Friday, January 22, 2010

In the book Tuck Everlasting, how would you describe the outside of the Tucks' house?

There is not much specific detail in the text about the outside of the Tucks' home.  The following quote is from chapter nine.  



Down the embankment they swayed and there it was, a plain, homely little house, barn-red, and below it the last of the sun flashing on the wrinkled surface of a tiny lake.



One detail that is not left open to interpretation about the outside of the house is the fact that the house is red.  Barn red.  


The next semi-objective description is "little."  Little could mean different things to different readers.  Chapter ten gives further details about how little the house is.  The first floor has three rooms. Not three bedrooms.  Three rooms.  It has a kitchen, family room, and a single bedroom.  The second story isn't a full second story, because the reader is told that it is a loft.  With that small of a house, I would think that the outside of the Tucks' house has three to four windows maximum.  It's also not likely to be any taller than fifteen feet tall.  


The description of the outside of the house says "plain" as well.  That tells me that the outside of the Tuck home isn't embellished in any way.  There's no decorations or elaborate trim work.  That makes a lot of sense, because the Tucks only meet at that house every ten years.  Keeping the outside of the house simple means less upkeep.  It also means that the house is likely to receive less outside attention and curiosity from people passing by.  

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