Into the Unknown: A Physiological Approach to 'Tuck Everlasting'
No person can completely grasp the idea of how everything exists, how it interacts, and where it comes from. That is where the study of physics comes into play. Identifying energy and matter in time and space and just how these components interact together to create life and the universe as it is known. Physics permits individuals to attempt to answer the fundamental questions about how the universe began through experimenting, observing, and different theories. These theories include but are not limited to, Quantum Field Theory, Superstring Theory, and Theory of relativity. All of these incorporating ideas revolving around gravitation, electromagnetism, strong nuclear forces, weak nuclear forces, dimensions, and energy. Helping individuals to understand something as simple as time and how much it controls. Not only do these theories cease to explain life here on Earth, but they attempt to explain much more complicated concepts for the human brain to understand. They explain, ideas like parallel universes, multi-universes, and even 'afterlife.' Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a book focused around the concept of “forever” and immortality. These terms that are hard to comprehend, can be analyzed through the lens of physics, proving that different theories in physics explain why there has been a stoppage of time for this family. As well, as explaining theoretically how these individuals lost touch which certain dimensions or possibly entered others.
The Super String Theory is the first and most complex theory that attempts to explain why the Tucks no longer age with time. This theory discusses all fundamental particles and forces of nature by modeling them as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. The theoretical framework of this theory is based around ten different dimensions. The typical human is familiar with the first three dimensions and occasionally the fourth. The first dimension is essentially just a straight line. It is the dimension that gives something length and adds no other discernible qualities. The second dimension is what gives something height. With the combination of the first and second dimension, the creation of the 2-dimensional shape is formed. Finally, the third dimension is what gives something depth. The combination of these three dimensions can be visually seen through something like a cube. The fourth dimension is said to be the dimension of time. The combination of these dimensions is what creates life as humans know it. Explaining the following different dimensions is where it can get particularly tricky for physicists to explain because they begin to discuss the deeper possibilities and interactions of our universe.
The next six dimensions are much more dynamic. The fifth dimension is where a slightly different world can begin to be seen. The sixth dimension is now where a plane of different worlds can be seen. Meaning that an individual would be able to see a slightly different world from their current world because just one event that had happened in their world no longer would have happened. That would change the present outcome. Thus, creating a different world or worlds. These two dimensions are what would allow time-traveling to the past and future. The seventh dimension is now where one can have access to these different worlds that start with different initial conditions. The eighth dimension offers different universes. The ninth dimension is the comparison of the different universes through physics and their initial conditions. Lastly, the tenth dimension is anything that a mortal can physically imagine. The tenth dimension is the natural limitation that humans can perceive. Mortals can physically not understand or imagine anything further because otherwise, they would. Some believe this is where religious aspects like the afterlife come into play.
The Superstring Theory is the first theory that explains how the Tucks are consequently immortal and no longer have the presence of time. Specifically, the fourth dimension is what furthers this idea. The fourth dimension as previously discussed is the dimension of time. The journal “ THE FOURTH DIMENSION’ TIME IN ENGLISH IDIOMS”, described time as “the indefinite continuous progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole” (350). This definition is key to understanding why the Tucks never continued evolving while everything else amongst them did. The presence of time controls everything undeniably. Now, the fourth dimension is not something one can physically enter into. The Tucks are still on Earth. They are still three-dimensional human beings that demonstrate the first three dimensions of height, length, and depth. However, the first three dimensions can only change and further develop when there is the presence of the fourth dimension. The fourth dimension is what allows for the continuation of life to go on for any and every living organism! Obviously, the Tucks are no longer progressing or changing, all time has come to an abrupt end for this family. In theory, this means the fourth dimension is no longer pertaining to them. If time no longer exists for them this is because scientifically they have left or passed through the fourth dimension. They no longer are on the continuum of time with the rest of life. In support of this theory, Angus Tuck said ““I want to grow again…And change”” (Babbitt 64). Tuck is indicating that he no longer can progress like the rest of life around him. If the Tucks were still in the fourth dimension like every other human being they would continue to develop and eventually die like the rest of the world indefinitely. Once that fourth dimension is taken away, they become solely 3-dimensional objects with depth, volume, height, and length that are no longer progressing or changing. To further demonstrate that theory, Tuck said in a conversation with Winnie ““We just are, we just be like rocks beside the road”” (Babbitt 64). Since the Tucks are no longer on the continuum of time, they just “be” and exist with no further changes, like a non-living three-dimensional object. Tuck, later on, said “'Being part of the whole, that's the blessing, but it's passing by, us Tucks”” (Babbitt 63). Again, indicating that time which is present because of the fourth dimension is essentially passing them by. It is no longer pertaining to their life. The removal of the fourth dimension is what is allowing them to live “forever”. Since time no longer exists to them, it will no longer be altering their body and moving them forward into old age. Humans can only move forward in time. Time is like a straight line from past to present. Mae, talking about her son’s says to Winnie ““But they can’t stay on in any one place for long…none of us can… We been in this house about as long as we dare…”” (Babbitt 53). The tucks “current home” must change with regularity and time, while they will not. Further proving, how the fourth dimension has been removed from their life while everything else continues to change. If there was movement in the fourth dimension, an individual would be able to have the choice to visit their older or younger self at any time. This is what would allow the tucks to go back into the past and change their decision of drinking the water. Since time is like a straight line, there is no reversing of their choice.
