Tuck Everlasting

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The man in the yellow suit is never given a name in the novel, though the reader is somewhat aware of his origins.

• Why do you think the man in the yellow suit is never named? (topic sentence)
• Explain why you believe the man in the yellow suit is not given a name and explain whether you believe his namelessness adds or detracts from the story. Use evidence to support your response.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how naming the man might have changed the story.

2. The story’s narrator makes a note of how the hot weather of the season influenced the decisions of the characters in the novel.  

• Do you think the story would have gone the same had it been set during another time of the year?
• Explain why you believe the narrator made the claim that the hot weather was important in the story, and then explain whether you believe the story may have played out differently if it had taken place during a different season.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain why heat is so important to the story.

3. One of Tuck Everlasting’s main themes is the idea that life is not life without death.

• Do you agree with the author’s description of life? (topic sentence)
• Explain whether you believe life can be defined without death, and then explain how your perspective on life might change if you were unable to die.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how relationships with others might change if you were unable to die. In your conclusion, make a connection to The Difference Between Immortality and a Life Well-Lived.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. In the novel’s epilogue, Tuck discovers Winnie’s grave and learns she had died two years before. Consider Winnie’s decision not to drink from the spring. Provide three reasons why Winnie made this decision using evidence from the novel to support your answer. Make a connection to the novel’s theme The Difference Between Immortality and a Life Well-Lived.

2. The Tucks are afraid that the world would suffer greatly if the spring’s secret was revealed. Consider the reasons the Tucks may be concerned about the secret being revealed. Do you think the Tucks are justified in their fear? How does it relate to the themes The Difference Between Immortality and a Life Well-Lived or All Things Are Connected? In two or three paragraphs, discuss what you believe could happen if the stream is discovered. Use quotes from the text to support your response.

3. Tuck Everlasting is set in a rural community in Massachusetts in the late 1880s. Consider the impact of the novel’s setting on Winnie’s family dynamics, and her family’s view on safety. How might the novel be different if the setting was in the modern era? Speculate in two or three paragraphs about the differences that may occur if the novel had a modern setting. Consider character interactions, the police, and societal expectations in your assessment and make a connection to the theme Found Families Versus Biological Families. Provide examples from the novel that support your answers.