Discussion Topic
The man in the yellow suit's visit to the Fosters and its implications for the Tucks
Summary:
The man in the yellow suit's visit to the Fosters reveals his knowledge of the Tucks' secret and his intention to exploit it for personal gain. This visit sets off a chain of events that threatens the Tuck family's way of life, as he plans to commercialize the spring's immortality-granting water, forcing the Tucks to confront the consequences of their eternal life.
In Tuck Everlasting, why does the man in the yellow suit visit the Fosters? What does the constable's remark about the gallows predict for the Tucks?
The man in the yellow suit goes to the Foster household to blackmail them. The Fosters know that Winnie is missing. They do not know if she has run away or been kidnapped. The man in the yellow suit goes to the Foster home to tell them that he knows where Winnie is and who has her. The Fosters are immediately relieved that this seeming good Samaritan is willing to help them out; however, they quickly discover that the man in the yellow suit has a hidden agenda. He wants to own the woods that the Foster family owns. He will tell them where Winnie is, if they give him the woods in return.
"I've got what you want, and you've got what I want. Of course, you might find that child without me, but . . . you might not find her in time. So: I want the...
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wood and you want the child. It's a trade. A simple, clear-cut trade."
The Fosters agree to the trade, and the constable is immediately brought into the situation.
The man in the yellow suit and the constable both begin riding toward the Tuck home. The constable is a talkative man, and so he begins trying to strike up a conversation with the man in the yellow suit. At one point, the constable mentions the gallows.
"'Course, we got a gallows of our own, if we ever need it. Keeps down trouble, I think, just having it there. Ain't ever used it yet."
The constable's remark about the gallows foreshadows the coming trouble to the Tuck family. The reader learns that the town has a jail and a gallows. The gallows information is a useless extra detail, unless for some reason it will be important. After Mae kills the man in the yellow suit, the gallows becomes a deadly important part of the story.
What information does the man in the yellow suit provide the Fosters about the Tucks?
The man in the yellow suit goes to the Fosters with the express purpose of blackmailing them. But when he first meets them, he gives the impression that he just wants to help them find their daughter. He claims that he knows where she is and who kidnapped her. Naturally, the Fosters are relieved and delighted at the news. But their initial happiness soon turns sour when it becomes clear that the strange man wants something in return for his valuable information. He'll only agree to lead the Fosters to their daughter if they give him the woods that they own.
This is nothing more than a blatant shake-down operation, but the Fosters have no choice. The man in the yellow suit has lied to them about the Tucks, making them out to be dangerous. He tells the Fosters that the Tucks are rough country people, and that there's no telling what these "illiterates" might do to Winnie.
Why does the man in the yellow suit visit the Fosters' house and what do the constable's remarks foreshadow for the Tucks?
The story's opening prologue tells readers that the man in the yellow suit stopped at the Foster's house because he was looking for someone. We are not told who at this point, and the text tells readers that the man in the yellow suit did not say who he was looking for. The next time we hear about this stranger is in chapter 4. Winnie is playing in the front yard, and the man in the yellow suit approaches her. The man and Winnie begin talking to each other, and he asks how long Winnie has lived there. Winnie says "forever," and the man's interest is quite piqued.
"Perhaps. In a bit," said the man. "But I'd like to talk to you first. Have you and your family lived here long?"
"Oh, yes," said Winnie. "We've lived here forever."
"Forever," the man echoed thoughtfully.
A few lines later the man admits that he is looking for a family. Winnie's grandmother comes out and the conversation more or less repeats itself with her. Then the group hears some music coming from the nearby wood. Winnie thinks it sounds like a music box, but the grandmother thinks it is elves. The man in the yellow suit does not comment on what the sound could be, but he leaves quite happy while whistling the tune.
The man came to himself and sighed. His expression was one of intense satisfaction. He put on his hat, and in the moonlight his long fingers were graceful and very white. Then he turned and disappeared down the shadowy road, and as he went he whistled, very softly, the tinkling little melody from the wood.
He is looking for the family that he heard about growing up. It is a special family that supposedly does not grow any older. That family is the Tuck family.