After Benjamin is born a 70-year-old man—to the shock of his parents and the hospital staff—his father Roger Button takes him home. On their way home, as they discuss how Roger will refer to Benjamin, Roger makes a biblical allusion, as seen in the following passage:
His son took the hand trustingly. “What are you going to call me, dad?” he quavered as they walked from the nursery—“just ‘baby’ for a while? till you think of a better name?” Mr. Button grunted.
“I don’t know,” he answered harshly. “I think we’ll call you Methuselah.”
Roger says “harshly” that he and his wife will refer to Benjamin as “Methuselah,” an allusion to the oldest character in the Bible. (In Genesis, he is recorded as having lived for 969 years.) This is clearly an example of verbal irony as Roger does not actually plan on calling his son that—he is making a sarcastic joke from a place of anger and confusion. He was expecting a normal baby and now feels burdened by having a 70-year-old newborn, as it will negatively affect his reputation. Roger is used to being a well-respected member of upper-class Baltimore society and is frustrated that Benjamin is jeopardizing his status.
This moment also shows how Roger is not a very supportive or caring parent. Benjamin’s earnest question—“What are you going to call me, dad?”—along with his “quavering” voice shows how vulnerable he is. That Roger responds with a harsh comment demonstrates that he cares more about his reputation than his child.
