A Wrinkle in Time

Title, Author & Publication

A Wrinkle in Time was written by Madeleine L’Engle and published in 1962 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux of New York.

Setting

The scenes of A Wrinkle in Time occur in the home of the protagonist and on a variety of planets. In this type of fantasy novel, the willing suspension of disbelief is essential to a deeper understanding of the story. The reader must embrace the other worlds as symbolic of larger abstract ideas.

Main Characters

Meg Murry, the protagonist of the story. Meg is 14 and considers herself a misfit among her peers. She is an adolescent lacking in maturity and confidence who embarks on a quest to find her father.
Charles Wallace Murry, Meg’s five year old brother. Charles is a genius and has some telepathic ability. He accompanies his sister on their journey.
Calvin O’Keefe, Meg’s close friend and, though popular at school, also considers himself odd next to his peers and family.
Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who & Mrs. Which, three angelic aliens who accompany the children on their journey.
IT & The Black Thing, the two antagonists of the novel. Both creatures represent ultimate evil.

Plot

A Wrinkle in Time is the story of the Murry children and their search for their missing scientist father. Meg, Charles Wallace and Calvin are guided by three aliens who act as guardian angels, and who battle the force of The Black Thing as it tries to overcome the universe with evil. As the children move through space and time with the Tesseract, they are met with several challenges that require them to prove their worth. Most important is Meg’s journey to rescue her brother as it is during this time that she must overcome her fears and self-serving immaturity to succeed.

Questions and Themes to Ponder

Examine the theme of maturity.

• How does Meg transform over the course of the book?
• How does Charles Wallace act as a foil to Meg?
• Why does Charles Wallace become susceptible to the influence of IT?

Examine the theme of good vs. evil.

• Archetypes are recurring symbols that are used repeatedly in art and literature.
• What archetypes are found in this book and how do they contribute to the development of this theme?

What roles do the Murry parents play?

• How do the goals of IT threaten the Murry family and society at large?

Consider the role of religion in the novel.

• Is there irony in the fact that one of the main characters is named Calvin? Why?
• How is the Christian ethic depicted?

Possible First Sentences

“Good and evil are concepts that transcend the finite regions of time and space.”
“Fear keeps individuals from succeeding and societies from evolving.”
“Physical journeys often parallel journeys taken within oneself.”
“Maturation is a common theme in children’s literature.”

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Bad Sources

In conducting homework research, you are basically conducting a search for facts: little tidbits of truth that you will assemble and arrange in an organized fashion. Your first responsibility as a researcher is to understand the difference between fact and fiction—and also the difference between fact and opinion.

Here are some common places to find opinions and works of fiction that can be disguised as facts.

1. Blogs

As you know, anybody can publish a blog on the Internet. This poses an obvious problem with using a blog as a research source, as there is no way to know the credentials of many bloggers or to get an understanding of the writer’s level of expertise.

Many people create blogs to give themselves a forum to express their views and opinions.

2. Personal Web Sites

A web page is much like a blog when it comes to being an unreliable research source. Web pages are created by the public, so you have to be very careful when choosing them as sources. It's sometimes difficult to determine which web sites are created by experts and professionals on a given topic.

If you think about it, using information from a personal web page is just like stopping a perfect stranger on the street and collecting information from him or her. Not very reliable!

3. Wiki Sites

Wiki web sites can be very informative, but they can also be untrustworthy. Wiki sites allow groups of people to add and edit the information contained on the pages. You can imagine how a wiki source could contain unreliable information!

The question that always arises when it comes to homework and research is whether it’s OK to use Wikipedia as a source of information. Wikipedia is a great site with a lot of fantastic information, and a possible exception to the rule. Your teacher can tell you for certain if you can use this source. One thing is for certain: Wikipedia offers a reliable overview of a topic to give you a strong foundation to start with. It also provides a list of resources where you can continue your own research.

4. Movies

Don’t laugh. Teachers, librarians, and college professors will all tell you that students often believe things the they’ve seen in movies. Whatever you do, don’t use a movie as a research source! Movies about historical events can contain kernels of truth, but they are created for entertainment, not for educational purposes.

5. Historical Novels

Students also believe that historical novels are trustworthy, because they state that they are “based on facts.” There is a difference between a factual work and a work that is based on facts!

