A+Wrinkle+in+Time

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=**Overview**= Everything is wrong in Meg Murray's life. In school, she's been dropped down to the lowest section of her grade. She's teased about her five-year-old brother, Charles Wallace, who everyone mistakenly thinks is dumb. Not to mention that Meg wears braces and glasses and has mouse-brown hair.
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Much will be better in her miserable life when her father gets back. But gets back from where? Meg's physicist father had been experimenting with the fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. One dark and stormy night, the family is visited by a disheveled heap of a woman named Mrs. Whatsit. Eccentric and brilliant, she will turn out to be the force who spurs on Meg, Charles Wallace, and their new friend, Calvin O'Keefe, to embark on a dangerous quest through space to find their father. In doing so, they must travel behind the shadow of an evil power that is darkening the cosmos.

Before long, the trio discovers that Meg's and Charles Wallace's father is being held prisoner by evil forces on the planet of Camazotz, an eerie place where complete conformity is expected in exchange for personal freedom. There they engage in the fight of their lives against a giant disembodied brain named "It." And soon, Charles Wallace must be rescued, too.

Winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal, L'Engle's novel, the first in the Time Quartet, still has the power to mesmerize even the most jaded reader. A profound sense of mystery courses through every page. The novel's sophisticated concept, along with its warm and sensitive narrative tone, set the perfect stage for Meg to discover that love is the most powerful force in the universe.

L’Engle’s story contains elements of two categories, or genres, of fiction—fantasy and science fiction.Fantasy is imaginative writing that is set in strange or imaginary places and contains unusual characters who have magical powers. L’Engle’s unearthly characters are colorful, unique, and sometimes frightening. Science fictionblends imaginative writingand science. The scientific language L’Engleuses in describing parts of the children’s journey makes the story sound realistic, despite itsfantastic elements. It also allows readers to recognize one of her important themes—the responsible use of science and technology. Another important theme in the novel is the importance of love in a healthy society. To emphasize this idea, L’Engle draws on her strong personal religious beliefs and her belief in family. She expands this theme to include the self-love that allows individuals like her characters to believe in themselves.

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=Vocabulary= Vocabulary for the Unit Graphic Novel

Vocabulary Chapters 1-3 Vocabulary Chapters 4-6 (Click here for a [|quiz] ) Vocabulary Chapters 7-9 Vocabulary Chapters 10-12

[|Lesson 1 Character Traits] [|Lesson 2 Making Predictions] [|Lesson 3 Science Fiction] [|Lesson 4 Mood and Tone] [|Lesson 5 Evil World] [|Lesson 6 Inner Beauty and Physical Appearance] [|Lesson 7 Self Worth] [|Lesson 8 Plot Sequencing]

=Character List= Meg Murry, one of the main characters of the novel, lives in a small town with her mother and three brothers. She is portrayed as an awkward girl who doesn't do particularly well in school nor fit in with the popular crowd. However, this apparent mediocrity conceals her extraordinary math abilities - a subject her father taught her before he disappeared.
 * Meg**

Meg's chief struggle in the book involves the challenge to either disown or embrace her particular genius and idiosyncrasies. Ultimately she learns that he personal differences are weapons in her own fight against the Dark Thing and her efforts to save her father.

Charles Wallace Murry is Meg Murry's little brother. Though he is only five years old, he speaks like an adult and has the IQ of a genius. Though he didn't start speaking until he was four years old, a fact that causes others to think he is slow, he began speaking in complete sentences with a vocabulary better than most adults.
 * Charles Wallace**

Charles Wallace also has the strange gift of being able to read other people's minds and thoughts. His chief struggle in the book is embracing his childhood, though he knows he is infinitely smarter and more talented than the children around him.

