A Wrinkle in Time

Written by Madeleine L'Engle

Presentation by Nicole Texeira

A Wrinkle in Time is:

A Science fiction novel that deals with space, time travel, and otherworldly creatures.

A Newbery Award Winner (1963).

Number 2 on the School Library Journal's "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results" (blogs.slj.com, 2012).

Considered one of the "Most Important Books of the Twentieth Century"(Pavonetti, 2004 p.3)

A Wrinkle in Time is the beginning of a four book series named "The Time Quintet".

Author Information

Madeleine L'Engle

(November 29, 1918- September 2, 2007)

Born in New York City, NY.

Enjoyed reading, painting, drawing, and theater.

Wrote A Wrinkle in Time in 1962.

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014)

Main Characters

Margaret “Meg” Murry: Meg is the heroine and main character. She is an awkward young lady and a high school student. She is not doing well in school and keeping up with her classes. Meg learns to control her emotions, especially her anger throughout the novel which speaks of her ability to overcome herself and grow as a person (L'Engle, 2005).
Charles Wallace Murry: Charles is known in the family as the genius. He is extremely smart and only five years old. In the novel, he is able to sense people’s thoughts and understand things that not every character in the book can (p.13).
Calvin O’Keefe: A young and athletic boy that goes to school with Meg. Calvin comes from a larger family that does not pay attention to him. He accompanies the Murrys on their space and time travels (p. 45).

Minor Characters

Mrs. Murry: a scientist who works out of a lab in the home. She is the more present parent, and she cook meals for her children with a Bunsen burner(L'Engle, 2005 p.20).

Mr. Murry: A physicist who also works at a secret government facility. His experiments include time travel and involve the fifth dimension. He has been captured and brought to the Camaztoz (p.39-40).

Sandy and Dennys Murry: The Twins Murrys. They are ten years old and enjoy sports (p. 12).

Mr. Jenkins: Meg's school principal. Mr. Jenkins focuses on Meg's oddball behavior and believes that the Murry family is in denial about Mr. Murry's disappearance (p. 39-40).

Mystical Characters

Mrs. Whatsit: First introduced to the children through Charles Wallace who met this person in the woods and the tramp of the town they live in. Mrs. Whatsit is one of the three beings that travel with the kids on their journey(L'Engle, 2005 p.28)
Mrs. Which: She is the oldest of the three beings that accompany the Murry children on their space journey. She cannot show herself properly to the Murry children ( p.54)
Mrs. Who: Another being that follows the Murry children on their journey. Mrs. Who is very knowledgeable about authors and philosophers. She often quotes these popular types of people to highlight a certain point (p. 35)
Aunt Beast: A tentacle monster from the plant of Ixchel who takes care of Meg after her encounter with The Black Thing (p.235).
The "Happy" Medium: A clairvoyant woman who wears a turban and gown. She is able to see images within a crystal ball. She choose to only show the children happy and joyful images of the future in her ball (p. 123).

Tesseract

A Tesseract is a device that allows the characters within A Wrinkle in Time to travel in time and space( L'Engle, 2005).

A passage way in a tesseract is known as a tesser and it is similar to a black hole(p.100)

Tessers allow people to teleport into the fifth dimension and be able to create a "wrinkle in time"(p.102)

Centaurs

Centaurs are the inhabitants of the planet Uriel ( p.81).
Uriel is a peaceful and Utopian planet (p.83).
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who are all revealed to be centaurs (p.83).

Villains

IT: This character is giant brain that control the population of Camaztoz with its rhythmic and never ending pulsing sound. IT and The Dark Thing are the most evil beings on that planet and in the novel (worldbookonline.com, 2014).

The Dark Thing: A dark shadow that is the collective resemblance of all evil things for Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin in their attempt to save Mr. Murry (p.75)

Man with the Red Eyes: a robotic man who tries to capture the children while they are in Camaztoz, and bring them to the Central Intelligence building to hypnotize and control them. This character is an extension of IT (p.148).

Popular Book Covers

Blue Cover: 1960's edition

Gold Cover: 2000's edition

Centaur cover: 1970's edition

Plot Summary

After a chance encounter with Mrs. Whatsit, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe travel through time and space to save their father on the planet Camaztoz.

