Literary Devices in Tuck Everlasting
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Treegap, the TownWe know right off the bat that this story (which goes down in 1880) is going to take place in a quaint little area. Why? The town is called Treegap, for crying out loud. How much m...
Narrator Point of View
Our narrator sure knows a lot about a lot. In fact, it seems like she knows everything. She can zoom in and out on all the characters, jump from place to place, and even read the thoughts of the ma...
Genre
Tuck Everlasting is a kids' book. Sure, it has some pretty heavy-duty, mature content. But guess what, world? Young readers can handle it.Less clear-cut is calling it fantasy. In fact, even though...
Tone
The narrator of Tuck Everlasting sure doesn't have an opinion about anything. How do we know? Well, even when describing the slimy man in the yellow suit, she holds back commentary. Take a look at...
Writing Style
Tuck Everlasting is chock full of figurative language. And author Natalie Babbitt doesn't waste any time getting down to business, using descriptive and metaphoric writing right off the bat:The fir...
What's Up With the Title?
This one seems pretty straightforward, right? Tuck is the name of the immortal family in the book and they, well, last forever. The end.Not so fast. We have a couple questions to throw your way:(1)...
What's Up With the Ending?
At the end of our story that takes place in the way-back 19th century, Winnie dumps her immortality juice on a toad and calls it a day. Hey, she can always go back to the spring for more, right?Luc...
Tough-o-Meter
Looks can be deceiving. Tuck Everlasting is super short and uses pretty plain language. But it's what's underneath all that that can make this book a little tricky. Natalie Babbitt forces us to thi...
Plot Analysis
Setting the SceneJust in case we needed an extra formal clue that we're beginning with a beginning, Tuck Everlasting starts with a Prologue. The narrator sets the stage for us, explaining where and...
Trivia
Babbitt won the Newbery Honor Award, but not for Tuck Everlasting (can you believe it?). Instead, she got it for Knee-Knock Rise, which also has a supernatural touch.Tuck Everlasting… on Broadway...
Allusions
Richard Lovelace, "To Althea, From Prison" (24.5, 24.10)The Bible (see "Religious Allegory")