Calvin O'Keefe, one of the novel's main characters, travels with Meg and Charles Wallace through space and time to help rescue Meg's father. During the trip, Meg and Calvin grow very fond of each other and begin a courtship. Calvin, as a brother to eleven other siblings, struggles with issues of fitting into his own family. He laments that his family would not even care if he was missing, though he still loves them very much. He is also very different than his family, and exhibits genetic traits not shown in other members of a family. This, he says, makes it even harder for him to fit in. He exhibits a special talent, however, for persuading people towards particular points of view. This is a talent that comes in handy during the children's quest to find Meg and Charles Wallace's father.
 * Calvin**

Mrs. Whatsit is one of the three ladies who help Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin travel through time to fight the Dark Thing and rescue Meg's father. At the beginning of the book, so steals sheets from a townsperson which causes some to believe her to be a tramp. She, however, is a clumsy and, often silly, lady who befriends Charles Wallace and offers moments of comic relief on their journey.
 * Mrs. Whatsit**

The reader soon learns that Mrs. Whatsit, in a previous life, was actually a star. She lost her star life doing battle with the Dark Thing; and though she managed to wound the Dark Thing, she herself lost her ability to shine in the sky. Mrs. Who is one of the three ladies that help Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin travel through space and time during their quest. She has the idiosyncratic habit of quoting lines from famous literature and philosophy in order to shed light on perplexing moral and ethical dilemmas that the children face on their journey.
 * Mrs. Who**

Mrs. Which is one of the three ladies who help Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin travel through time and space in order to fight the Dark Thing and rescue Meg's father. Mrs. Which is the oldest of the three ladies (being many hundreds of millions of years old) and also their leader. She has the particular talent of wrinkling time and space in order to let the children travel great amounts of distance to far planets. She very often does not materialize as an actual person but remains a presence that the children can hear and feel.
 * Mrs. Which**

Mrs. Murry is Meg and Charles Wallace's mother. She is a scientist and, with Meg's father, comes up with the notion of the tesser, the wrinkle in time. She is greatly troubled by her husband's disappearance, though she has the ability to control her emotions for her children, a talent that Meg greatly envies. Mrs. Murry keeps her hope alive by writing letters every night to her missing husband, though these letters are never delivered.
 * Mrs. Murry**

While it is not a character in a physical sense, the Dark Thing personifies evil in the universe. It is described as a black force that blots out the light of stars and planets in the universe. Stars can combat the Dark Thing, but in order to defeat it, they will necessarily lose their own lives.
 * The Dark Thing**

The Happy Medium is an oracle-like character who is able to view different places and different times through her crystal ball. The children meet her in a cave, and though she hesitates at showing them evil and unpleasantness in the universe, she is able to better explain to the children the nature of the Dark Thing and its power.
 * The Happy Medium**

Mr. Jenkins is Meg's high school teacher. She is sent to his office after a sarcastic comment in class, and though he tries to understand the situation with her missing father, he ends up being just as uncaring and cold to her as others at the school and in the town.
 * Mr. Jenkins**

Sandy Murry is Meg's little brother and the twin of Dennys Murry.
 * Sandy**

Dennys Murry is Meg's younger brother and twin brother to Sandy.
 * Dennys**

IT is the novel's main antagonist. IT is a dismembered brain that resides on the planet Camazotz. IT controls the thoughts and actions of every one on the planet, stealing the creative energy of the individual.
 * IT**

The Man with the Red Eyes first captures Charles Wallace and is the leader of the CENTRAL Central Intelligence. The man, however, is only a shell through which IT directs ITs energies.
 * The Man with the Red Eyes**

Mr. Murry is Meg's father, who had been captured by IT while trying to tesser through the universe. He had been held captive on Camazotz for almost two years before Meg rescues him. He is a scientist who works on experiments for the government.
 * Mr. Murry**
 * Aunt Beast**

Aunt Beast is a tentacled creature that heals Meg after a dangerous tesser to the planet Ixchel. Aunt Beast has no eyes, but has other deep senses. Aunt Beast possesses an inner goodness that heals Meg and teaches her about love.

=Major Themes= The novel's overarching theme is characterized as a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. L'Engle's characters all generally line up in one of these two categories and there is very little overlap or moral ambiguity between the two. Characters such as Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which and Mrs. Who represent good in the world, while the forces of evil are represented metaphysically by the Dark Thing or the Black Thing, and symbolized by characters such as the man with the red eyes and IT. Meg Murry and her family inhabit the space in which good and evil battle over dominion in the world.
 * The Battle Between Good and Evil**

In the novel, good and the characters represented by good take on the traits of freedom, equality and creativity, while the characters of evil inhabit the qualities of hatred and conformity. Meg's battle, thus, is between submitting to the forces of evil or embracing the light of goodness.