At the beginning of the book, Meg is an oddball character who cannot control her anger and is not doing well in school. By the end of the book she has grown as a person on her journey.

The three children visit Mrs. Whatsit and her two friends Mrs. Which and Mrs. Who, who are all staying in an abandoned cabin in the woods near the Murry home. The three ladies tell the children that Mr. Murry is in danger and that they can help them find him by "wrinkling time"( L'Engle, 2005 p. 108).

The three Mrs. W's explain time travel is possible with tessers and the fifth dimension. These two entities allow a passage that cuts through space and time.

The three Mrs. W's teleport Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin to Camaztoz and instruct them on how to survive on this robotic city. All things are controlled by IT.

Plot Summary Continued

Charles Wallace tries to outsmart IT, but captures his mind and makes him show Calvin and Meg to Mr. Murry. The children try to fight off IT, but his might is too strong. Mr. Murry is able to use a tesser and teleport Meg and Calvin to the planet of Ixchel, and unfortunately leaving Charles Wallace on Camaztoz (L'Engle, 2005) .

Once on Ixchel, the three Mrs. W's reappear and accompany Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Murry . On this planet they meet Aunt Beast, who helps the injures Meg. She promises to take care of Calvin and Mr. Murry.

Meg returns to Camaztoz to rescue Charles Wallace. She realizes that she must dive within herself to defeat IT. When she confronts IT, she acknowledges all the love she has for her family. This ability to love is her power. She focuses her love towards Charles Wallace and is able to tesser them away from that planet.

At the end of the book, Meg and Charles Wallace tesser back to Earth. Mr. Murry and Calvin are waiting for them and the whole Murry family is brought back together.

Social & Historical Significance

The social significance of A Wrinkle in Time is that is reflects on the importance of friendship, love, loyalty, and individuality against an evil entity.
By providing a nonconformist theme, children that have felt different or odd can relate to Meg and her adventure.
According to Cart (2011) the historical significance of A Wrinkle of Time emphasizes the "rapid change of pace overtaking the lives on young people in the late sixties and seventies". (p.32).
This change speaks to the shift towards an independence in young people and how they carry similar problems as their adult companions (Cart, 2011).
Because Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin are on an adventure to save Mr. Murry they take on the adult role of the novel.
Another component of A Wrinkle in Time is that it upholds an "optimistic view that goodness [will] prevail" (p.34) because the reader wants Meg and her companions to find Mr. Murry and defeat IT.

Criticisms

As stated by Cart (2011), books and novels of the late sixties and seventies "keep pace with the ever-changing and ever-more-sophisticated" aspects of daily life (p.32).

VanDeCarr and Kanter (1987) say that A Wrinkle in Time is harder for some students because of the "sophistication" of the plot.

This sophistication is directly related to the concepts of time travel and space.

With the novel's heightened vocabulary and themes, A Wrinkle in Time has been constantly challenged by parents and teachers in the 1990's (bannedbooks.world.edu, 2011).

Critics of the book also believe that the core concepts in the book are inherently Christian, like C.S. Lewis (bannedbooks.world.edu, 2011).

Literary Context

The Space Trilogy (1938-1945) by C.S. Lewis is another book that contains similar space concepts (enotes.com, 2014). Although C.S. Lewis is better known for his Chronicle of Narnia series, he actually wrote this sci-fi trilogy before his fantasy novels.

Slaughter House Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut is another that has a character travel through space and time. This novel remains to be one of the most recognizable Vonnegut works because of the themes of time travel and alien life forms.

Sequels to A Wrinkle in Time

A Wind in the Door (1973)

A Swiftly Titled Planet (1978)

Many Waters (1986)

An Acceptable Time (1989)

(worldbookonline.com,2014)

Citations

L'Engle , M. (2005). A wrinkle in time . New York: NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Inc.
Madeleine L’Engle. (2014). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/EBchecked/topic/335848/Madeleine-LEngle
Pavonetti, L. (2004). Children's literature remembered: Issues, trends, and favorite books. (p. 3). Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Cart, M. (2011). Young adult literature from romance to realism. (pp. 32-34). Chicago: American Library Association
http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results/
http://0-www.worldbookonline.com.catalog.sjlibrary.org/student/article?id=ar755608&st=a+wrinkle+in+time