Button-Struldbrugs

Marina Vijande Quintana         

Benjamin Button and the Struldbrugs are completely different creatures but they have something in common: an abnormal and terrible life result of the imagination of its creators.

            On the one hand, Benjamin Button is born old and ages backwards in the course of his life.

            On the other hand, the Struldbrugs are immortal creatures. Quoting the author, Jonathan Swift, “a child happened to be born in a family with a red circular spot in the forehead […] which was an infallible mark that it should never die”. At first glance this idea doesn’t seem so terrible, but these creatures are doomed to live forever as very old people, with mental and physical faculties fully depleted.

            Benjamin Button knows exactly the date of his death, but the Struldbrugs know that that day will never come and they feel increasingly tired…

            What is the most terrible life? Which one would you choose? Think carefully about your choice before you answer, any two options would be horrible.