Though no character is explicitly modeled on Christ or other biblical characters, and while only loose biblical metaphors are employed in the book, the book can be said to deployan overarching framework of Christian morality, especially in the way that it represents the dominance of light over dark. Several passages in the book refer to the Bible such as the music on Uriel which praises creation and is translated as words from the Book of Isaiah and when a verse from the Gospel of John ("the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it") is used to assert the defeat of evil.
 * The Christian Framework of the Novel**

Thus, while religion is implied rather than used explicitly in the book, the overarching themes of light triumphing over darkness, creativity triumphing over chaos, and good triumphing over evil are given religious symbolism based in L'Engle's own understanding of Christianity and religion.

The main character, Meg, is caught between the desire for conformity and the expression of her own creative nature. At the beginning of the novel Meg feels embittered towards other students at her school that make fun of her and tease her for being different, as well as those who see her little brother as being odd. She desperately wants to be more like her twin brothers who have little problem fitting in.
 * Individuality vs. Conformity**

But on Camazotz, Meg understands the toll that conformity can take on a person and a society as the people there have no individuality and are brainwashed. Meg, for the first time, understands the harsh reality of life when her own creativity is quashed and she is unable to assert her individuality.

L'Engle's novel deals with the issues of faith and reason in a way that doesn't privilege one over the other. Both, L'Engle suggests, are crucial for understanding the world. Science and reason cannot function without the motives of faith and love, and likewise, faith and love are informed by the realities of the world that science and reason provide. Mrs. Which quotes a line from the scientist Pascal that sums up L'Engle's understanding of these concepts: "The heart has its reaons, whereof reason knows nothing." While Meg's journey is made possible through her own understanding of science and reason, she could not have undertaken the journey without the love of her family. Both elements are crucial for guiding her in the right direction and the completion of her quest.
 * The Intersection of Faith and Reason**

L'Engle's novel sharply contrasts the themes of exterior beauty with that of inner essence. Meg is worried, from the beginning chapters, that her outer looks - her glasses and braces and knotted hair - make her less popular and, thus, makes her life harder. She is also worried about Charles Wallace, who, though he looks ordinary, has an odd way of speaking. Meg worries that just as she didn't fit in because of her exterior look, Charles Wallace won't fit in either because of his oddities.
 * The Nature of Beauty**

However, L'Engle constantly reminds the reader that one cannot "judge a book by its cover." Though Meg's exterior beauty might not win her popularity, it is her inner intelligence and character that helps her to find companionship with Calvin. Mrs. Murry also reminds Meg, in one scene, that it is Charles Wallace's inner "essence" that makes him special. Though his exterior way of talking might not win him friends, it is his special character and talents that help him propel their mission forward through time.

L'Engle's stories often are meditations on the nature of love, and in //A Wrinkle in Time//, L'Engle chiefly focuses on the nature of love between a family. Meg's own life is thrown into turmoil over the fact that her father has left and not contacted them in a year, and from the beginning of the novel her troubles are often related to this absence in her life. Mrs. Murry and Charles Wallace are also deeply affected by this loss in their own way.
 * The Love of Family**

Though it is sad, L'Engle reminds the reader that it is this bond between family members that helps to give the children the strength they need on their journey. The novel also shows how this love can bring others into their family, such as with Calvin. Calvin's family is contrasted with the love between the Murry family. Calvin's own home life is in disarray, and when he meets the Murrys he feels as though he has finally found where he belongs. Thus, the love shared between families not only gives Meg and Charles Wallace the strength they need, but it gives Calvin the motivation that he needs as well. The Murry family is, thus, shown to have entered a sacred bond different than that of romantic or brotherly love.

L'Engle's novel also gives a compelling argument for a characterization of evil that fits into a Christian framework. While several of L'Engle's characters, including the Man with the Red Eyes, embody elements of evil, the element that most takes on the form of greatest evil is the Dark Thing.
 * The Nature of Evil**

The Dark Thing, a mass of darkness that fills the universe blocking the light of suns and stars, is based on a particular Christian theological notion of sin. While sin is often characterized in Christianity as a particular act of evil - such as murder - it can also be understood to be a general force in the universe, a darkness, that is combated by forces of good, usually represented by light.

This conception of evil is not necessarily a specific act or instance, then, but instead an invisible force that is the root cause of the evil in the world. This is demonstrated best in the novel when the Medium shows the children the planet Earth and suggests that all of the evil and confusion in the world is really a result of the Dark Thing that surrounds the Earth's atmosphere. Through the Dark Thing, L'Engle is able to personify sin into a defeatable force that the children can physically combat.

