A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle forced me to activate a part of my imagination that (sadly) has not been used in quite some time. As a full-time university student going into my forth year in social sciences, it is not uncommon for me to read hundreds upon hundreds of concrete, factual textbooks void of all imagination. Contrastingly, when I first started reading the novel, I was surprised at how quickly the novel drew me in and triggered my imagination skills. I was relieved to discover that my mind was not a dry wasteland of useless facts and I could still engage in abstract thinking about the impossible while reading children's books like A Wrinkle in Time.

Meg was an interesting choice for a heroine to me. As a reader, I initially thought that Charles Wallace would be the one to save them in the end. But, the underdog (Meg) is the one who saves the day (and Charles Wallace). The concept of fitting in and the story of the underdog rising above his/her obstacles is a common theme in children's literature. We can relate to the underdog heros/heroines because most of us are not extraordinary; however, there is a point in our lives where we hope that we are more than ordinary. I think that readers can relate to a heroine like Meg because she feels ugly, plain and hates herself. Who hasn't felt like that as a pre-teen?? The novel capitalizes on every child's dream of being something more and fulfilling a destiny greater than themselves.

Another reason we can relate to the heroine in the novel is because Meg used a "gift" that we all possess to defeat IT: Love. The use of Love in the novel is something that reinforces the novel as being part of children's literature because it was almost too easy in the end to defeat IT. I think that in an adult novel, Meg would have used violence or her intellect to conquer IT. However, Meg used the universal concept of Love, which makes the novel to be a feel-good, classic children's novel that we can all relate to. The fact that Love was the choice weapon is empowering for the reader (young or old) who would aspire to do great things like Meg because they too have Love!