Themes In Button, Button, By Richard Matheson

What are basic human morals? What is the difference between right and wrong? Is it simply a black and white case, or is it possible that there is a grey area? These are the things that pop into the reader’s head as they read “Button, Button” by Richard Matheson. This captivating story put a woman and her husband in a very difficult moral dilemma. A box arrived at their doorstep with a button in it. If they press the button, they will receive fifty thousand dollars. The catch is that someone they do not know will die. The characterization, the ending of the story, and the theme make this an interesting and exciting story to read. Round characters are what make a story interesting. Nobody wants to read a story with a boring character. Matheson does a great job of this when creating Norma. Norma is a working wife and a rather average woman from this time. However, she faces moral confliction when deciding whether or not to press the button. …show more content…
One of the themes in this story is monetary value in weighing moral standards. Basically, how much is enough for a person to go to such extremes as letting an innocent person die? Norma justifies this by claiming that it is not murder “if you don’t even know the person” (Matheson 108). As a reader it seems absurd that Norma would even consider this, but it just goes to show what people are willing to do for money. Another theme that could come out of this is human weakness. The temptations of some things are just too hard to pass up. For example, Mr. Steward came and took the box away, but moments after it was gone Norma was tempted to get it back. She called Mr. Steward questioning the box saying, “I’m curious” (Matheson 107). Multiple themes pop up throughout this story, but the most basic one is what goes around comes around. If Norma was willing to let an innocent person die maybe she deserved for her husband to