A novel that is based on a single fact can still contain ninety-nine percent fiction! Never use a historical novel as a history resource.

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Homework Checklist

Printable View

After School:

____ Mark new due dates on your calendar

____ Make a shopping list for supplies needed for future assignments

____ Set up email or text message reminders

____ Finish your homework

____ Proof read written assignments

____ Put all work into book bag

____ Place book bag in designated location

____ Check your calendar to determine a study time for tomorrow

____ Set your alarm for morning

In the Morning:

____ Pack a lunch and/or snack to put in your book bag (to avoid distractions)

____ Eat something for breakfast

____ Take your book bag to school

____ Leave early

During Study Time:

____ Date all your notes

____ Use color-coded sticky notes (when reading)

____ Double-check due dates

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Ethos, Logos, and Pathos

You may be surprised to learn that much of your life consists of constructing arguments. If you ever plead a case to your parents -- in order to extend your curfew, or to get a new gadget, for example -- you are using persuasive strategies.

When you discuss music with friends, and agree or disagree with them about the merits of one singer compared to another, you are also using strategies for persuasion.

Here's a surprise: when you engage in these "arguments" with your parents and friends, you are instinctively using ancient strategies for persuasion that were identified by the Greek philosopher Aristotle a few thousand years ago!

Aristotle called his ingredients for persuasion ethos, logos, and pathos.

Persuasion Tactics and Homework

When you write a research paper, write a speech, or participate in a debate, you also use the persuasion strategies mentioned above. You come up with an idea (a thesis) and then construct an argument to convince readers that your idea is sound.

You should become familiar with pathos, logos, and ethos for two reasons. First, you need to develop your own skills at crafting a good argument, so that others will take you seriously.

Secondly, you must develop the ability to identify a really weak argument, stance, claim, or position when you see or hear it.

What Is Logos?

Logos refers to an appeal to reason based on logic. Logical conclusions come from assumptions and decisions derived from weighing a collection of solid facts and statistics. Academic arguments (research papers) rely on logos.

An example of an argument that relies on logos is the argument that smoking is harmful based on the evidence that "Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer." (1)

Notice that the statement above uses specific numbers. Numbers are sound and logical.

An everyday example of an appeal to logos is the argument that Lady Gaga was more popular than Justin Bieber in 2011 because Gaga's fan pages collected ten million more Facebook fans than Bieber's.

As a researcher, your job is to find statistics and other facts to back up your claims. When you do this, you are appealing to your audience with logic-or logos.

What Is Ethos?

Trustworthiness is important in research, as you well know. You must trust your sources, and your readers must trust you.

In the example above concerning logos, you saw two examples that were based on hard facts (numbers). However, one example comes from the American Lung Association. The other comes from Facebook fan pages. Which of these sources do you suppose is more credible?

Facebook fan pages can be started by anyone. Lady Gaga may have fifty different fan pages, and each page may contain duplicate "fans." The fan page argument is probably not very sound (even though it seems logical).

Ethos refers to the credibility of the person posing the argument or stating the facts.

The facts provided by the American Lung Association are probably more persuasive than those provided by fan pages, since the American Lung Association has been around for more than 100 years.

At first glance, you might think that your own credibility is out of your control when it comes to posing academic arguments-but that is wrong!

Even if you write an academic paper on a topic that is outside your area of expertise, you can improve your credibility (persuade through ethos) as a researcher by coming across as a professional--by citing credible sources and making your writing error-free and concise.

What Is Pathos?

Pathos refers to appealing to a person by influencing their emotions. Pathos is involved in the strategy of convincing the audience by invoking feelings through their own imaginations.

You probably appeal through pathos when you try to convince your parents of something. Consider this statement:

"Mom, there is clear evidence that cell phones save lives in emergency situations."

While that statement is true, the real power lies in the emotions that you will likely invoke in your parent. What mother wouldn't envision a broken-down automobile perched by the side of a busy highway upon hearing that statement?

Emotional appeals are extremely effective, but they can be tricky.

There may or may not be a place for pathos in your research paper. For example, you may be writing an argument essay about the death penalty.