Courage becomes a theme later in the novel as Meg makes a decision to tesser back to Camazotz to save Charles Wallace. This courage, however, is not the kind of unabashed, unafraid courage that is normally a part of hero quests. Instead, L'Engle posits that Meg's type of courage is the courage of the weak and the foolish. This type of courage, L'Engle suggests, is the type of courage found within the Christian framework. It is the type of courage that figures such as Christ showed in giving themselves up to death in order to defeat evil. This is not a courage based on bravery but is, instead, based on a trust and love of goodness and of others. This is the kind of courage that can save others in the novel and within humanity, L'Engle suggests.
 * Courage**

=Chapter Summaries= []

** Chapter 1 **

 * Mrs. Whatsit**

On a dark and stormy night, twelve-year-old Margaret Murry sits on the foot of her bed in the attic and watches the storm. Except for her, everyone in the house, including her twin brothers Sandy and Dennys, and her baby brother Charles Wallace, is asleep. Meg has had a bad day at school and cannot stop thinking about it. She is also upset about the fact that her father has gone missing.

The dog Fortinbras barks, and Meg remembers hearing about a tramp in the neighborhood who stole twelve sheets from Mrs. Buncombe, the constable's wife. She wonders whether the tramp is heading for their house. She goes downstairs to make cocoa and finds five-year-old Charles Wallace in the kitchen. Charles Wallace says he knew she would come down, and Meg wonders how he knew. Charles Wallace always seems to be able to tell what she is thinking. Everyone thinks he is dumb, but Meg and her parents know that is not so.

Mrs. Murry joins them in the kitchen. Meg no longer feels fearful, and her mother tries to encourage her not to feel so bad about herself.

Charles Wallace mentions someone called Mrs. Whatsit, and says she and her two friends live in a house in the woods that is said to be haunted.

Fortinbras growls, and Mrs. Murry goes to investigate what has upset him. Meg thinks it must be the tramp. Her mother returns with someone who does look a bit like a tramp, and is all bundled up in clothes. It is Mrs. Whatsit, who was out in the storm and realized she was passing Charles Wallace's house and thought she would stop by and rest. Meg is suspicious of this old woman, but makes her a sandwich anyway. Charles Wallace chats with Mrs. Whatsit, chiding her for taking Mrs. Buncombe's sheets. Mrs. Whatsit replies that she needed them, while Mrs. Buncombe did not. Just before Mrs. Whatsit decides to be on her way, she tells Mrs. Murry, who is a scientist, that there is such as thing as a tesseract. She offers no explanation of what she means, but Mrs. Murry obviously recognizes the term, and is shocked. She wonders how Mrs. Whatsit could have known.

** Chapter 2 **

 * Mrs. Who**

Meg awakes in the morning, and thinks the previous night must have been a dream. In the kitchen over breakfast, her mother tells her it was not a dream. She knows what a tesseract is, but there is no time to explain it to Meg before Meg goes to school.

That day at school, Meg performs poorly, and is sent to the principal, Mr. Jenkins. The principal tells her she has the wrong attitude and needs to learn to apply herself. He asks whether Meg has had any news of her father. Meg is unwilling to give him any information. It turns out that her father is a physicist, and it is almost a year since they had a letter from him. Mr. Jenkins tells her she should face facts. He assumes that her father will never return.

After school, Charles Wallace takes Meg to see Mrs. Whatsit. On the way, they meet a boy named Calvin O'Keefe, who is two years older than Meg. When they question him, Calvin says he comes to the woods to get away from his family. As the children talk, Calvin discovers that Charles Wallace is not the dumb moron others had led him to expect. It also transpires that Calvin is on his way to the haunted house. He just had a feeling that he ought to go there. The three of them go into the old house, where they meet Mrs. Who, one of Mrs. Whatsit's two friends. She is sewing a sheet, and Charles rebukes her for having taken it from Mrs. Buncombe. Mrs. Who tells them that Meg's father needs their help, but the time for it is not yet ripe. As they leave the house, Meg tells Charles Wallace that she does not understand. He promises to explain after they have all had something to eat.

