KEY FACTS SUMMARY

Title
Tuck Everlasting

Author
Natalie Babbitt

Date Published
1975

Meaning of the Title
It refers to the family in the story who accidentally drink from a spring that makes them immortal.

Setting
Treegap, the Wood, and the Tucks cottage in 1880 and 1950

Protagonists
Winnie Foster and the Tuck family

Antagonist
The Man in the Yellow Suit and the human desire to live forever

Mood
Overall, the mood is one of the triumph of the human spirit. Despite several setbacks, the Tucks are saved and Winnie goes home a better person. There are moments of darkness when the Man in the Yellow Suit makes threatening demands on the Fosters and the Tucks, but the desire of the Tucks to save the world from the consequences of eternal life eliminate the darkness the Man brings with him.

Point of View
Third person omniscient

Tense
This story is written in the past tense since the author tells it from an omniscient perspective.

Rising Action
It begins right after the Prologue and continues through the escape of Mae Tuck from prison.

Exposition
The author tells us the story of Winnie Foster who meets the Tuck family and discovers they are going to live forever. When their secret threatens to be revealed, Winnie and the family must make moral choices to save the world.

Climax
Mae Tuck escapes from prison with Winnie’s help and the secret of the spring is safe.

Outcome
Winnie chooses to live a natural life and not drink the spring water or pursue her love for Jesse. The town bulldozes the giant ash tree after an electrical storm and in the process hide the spring forever. The Tucks go on forever in search of meaning in their lives.

Major Themes
The circle of life, metamorphosis, greed, doing what’s right, moral judgment, love