While the stoppage of time and development can be explained through the Superstring Theory it also can be explained through a combination of Quantum Theory, space-time, General relativity theory, and Superstring Theory. The quantum theory aims to explain how everything is made up of individual units of energy. In attempt to explain the smallest atomic and subatomic levels of matter. General relativity helps to prove how gravitational fields can slow down the passage of time. The tucks after drinking the water could have according to the Super String Theory and inclusion of space-time been in the presence of a gravitational field that allowed a slow passage of time for them. John Heighway’s journal highlights that depending on your gravitational field, which is governed by one's general relativity, time can be slowed down. Heighway states “I argue that one or more of the fundamental “constants” governing the quantum mechanics of atoms must depend upon the position in a gravitational field.”( 1) Explaining that depending on your gravitational field one's energies, with respect to quantum theory may be influenced to move at different speeds. General and special relativity also need to be part of this formula. Einstein’s theory of special relativity, where general relativity derives from, explains that time will speed up or slow down depending on how fast something moves relative to something else. For example, if someone was in a space ship, and approaching the speed of light, they will age slower than if they had a twin back home. To further explain this idea when an astronaut returns to earth they are slightly younger in age than an identical twin that remained on the planet. In theory, the particles of energy that make up the Tucks body, with respect to the quantum theory would have accelerated after they drank the water.
The Tucks body’s aging process is now so slow in comparison to every other human being because of the previously just mentioned theories. Thus, making it appear that they were not aging at all. Depending on where and how fast something moves, time is different for that object. The water that the Tucks drank theoretically could have sped up the energy that created their bodies. This can be more easily explained if you compare Tuck Everlasting to something like Narnia. The children entered the closet and lived an entire life, but upon entering back through the closet, only a few seconds had passed. The children were in a different dimension and it is likely there was also a different gravitational field, which changed the speed of their quantum mechanics. Same applies for the Tucks after drinking the water. Jesse while in conversation with Winnie said “ I told you before I’m a hundred and four years old, But I’m really only seventeen” (41). Jesse Tuck is still a 17 year old boy, however on Earth this one year has been the equivalent to 87 years. The duration of time has changed. Natalie Babbitt wrote, “for some, time passes slowly. An hour can seem like an eternity” (Babbitt). In relation to the theories previously presented, for Winnie an hour is literally an hour of time, but for the Tucks, that hour is lasting them what a feels like a lifetime. The tucks particles or energies were moving at the speed of light which in turn allowed their body's aging process to be slowed down exponentially. Babbitt states “Mae Tuck, and her husband, and Miles and Jesse, had all looked exactly the same for eighty-seven years” (Babbitt 12). This is because they were placed in a different gravitational field than other humans. So, 87 years could have been an hour in their time. Think of planets that have years triple the duration of Earths. This would mean the Tucks individual units of energy, would have to of been moving equally as fast or faster than the speed of light to be aging so slow. Possibly the strongest quote that alludes to the idea that the Tucks have entered in a different gravitational field or dimension, but remained on Earth is when Jesse says “Pa thinks it’s something left over from- well, from some other plan for the way the world should be.. Some plan that didn’t work…Everything was changed…Except the spring was passed over”” ( Babbitt 41). That is a clear indication to a parallel universe of our world. The fifth and sixth dimensions as previously stated create different worlds. Changing just one thing in all of time creates a different world. Babbitt’s choice of the word “passed over” strongly correlated to the idea that the spring and the Tucks are existing in a different dimension on Earth with different time, speeds of energy, and. All of this breaks down why the Tucks stopped aging. They are not aging due to entry into a different dimension (superstring theory), which changed their gravitational field, which then altered their quantum mechanics (quantum theory), which in turn affected their essence of their time.