** Chapter 3 **

 * Mrs. Which**

Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin return to the Murry home for supper. Calvin calls his mother, even though he thinks his family does not care about him. He likes the Murry family and house, and when he sees a picture of Meg's father he asks where he is. Meg doesn't want to answer, and Mrs. Murry gets Meg to help Calvin with his math homework. Calvin is surprised at how smart Meg is. He is happy to have met Meg and her family.

After supper Meg and her mother talk. Mrs. Murry says how much she misses her husband. She also explains that Charles Wallace is different from other children, although in what sense he is different is hard to put into words. Calvin and Meg go outside for a walk. Calvin asks her about her father, saying there are rumors that he left her mother for another woman. Meg is upset by this, but Calvin says he knows it is not true. It turns out that Meg's father is a physicist working for the government on a top secret project. Meg knew he was traveling a lot, but she does not know where he was sent. At first he wrote every day, but then the letters stopped coming. Mrs. Murry has tried everything she knows to find out where he is, but all she is told is that he is on a secret and dangerous mission. Meg starts to cry, and Calvin comforts her. They are interrupted by Charles Wallace, who announces that they are going to find their father. Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit mysteriously appear. Then a third voice is heard, and Charles Wallace says it is Mrs. Which, but she does not materialize completely.


 * Chapter 4 **
 * The Black Thing**

Meg suddenly finds herself alone in complete darkness. She has no idea what is happening to her. She seems to have vanished into nothingness. She is lost in a void. Then she hears Charles Wallace saying that they have had quite a trip. Calvin reappears too. Meg finds herself in a sunlit field, where everything is golden with light. There is an atmosphere of peace and joy. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which arrive. Mrs. Who tells them they are on Uriel, the third planet of the star Malak in the spiral nebula Messier 101. Mrs. Whatsit says that they "tessered," or "wrinkled" to get there. They are on the way to helping Meg's father, but they have stopped on Uriel to rest. Mrs. Whatsit changes form and assumes the appearance of an unearthly creature. She looks partly like a horse, but with a torso, arms and a head like a man, but a man of greater dignity and joy than Meg has ever seen before. Wings extend from the creature's shoulders. The children climb onto Mrs. Wha tsit's back and she flies through the air. They fly over mountains, fields and plains, passing many other similar creatures, who all make a kind of music as they fly. The music is like a song in praise of creation. Mrs. Whatsit gives each of the children a flower, telling them she will explain later about how they are to use it. As they begin to climb higher, the atmosphere gets thinner, and Mrs. Whatsit tells them to hold their flowers up to their faces and breathe through them. The flowers will supply them with oxygen.

They arrive on a mountain peak, from where they can see a moon of Uriel. As the sun sets, they see a faint shadow of darkness that seems to have a life of its own. The stars come out, but the dark shadow remains. Meg feels how terrible the shadow is, and is afraid. Calvin asks Mrs. Whatsit to make the dark Thing go away, because he knows it is evil.

They travel down again, in silence. When they return to the field, Meg asks Mrs. Which whether the dark Thing is what her father is fighting.

** Chapter 5 **

 * The Tesseract**

Mrs. Which replies that Meg is correct. Her father is behind the darkness so they cannot see him. Mrs. Whatsit tells Meg not to despair. There is hope, even though the task is difficult. They must go behind the shadow, and to do that they must tesser again. She explains what tessering is. It is like taking a short cut between two points. Mrs. Who demonstrates by taking hold of a part of her skirt in her left hand and another part in her right hand, and then bringing her hands together. Meg doesn't understand, but Mrs. Whatsit explains that they travel in the fifth dimension of space. She tries to explain to Meg the concepts of one-dimensional, two-dimensional and three-dimensional. The fourth dimension is time. The fifth dimension is a tesseract. Add that to the four dimensions and travel through space is possible without having to go the long way round.

One by one, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which disappear as they tesser. Then there is darkness and utter silence. Meg's body seems to dissolve. She feels great pressure and her lungs are squeezed together. Her mind is flattened out and she cannot think. Then she hears a voice saying they have stopped by mistake at a two-dimensional planet and must move on. Then the nothingness returns, after which she is pushed out of the fifth dimension with a jerk, and she sees Calvin and Charles Wallace again. Mrs. Which apologizes for her mistake, and Mrs. Whatsit tells them they are now in Orion's belt. When Meg worries that their mother must be frantic over their absence, Mrs. Whatsit reassures her: they did a time wrinkle as well as a space wrinkle, so when Meg returns, it will be about five minutes before she left.