Ideally, your paper should contain a logical argument. You should appeal to logos by including statics to support your view-such as data that suggests that the death penalty does/does not cut down on crime (there's plenty of research both ways).

But you may also use pathos by interviewing someone who witnessed an execution (on the anti-death penalty side) or someone who found closure when a criminal was executed (on the pro-death penalty side).

Generally, however, academic papers should employ appeals to emotions pretty sparingly. A long paper that is purely based on emotions is not considered very professional!

Even when you are writing about an emotionally-charged, controversial issue like the death penalty, you can't write a paper that is all emotion and opinion. The teacher, in that circumstance, will likely assign a failing grade because you haven't provided a sound (logical) argument.

You need logos!

1. From the web site for The American Lung Association, "General Smoking Facts," accessed on December 20, 2011.

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Tips for Senior Year

The senior year is the best of times and the worst of times.

That might be a little bit of a stretch; that sentence is really an allusion to the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. This subtle reference is the sort of thing you may be expected to recognize as a college student.

The senior year does resemble a sort of double-duty function. It is a time when you should celebrate your accomplishments, but it's also a time when you have to work hard to prepare for your future. One way to be prepared is to recognize how college studies will differ from high school studies. The other way to prepare is to tie up loose ends when it comes to college and financial aid applications.

Study Tips for Seniors

1. Improve your note-taking skills.
   College lectures cover a lot of information and sometimes the lectures go at a fast speed. Develop your own form of shorthand and speed writing.
2. Familiarize yourself with the library.
   You'll be expected to do more thorough research than ever before in college. You'll need to discover how to find journal articles, government reports, and maybe even primary sources at some point.
3. Exercise critical reading skills.
   In college you will not only use more sources than ever before, but you'll also learn to analyze those sources. Learn to read with a critical eye.
4. Practice reading difficult books and chapters.
   You may get a big surprise when you open one of your college text books. Some are written in a language and style much like the texts you use in high school. Some are not. Many college texts are written by academics who use pretty advanced vocabularies and propose pretty complicated theories and concepts. Be aware of this, but don't panic about it. All you have to do is learn how to divide and conquer the reading.
5. Learn to use Microsoft Word or another word processor.
   You will have to write research papers on a more frequent basis than before. Things like footnotes and bibliographies should become second nature.

College Prep Tips for Seniors

You should complete the college application process in a timely manner by creating a personal admission calendar countdown. Your specific time line will depend on your college of choice. As a general rule, you should apply to the most competitive colleges as early as possible, sometime in the fall months. Community colleges and technical college applications normally go out a little later, at some point in the winter months.

1. Follow Through with Financial Aid
   If you are planning to use some sort of financial aid such as loans, grants, or even scholarships, you should complete a lot of financial aid paperwork. This starts with the FAFSA, which is a federal-level form which establishes a file for you within the federal government system, but it doesn't end there! Each college has its own paperwork that establishes a file within that particular college.

   Each year, some students face a big surprise on move-in day, when they realize that their financial aid application is not complete. Students may complete some of the steps and believe they have done everything necessary-when, in fact, they have not.

   Once you believe you have done everything necessary when it comes to applying for financial aid, follow through with a phone call to a counselor. Ask them exactly where you stand and whether there will be a balance due on move-in day.

2. Senior Year and College Mail

   During your senior year you will be bombarded with college recruitment mail. At first this is flattering, but eventually it becomes annoying. The problem is, students start to throw away everything when they become overwhelmed. This can be a big mistake!

   Once in awhile, some colleges will mail out information about scholarship opportunities that you hadn't expected and hadn't applied for. Small private colleges often do this. Why miss out on a great opportunity? Take the time to open your mail and do a quick evaluation before trashing it.

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A Figure of Speech

Definition: Irony is a figure of speech in which an expression means something the opposite of or very contrary to its literal meaning.

Pronunciation:

eye-ro-nee

Also Known As: incongruity, sarcasm

Examples:

He was suspended for his little mishap.

The homeless survived in their cardboard palaces.

My cat enjoys the thrill of a good, long nap.

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Typing Spanish Letters

If you use WordPerfect for Windows, you can insert Spanish characters by bringing up the box you see above.

• Go to the Insert menu
• Select Character.
• Select the Multinational character set
• Click on appropriate symbol.

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