Journal Entry #4

Man in the Yellow Suit: Character Analysis

In the novel Tuck Everlasting, we are introduced to the man in the yellow suit. He is a

man that has followed the Tuck story for his whole life, and finally finds them and their secret. The man in the yellow suit knows that they are immortal and has already gotten his hands on the source of the immortality.

First and foremost, the Man in the Yellow Suit has no name. Throughout the whole story, we are referred to him as “the man in the yellow suit.” No name, no last name. The author most likely chose to do this so this character is more memorable. For example, if he had a regular name like any other, it might have been forgettable. However, the author’s use of “the man of the man in the yellow suit” makes it stand out. At least for me, the moment we were introduced to this mysterious man in the yellow suit I wished to know more about him, just because of his name.

Second of all, the man in the yellow suit has, to say the least, a unique appearance. The author states: “He was remarkably tall and narrow. His long chin faded off into a thin, apologetic beard, but his suit was a jaunty yellow that seemed to glow a little in the fading light” (Babbitt, 2007, p. 17). We can see through this description that the man in the yellow suit stood out. With his beard and yellow suit, he did not look like the regular town person. We can conclude by the way that the author describes the man in the yellow suit that he was meant to be easily distinguishable. His appearance also implies that the man in the yellow suit is meant to give off an untrusting look.

The man in the yellow suit view himself as a powerful individual. He has spent his whole

life trying to accomplish one single goal in life. After finally reaching that objective, he finds himself above others, and values himself over other people, such as the Tucks. The man in the yellow suit says: “Ignorant people like you should never have the opportunity. It should be kept for ... certain others. And for me” (Babbitt, 2007, p. 98). Here, we can clearly see how the man in the yellow suit believes that he is more important, or special than the Tucks.

What does the man in the yellow suit want? Well, he has one main ambition. He wants to sell the water in the spring and become rich. It is all about money for the man in the yellow suit. Luckily for him, Winnie guides towards the right path, and he finally gets his hands on the water. Instead of directly drinking it, he goes to save Winnie from the Tucks, to explain everything that had happened. We can see that the man in the yellow suit has devoted his whole life to finding this magical water. We learn that he first heard of the Tucks and their immortality when he was young, and since then has spent most of his life trying to explain what had happened to the Tucks. It is clear to us that the man in the yellow suit is willing to sacrifice his own immortality just for the money the water would bring when he says: “The wood - and the spring - belong to me now... I’m going to sell the water, you see” (Babbitt, 2007, p. 97). Nowhere does it state that he had any intention of drinking the water. This leads me to conclude that the man in the yellow suit is willing to sacrifice a chance at immortality for money.

Illiteracy, disorder, disobeying, these are all things that bother the man in the yellow suit. When talking to the Fosters, the man in the yellow suit says: “There’s just no telling illiterates like that might do” (Babbitt, 2007, p. 74). Through this statement, we can clearly see that the Tucks being uneducated strongly angered the man in the yellow suit. Later on, we see the man in the yellow suit making a comment about the way in which the Tucks live. He says: “It would mean that you could afford to live like people again, instead of pigs” (Babbitt, 2007, p. 98). This remark lets us know that the man in the yellow suit is bothered by the messy way the Tucks live, thus comparing it to the way pigs live. Lastly, he is bothered by the fact that the Tucks did not wish to collaborate with him. He sees this as an act of disobedience, selfishness. The author uses a word that amplifies how high pitched the man’s voice was, and how frustrated he had become. The word the author uses is “shrilled.” In conclusion, many small and irrelevant things bother the man in the yellow suit.

In my opinion, the man in the yellow suit resembles Count Olaf. He is the villain in the novel A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket. He is a treacherous felon that is after the fortune of the Baudelaire orphans, whose rich parents died in a terrible accident. They have a similar appearance, having white beards, being tall and narrow, and having a questionable fashion sense. Furthermore, they are both powered by money, and are going out of their way to achieve their goal. In the real world, he reminds me of many world leaders that are only concerned about money. In history, world dictators that were, likewise, only powered by money. I strongly believe that the man in the yellow suit resembles every single person in the real world, history, or character in literature that were ever powered by money.