They all take a walk. The planet they are on is very flat, with no vegetation. They go into a cavern and meet a woman called the Happy Medium, who is gazing into a crystal ball. Mrs. Whatsit asks her to show the children their own planet. Meg looks into the crystal ball, sees the Milky Way, then Mars, then the Earth, but Earth is covered by a smoky haze. The shadow that darkens the earth is the same Dark Thing they perceived on Uriel. Mrs. Whatsit says it has been there a long time, and that is why the earth is so troubled. Mrs. Which says the Dark Thing is Evil, the Powers of Darkness. She says they will continue to fight it. The battle is being fought all over the universe. Coaxed by Mrs. Whatsit, the children realize that on earth it has been fought by people such as Jesus, Shakespeare, Einstein, Buddha, St. Francis, and many others. These people are free thinking and creative and it is through this that they have been fighting against evil. Mrs. Whatsit then says that their father is on a planet which has given in to the Dark Thing.

** Chapter 6 **

 * The Happy Medium**

They continue to watch the crystal ball. They see that where the light touches the darkness, the darkness vanishes. They watch as a star gives up its life in the battle against darkness. Mrs. Whatsit confesses that she was once a star, and had done the same thing.

Before they leave the Happy Medium, she shows the children, through her crystal ball, their mothers. First is Calvin's mother, an unkempt woman in a dirty kitchen who is whacking one of her children with a wooden spoon. Then they see Mrs. Murry, sitting on a high stool in her lab writing on a sheet of paper. Meg knows that her mother is writing to her husband. Meg is filled with a desire to do something to find her father.

They leave the Happy Medium and tesser to Camazotz, which is one of the dark planets. They stand on a hill, and everything appears very much like earth. Down the hill, there is a town. Mrs. Whatsit says that she must leave the three children on their own. She confirms that Meg's father is on Camazotz. Mrs. Whatsit gives each of them some help. She strengthens Charles Wallace's ability to communicate with all kinds of people. She gives Meg her faults, even though Meg protests that she always trying to get rid of them. For Calvin, Mrs. Who gives him a hint by quoting a passage from Shakespeare's The Tempest, about an imprisoned spirit. Mrs. Who gives Meg her glasses, telling her to use them only as a last resort. Mrs. Which then tells them to go down to the town, and not to allow themselves to be separated. Mrs. Whatsit tells Charles Wallace that he is in even more danger than the others, and he must beware of pride and arrogance. His special powers make him in more danger than the others.

Calvin, Meg and Charles Wallace go down to the town. They notice that all the houses look alike. Children are playing but they are all skipping rope and bouncing balls in exactly the same rhythm. Everything is identical. Then they see one boy who is not bouncing in rhythm. His mother emerges and looks shocked when she sees her boy. She grabs him and pulls him back into the house. The three children decide to investigate. They knock on the door of the house, wanting to return the ball. The woman denies that her boy dropped a ball, because all the children in their section are perfectly trained.

The children wonder why everyone seems so afraid. They move on beyond the houses to some apartment buildings. A boy delivering newspapers asks them what they are doing on the street. He talks about entrance papers and examiners and the Central Intelligence Center, which he says is located in the city. He boasts about how perfect the city is. He also says the city is home to IT, but does not explain what IT is.

The children continue to walk through the city. The people they observe seem peculiar, as if they are moving automatically.

In a section of office buildings, the children see the largest building they have ever seen. They realize it must be the Central Intelligence Center. They discuss what to do. Calvin says that if they go into the building they will be in terrible danger.


 * Chapter 7 **
 * The Man With Red Eyes**

The children decide to go into the building. The huge door opens automatically and they find themselves in a great entrance hall. Men in business suits are sitting on marble benches that line three of the walls. Charles asks one of the men what the procedure is. He replies by talking about presenting papers to a machine. He tells them he runs a spelling machine and has come to report that one of his letters has jammed. Charles makes an inappropriately silly answer that leads Meg to worry about his pride, which Mrs. Whatsit warned him about. The man says he does not want to get sent to IT, and adds that the children may be detained for three days.

