Tuck Everlasting - Reading Comprehension Questions

Remember to answer in complete sentences or points will be deducted.

Prologue
Copy the vocabulary words:
Forlorn- marked by or showing hopelessness
Gallows- an instrument from which a person is executed by hanging
1. The author says in the prologue, “Events in a story or in life can come together in
strange ways. The wood was at the center, the hub of the wheel.” Use your best guess
to predict how the characters in the story may be connected together.

Chapter 1:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Trespassing- intruding without right or permission
Intrusion- entrance by force or without permission or welcome
1. What does it mean to have a house with a “touch-me-not” appearance?
2. Why would the discovery of the spring in the middle of the woods be an immense
disaster?

Chapter 2:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Melancholy- a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
Rueful- feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
1. Why do you think that Tuck only smiled when he was asleep?
2. What item does Mae never go anywhere without?

Chapter 3:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Exasperated- greatly annoyed; out of patience
Jaunty- having a cheerful, lively, and self-confident air
1. Why does Winnie wish that she had a brother or sister?
2. Why does Winnie feel as though she is cooped up in a cage?

Chapter 4:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Marionette- a figure operated from above with strings by a puppeteer
Remnant- a small part remaining after the main part no longer exists
1. Why do you think Winnie is reminded of her grandfather’s funeral when she is talking to
the stranger?
2. Why does the word “Forever” seem to strike the stranger as interesting?

Chapter 5:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Burly- muscular and heavily built
Plead- appeal or request earnestly
1. Why does Winnie change her mind about running away? What does this tell you about
her character?
2. What does Jesse mean when he says that he is 104 years old, but then says that he is
17?

Chapter 6:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Falter- move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
Peculiar- beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
1. Why do you think Winnie didn’t scream out for help when she saw the man in the yellow
suit?
2. What does Mae do to calm Winnie’s fears? How does this relate to what Winnie
experienced the evening before?

Chapter 7:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Whit- a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
Scornful- expressing extreme dislike
1. Why is it important to remember that the cat didn’t drink from the spring?
2. How do you think Miles, Jesse, and Mae feel about the spring water now, 87 years later?
What evidence allows you to draw the conclusion?

Chapter 8:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Elated- proud and joyful; in high spirits
Recede- become faint or more distant
1. Why do you think Jesse looks at the spring water as good, whereas Miles doesn’t seem
so optimistic?
2. What do you think the man in the yellow suit will do with the Tucks secret?

Chapter 9:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Vanity- feelings of excessive pride
Vigorous- characterized by forceful and energetic action or activity
1. How do you think Tuck was originally feeling when Miles and Jesse told him there was a
real honest to goodness child with them?
2. How do you think the Tuck family will change now that Winnie is around?

Chapter 10:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Glimmer- a flash of light
Homely- plain and unpretentious
1. How do you think Mae felt when Winnie mentioned how sad and lonely it must be to
move around all of the time and have no friends?
2. Do you think living forever is a good thing or not? Why?

Chapter 11:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Submission- the act of surrendering power to another
Indomitable- impossible to subdue
1. What made Winnie begin to think the Tucks were crazy? How do you feel about them?
2. What are your predictions about the future for Winnie and the Tucks?

Chapter 12:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Bramble- any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines
Anguish- extreme distress of body or mind
1. How is Tuck able to help Winnie to make sense of why it is important that no one knows
their secret?
2. What are some reasons Tuck gives to let Winnie know that the spring water is not good
for people to discover?

Chapter 13:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Consciousness- an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself
Evidently- in a manner that is obvious or unmistakable
1. What motivation does the man in the yellow suit have for telling the Foster’s that he
knows where Winnie is?
2. How do you think the Foster’s will react to the man in the yellow suit?

Chapter 14:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Shrill- having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
Linger- hang around, stay near something
1. Why does Mae feel so remorseful about what has happened with Winnie? Do you think
this comforts Winnie to know? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think Jesse wants to marry Winnie? How will it be beneficial to him? Will it
be as beneficial to her?

Chapter 15:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Earnestly- in a sincere and serious manner
Barbarian- a crude person lacking culture or refinement
1. Why is the wood a prize for the man in the yellow suit to win?
2. Is a life more valuable than property? Why do you feel this way?

Chapter 16:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Illiterate- a person unable to read
Constable- a law officer
1. How do you think the Constable would have reacted if he had known that the man in the
yellow suit had committed a crime himself by stealing the Tucks’ horse?
2. What will happen when the man in the yellow suit arrives at the Tucks ahead of the
constable?

Chapter 17:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Courteous- exhibiting politeness and good manners
Companionable- suggestive of friendship or amity; friendly
1. Why is it important for Winnie to consider the Tucks her friends, hers alone?
2. What finally convinces Winnie to keep the secret of the spring?

Chapter 18:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Accommodation- living quarters provided for public convenience
Gander- a quick look
1. How has Winnie presence in the Tuck home changed both Winnie and the Tucks?
2. How does the man in the yellow suit know that Mae’s name is Mrs.Tuck?

Chapter 19:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Threadbare- thin and tattered with age
Searing- extremely hot
1. Why do you think the man in the yellow suit devoted his life to finding out about the
family that never aged?
2. Does the spring actually belong to the man in the yellow suit? What makes you believe
this?

Chapter 20:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Sprawl- sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
Unflinching- showing courage and determination in the face of danger
1. Do you think Mae is so dangerous that she deserves to be locked up in jail? Why or why
not?
2. Why did the word gallows scare the Tucks so much? What would people discover if Mae
was sent to the gallows?

Chapter 21:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Envious- painfully desirous of another's advantages
Acrid- strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
1. Why do you think there was a painful pause when Winnie’s family realized she had
actually gone with the Tucks on her own free will?
2. What feelings do you think are going through the Fosters when they hear that the man in
the yellow suit is sick and could potentially die?

Chapter 22:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Exertion- use of physical or mental energy; hard work
Gingerly- in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
1. What is Miles’s plan for getting Mae out of jail? Do you think it will work? Why or why
not?
2. What does Winnie offer to do to help Mae get out of jail? How will her idea allow the
Tucks to get away?

Chapter 23:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Parched- extremely thirsty
Ponderous- having great mass and weight and unwieldiness
1. What did Winnie do with the bottle Jesse brought her?
2. What does the author mean when she says, “Winnie had her own strong sense of
rightness,”? Why is it important to know what is right and wrong?

Chapter 24:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Remorseless- without mercy or pity
Prostrate- stretched out and lying at full length along the ground
1. How did Miles remove the bars from the jail window?
2. What did Jesse mean when he said, “Remember,”?

Chapter 25:
Copy the vocabulary words:
Pry- move or force in an effort to get something open
1. Why do you think Winnie decided to pour the spring water over the toad?
2. What does Winnie mean when she tells the frog that he is safe forever?
3. Do you really believe in the story of the spring water? Why or why not?

Epilogue:
1. How do you think Mae and Angus feel when they see the wood is gone and so is
Winnie’s cottage?
2. Why was Tuck overcome with sadness when he saw Winnie’s tombstone even though
he had desperately wanted it there?
3. What information did you learn about Winnie’s life after reading the inscription on her
tombstone?
4. Do you think Winnie made the right decision by not drinking from the spring?
5. Would you have changed the ending of the book if you had to write it over? What would
you do differently? Why?