Living Forever In Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting

Living forever seems to be an incredible concept. After all, who hasn’t feared death at least once in their life? Despite this, Natalie Babbitt explains the negative effects of living forever in her novel, Tuck Everlasting. In this novel, a young girl named Winnie Foster meets a family of extraordinary and unusual people. This family, the Tucks, lets her in on their biggest secret: they can never die. When Mae Tuck gets into some trouble with the local authorities, Winnie teams up with the rest of the Tuck family to help free Mae and save her from the gallows. While this plot is followed quite closely in the movie, the novel and the film appear to have quite a few differences.

In Natalie Babbitt’s version, Miles is shown to be a bit tougher than the rest of his family, but also shares his soft side habitually. However, in the movie, the audience is shown a much rougher side of Miles. He responds to others in a much harsher way and tends to snap very easily. The novel shows Miles as an older brother who treats his

In the novel, Natalie Babbitt describes how Miles pries the window from the wall and Winnie sneaks in to take Mae’s place in her cell (123-26). Mae joins the rest of her family and they escape the clutches of the constable and, in return, avoid Mae’s unobtainable death. However, in the filmed version, there is a bit less trickery involved. Winnie runs to the constable for help, claiming her kidnappers have returned to take her away. The man then runs outside, finding Miles and Jesse. He attempts to shoot and kill the brothers, but when the boys seemingly arise from the dead, the constable quickly runs away to escape the immortal beings. Meanwhile, Winnie rushes to free Mae and Tuck, who were both imprisoned in this version of Tuck Everlasting. Unlike in the novel where the family practically vanishes without a word, the Tucks have a sorrowful departure. Then, they leave Winnie behind in