The children are scared. They step into a room that has long rows of machines. Charles calls out that someone is trying to get inside his mind. At the end of the room sits a man with bright reddish eyes. Above his head is a light that throbs in a steady rhythm. Charles warns the others to close their eyes, otherwise the man will hypnotize them. The man says that will not make any difference, and that they must not oppose him. Soon they will not have the slightest desire to do so. He will make all the decisions for everyone on the planet, and they are all happy. He tries to get the children to say together the multiplication table, but they all resist, saying other things instead. Meg asks where they can find their father. The man tries to tell her that her father had not acted very much like a father, because he has abandoned his family, but Meg refuses to accept this. Then Charles Wallace darts forward and hits the man. Meg and Calvin hold him back. The man commands Charles to look directly into his eyes. Charles starts to walk toward the man, but Meg makes a flying tackle to stop him. The man is displeased, and says that if they want to see their father again, they must cooperate. The man arranges for delicious-smelling food to be brought to them, but Meg is suspicious. Even so, they all eat the meal of turkey. Meg and Calvin find that it tastes fine, but Charles complains that it tastes of sand. The man explains that this is because he can get into the minds of Meg and Calvin, but he cannot yet penetrate Charles' mind. Charles decides that he must find out who this man really is. He will let the man into his mind, while trying to keep part of himself out. But he does not succeed, and his mind gets taken over completely. Meg realizes with alarm that Charles has gone.

** Chapter 8 **

 * The Transparent Column**

Meg is upset and demands to know what the man has done with her brother. She feels that the boy is now only a copy of his former self. Charles, sounding like a recording, says that the man is their friend. But Meg knows that something else is looking out from behind Charles's eyes, and it's not really him who is speaking at all. Calvin grabs Charles, and Meg tries to hit the man, but they are both held back by three of his henchmen. Charles tries to tell Meg that she should relax and realize that all her troubles are over. She just has to submit and give in. Meg knows it is not really Charles who is talking to her, so she does not listen. Calvin asks the man who he is, and the man replies that he is the Prime Coordinator. He also says that Charles will take them to their father. Charles walks off down a corridor and the others follow. Meg persuades Calvin to try to communicate with Charles, and Calvin stares into Charles's eyes, concentrating hard. But the attempt fails. Charles informs them that on Camazotz, all illness has been conquered. No one is allowed to suffer; the sick are simply put to death. He says that IT takes care of such things.

The three children walk through a transparent wall and find themselves in a small, square room. Charles continues his lecture, saying that everyone on Camazotz is happy because they are all alike. He uses the word "we" to include himself in this. He says that it is differences that cause problems. Calvin and Meg argue with him, and also ask him what IT is. Charles replies that IT is the Boss, that sometimes calls itself the Happiest Sadist. There are no individual minds on Camazotz. There is only one mind, and that is IT.

Moving down another corridor, they see into a room where the little boy who was bouncing his ball incorrectly is being painfully retrained. Further down the corridor, Charles again makes the wall transparent, and they look into another room. In the center is a round, transparent column, and inside it is a man. Meg recognizes the man as her father.

** Chapter 9 **
IT

Although the children can see Meg's father, he is unable to see them. Charles says the only way to save him is to go into IT. Calvin makes another attempt to get through to the real Charles, staring hard at him, but again he fails. Meg then remembers the glasses Mrs. Who gave her. She puts them on and flings herself at the transparent door. She goes through it instantly, runs to the column and embraces her father. He asks her what she is doing there; he is still unable to see her. Meg gives him Mrs. Who's glasses, and then he can see. They escape from the column, with Meg clinging to her father. Mr. Murry tries to talk to Charles, but Charles only insults him. Charles then leads the way to IT. Meg is in despair because her father does not seem to understand that Charles has been taken over by IT. They go down an elevator and out into the street. Meg wants her father to do something to save them all.

They go into a strange, domelike building. Meg feels a rhythmical pulsing; it seems as if something else is trying to control her breathing. The building is empty, but on a dais lies an oversized, disembodied, living brain. Meg knows this is IT. Her father shouts to them not to give in. As she feels herself being taken over by IT, Meg fights back, using the faults that Mrs. Whatsit had told her would be useful: anger, impatience, stubbornness. She yells out a nursery rhyme, then the Declaration of Independence. Charles says that on Camazotz, there is complete equality, but Meg replies that sameness is not equality. For a moment she escapes the power of IT, but then her control slips and she is in trouble again. Her father yells at her to recite the periodic table of elements, which she does. Her father then asks her what the square root of five is, so she must use her own brain. But she is still losing the battle to IT. Then Calvin tells Mr. Murry to tesser. Meg feels she is being torn apart by a whirlwind.

