his white crib and the dim faves moved above him, the warm sweet arome of milk, faded out altogether from his mind" (83).