Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Winifred "Winnie" Foster from Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a sheltered but curious pre-teen who wants to explore the world outside the gates of her home, but is never allowed to because of her helicopter parents. At the beginning, all she wants to do is run away and make a difference in the world and have an adventure of sorts. But what Winnie doesn't know is that particular summer will be one she will never forget. That summer will change her from a sheltered, shy, and obedient little girl in to a selfless, witty, and fearless hero. She will also have to make one of the hardest decisions of her life; whether or not she will join the Tuck's everlasting lives by drinking from the spring. Specifically, her crucial decisions throughout the novel are what make her character so gallant. Although it appears that Winnie Foster is a shy introvert who only wants to be left alone, she is actually an adventurous character who's personality transforms in to a heroic protagonist at the end of the narrative.

In the beginning of the novel Winnie Foster is sheltered by her parents and she is sick of it, devising a plan to run away. She confides in a toad, now her friend, and adds "See? . . . That's just what I mean. It's like every minute. If I had a sister or a brother, there'd be someone else for them to watch . . . I want to be by myself for a change" (Babbitt 14). Here, we get a sense of how fed up Winnie is with her life and how badly she wants to be left alone. She desperately wants to leave the restrictions of her house and go off in to the mysterious wood and possibly change

De Leon 2 people's lives. What Winnie didn't know was that her wish of being left alone was going to come true sooner than she thought. The firs...

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...ecisions throughout the narrative led her to transform in to a heroic character. From deciding to not call out to the man in the yellow suit while the Tucks are kidnapping her to deciding to help the Tucks get out of jail, Winnie's journey became a heroic one. At the beginning, all Winnie wants to do is make a difference in the world, and by the end she accomplishes this. By keeping the Tucks secret, she saves the world from wanting to become immortals which Winnie knows from living with the Tucks that it is actually a curse. Her key decisions throughout the tale are what make her personality so fearless. While it appears that Winnie Foster is a timid introvert, she is actually an daring character who's qualities alter in to a gallant hero at the end of the narrative.

Works Cited

Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. New York: Holtzbrinck Publishers, 2007. Print.