** Chapter 10 **

 * Absolute Zero**

Meg returns to consciousness only slowly. Mr. Murry confesses to Calvin that he had been on the point of giving in to IT when they arrived. He says that going to Camazotz was an accident; he had intended to go only to Mars, but the tesser went wrong. Tessering turned out to be more complicated than the scientists had expected. He says that playing with time and space is a dangerous game; they really know very little about it. Meg finally comes round, and realizes she is lying in an open field. She is paralyzed because she is frozen from head to toe. Again, she is upset that her father has not saved her. He confesses that he does not know where they are, and says she is frozen because they went through the Black Thing. They had to leave Charles Wallace behind because tessering might have been too much for him, given that he was controlled by IT. Meg is annoyed and impatient, and demands to go back to Camazotz immediately to rescue Charles. She no longer feels optimistic that things will work out well in the end, because her father has failed her. As feeling starts to return to her body, they all see three figures approaching them across the grass. These creatures are tall, eyeless and have tentacles, with heads but not faces. Meg at first feels only revulsion for them, but as one of the beasts picks her up in its tentacles, she feels warm and safe.

** Chapter 11 **

 * Aunt Beast**

The beasts take Meg away, saying she needs special attention to counteract the influence of the Black Thing. Meg feels a supreme sense of comfort and security. Realizing that the beasts are good, she relaxes and falls asleep. When she awakes, the pain is only a memory and she is no longer paralyzed. The beasts have saved her. One of the beasts says they are talking to her father and Calvin, to come up with a plan that will help them. When Meg asks why it is so dark where she is, the beast does not know what she means by light and dark. Meg tries to explain it, but the beast says it sounds very complicated. The beasts do not have a concept of vision; they just know what things are like without seeing them in the human sense.

Meg wants to go back to Camazotz to rescue Charles, but the beast advises caution. It promises that they will not abandon Charles, but they have not yet decided on the best course of action. Meg eats the delicious food the beast offers her, and decides to call the creature Aunt Beast. Aunt Beast sings her to sleep with the most beautiful of music. When she wakes up, she asks Aunt Beast what planet they are on. The reply is Ixchel. Aunt Beast also explains that the beasts are engaged in fighting the Black Thing, and many forces in the universe, including God and love, help them in this battle.

Aunt Beast leads Meg to a large chamber, where she meets up again with her father and Calvin. But she is still angry with them because she feels they are not sufficiently concerned about the fate of Charles Wallace. Meg insists that their only option is to turn to Mrs. Whatsit and the other two ladies for help. She tries as hard as she knows to explain to the beasts who the ladies are, but they cannot understand her. Then Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which and Mrs. Who suddenly arrive in person.

** Chapter 12 **

 * The Foolish and the Weak**

Meg pleads with the three ladies to help them save Charles Wallace. Mrs. Whatsit says that they can do nothing on Camazotz. She also says she will not allow either Mr. Murry or Calvin to return there. Meg realizes that she has to be the one to go back, since Charles understands her, and she is closest to him. Mr. Murry at first refuses permission, and Calvin joins with him. Mrs. Whatsit explains to Meg that if she goes, she will face great danger. Mrs. Whatsit cannot see into the future, so she cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Mr. Murry reluctantly withdraws his objections. Mrs. Whatsit gives Meg her love.

With the help of Mrs. Which, Meg tessers back to Camazotz. Mrs. Which tells her that she has something IT does not. It is her only weapon. But Meg must find out for herself what that weapon is. She goes past the Central Intelligence building to the dome that houses IT. Once inside, she can feel the insidious influence of IT. She approaches IT; Charles crouches beside it. Reading her thoughts, Charles tells her she has nothing that IT does not. She feels hatred towards IT, and starts to get sucked into it. Then she realizes that IT also possesses hate. And in a flash she realizes that what she has that IT does not is love. She looks at Charles, full of love for him. This love frees Charles from the grip of IT, and he and Meg embrace. Suddenly there is a whirl of darkness, and then Meg feels the earth beneath her. She and Charles have landed at home, in the twins' vegetable garden. Calvin and her father are there too. Mrs. Murry emerges from the house with the twins, and there is a joyful family embrace. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which make a brief appearance, before tessering off to some new location.