While physicists have a hard time proving, there are many theories and evidence within the field that provides information about how Heaven or the afterlife could be in a different dimension. The bible eludes to the fourth dimension several times throughout, proving the idea that heaven, angels, or spirits could be present or walking among humans through a different dimension. There is also constant research being done to articulate and prove the proposition of parallel universes. Since the Bible refers to individuals that could see “spirits” or “angels”, it can be interpreted that Winnie Foster was able to see individuals that had entered a different dimension through the usage of the spring. It can also be inferred that the Tucks could have entered into a parallel universe, new “world”, or different dimension without realization. A parallel world to planet Earth would still hold many of the same general characteristics of the “old world”. Which could have allowed the Tucks to not of been able to identify the difference. The common belief of many religions is that once you die you enter into a “world” that can only be reached through death. Once you “make it” to that place you stay there eternally. However, in other faiths specifically the Catholic faith there is something that is referred to as the purgatory. Where an individual does not go to Heaven or Hell they just remain in a temporal state between earthly life and an afterlife. In theory, it is possible that the Tucks were stuck in between Earth and the afterlife in something called the purgatory. The purgatory was states as “Also a purgatory is an in-between state filled with “great storms” and “temptations” caused by the rebellion of the imagination and reason, which are now deprived of their natural activity” (Harvey 872). Reiterating the fact that purgatory is an in between area theoretically within a different dimension. It can be noted that the Tucks were within this new environment, through Jesse’s constant temptation to lure a young minded girl into staying with him forever. An obvious temptation. The purgatory would essentially be in a different dimension. At the beginning of the novel Angus Tuck said: ““I was having that dream again, the good one where we’re all in heaven and never heard of Treegap”” (Babbitt 10). Angus Tuck is aware that he is just stuck in a standstill unable to progress further to heaven or hell. However, the dream of Heaven could be a sign of where he is trying to get to. The tucks constantly talk about being stuck. Angus Tuck said to Winnie ““That’s what us Tucks are, Winnie. Stuck so’s we can’t move on”” (Babbitt 63). This line alludes to the idea that the Tucks are indeed stuck in the Purgatory within a different dimension. They are not moving up or down into Hell or Heaven, they are just remaining. They constantly refer to the Ferris wheel of life and that it has stopped for them, Angus says ““If we didn’t move it out ourself, it would stay here forever, trying to get loose, but stuck”” (Babbitt 63). This phrase about the rowboat can be metaphorically seen as the Tucks stuck in the Purgatory. If they don’t cleanse their sins themselves to move out of the purgatory then they will be “stuck” there “forever”. The belief of the Purgatory would be resembled through the tenth dimension. The tenth dimension allows mortals to create these other places.
Babbitt wrote this book in response to her crying daughter in an attempt to ease her mind over the idea of death and further explain it. While Tuck Everlasting is a book geared to ages as young as 9 years old, it really begins to spark the ideas of life beyond or after us on Earth. It is a story told so innocently, with deep underlying concepts of physics throughout. The average reader sees Tuck Everlasting as a fun fictional book. However, some of these ideas that revolve around this book can be theoretically proven through the combination of several theories in physics. Lots of times readers become so comfortable with the idea that anything out of the ordinary in a book is fake or fictional. Individuals forget just how insignificant and small they are in comparison to the universe and the things that truly govern life here on Earth. Who is to say that what happened in Tuck Everlasting is not truly possible through advances in physics. Van Fraassen wrote, “To understand a scientific theory, we need to see how the world could be the way that the theory says it is” This is exactly what Tuck Everlasting does on an intermediate level of these concepts. Deep analysis of Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit can begin to create conversations of physics and the universe. Through the use of a physiological lens and the many supporting theories within this field, it can be argued that due to these theories the Tucks had entered or left certain dimensions and gravitational fields which altered their current time, bodies, and environment.
Work Cited
- Babbitt, Natalie. Tuck Everlasting. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2018.
- Heighway, John E. “Towards a Deeper Understanding of General Relativity”. Jan. 2000.
- https://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0001036.pdf
- Egan, Harvey D. “In the Purgatory We Shall Be Mystics.” Theological Studies, vol 73, no.4
- SAGE Publications, Dec. 2012, pp.870-89
- https://journals-sagepub-com.brockport.idm.oclc.org/doi/pdf/10.1177/004056391207300406
- Zoltán, Ildikó. “ THE FOURTH DIMENSION’ TIME IN ENGLISH IDIOMA.” Studia
- Universitatis Petru Maior. Philolgia July 2012, pp 350-57.
- https://web-a-ebscohost-com.brockport.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=2fa3d96c-1b3d-4535-b90a-4273e98b2358%40sdc-v-sessmgr01
