Jimmy Nguyen

Petrow

Many literary novels have been essential to the education of culture,

especially to children and adolescents. Some great novels both teach important
values and educate children about world affairs and classic themes. Madeleine
L'Engles A Wrinkle in Time takes us through the lives of two siblings: Meg and
Charles. This book was banned for many reasons such as the differences of what
childhood is like, the constant struggle of fighting love with guilt, and the Christian
imagery buried between the plot. These ideas have labeled LEngles book as
challenged, though many readers have learned more about the essentials of
childhood and experience from reading.
The idea of difference of childhood plays an immense role in the development
of L'Engle's characters and the plot which drives them. The notion of childhood
impacts the way in which the children deal with the world around them. This affects
one of the main protagonists, Charles Wallace, more than any of the other
characters. In the novel, Charles Wallace must deal with the fact that he is very
different than other children his age with his ability to read minds and speak to
older children with such fluidity and understanding. His plan is to stay quiet while at
school so that his difference is not exploited by other children. In this way, Charles
Wallace can be said to have, in one way, lost his childhood. However, on the planet
of Camazotz, the witches tell him that his greatest power is in his ability to embrace
his childhood, proving to the challengers of this book that change can be good in
chidren. His grown-up nature, in that context, is a liability, not an assetThe other
protagonist, Meg must battle the idea of being different as an adolescent teenager,
wanting at first to be the same as the rest of the people at her school, until she
learns on the planet Camazotz, that the differences that make her who she is, such
as intelligence and persuasion of words, can be used for good to save life on the
planet, including her missing father. Difference also represents the ability of
characters to use special talents that others do not have. For instance, Calvin, who
is very different from the rest of his family, learns that he has a special talent for
understanding and persuading other people along with a particular ability to love
others. This is a gift that the rest of his family does not have. Through his difference,
then, Calvin is able to embody traits that help advance the children forward in their
quest. One reason why this book was banned was because the protagonists, who
were children much like the intended audience for the book, were too different. This
then led to controversy over if children will become more rebellious like Meg in the
beginning of the story when she snaps back at the teacher for yelling at her for not
paying attention, even though she outwitted him in his own classroom, proving how
wrong he was. LEngle created this book for one sole purpose, to educate the
readers. Her target audience is young children and we see in this book that there

will be challenges and hardships associated with childhood. There will be rude
teachers who will think they are right all the time and yell when proven wrong, there
will be people mocking others for their differences, but thats what makes up
childhood. Without that children would grow up to be sticks snapping to the first
strong gust of wind that blows their way.
The constant battle between love and guilt is what some challenged the
books for, saying that it had a negative connotation because the children felt guilty
of their fathers disappearance even though having nothing to do with it or how
each child feels guilty if another one was hurt or in distress. For example, Meg had a
hard time learning to love because her own impatience, which easily led her to
anger and guilt. When she was unable to save Charles Wallace, and then when her
father and Calvin was unable to save him, her impatience led her to be angry at
them and to be consumed with darkness. It was only through learning to give of
herself that she was able to defeat this fatal flaw.

The Dark Thing is L'Engle's representation of evil. L'Engle, relying on a

particular Christian framework, understands evil to be a force at work within the
universe. People do not necessarily cause evil - instead, the Dark Thing is the
personification of evil that people can participate in and be influenced by. Thus,
L'Engle would conclude that people are not necessarily good or evil, but can instead
be influenced by either force. One possible element that the three ladies in the
novel might represent is the way in which goodness cannot be judged from exterior
appearances. Mrs. Whatsit, especially, is described as wearing tattered, disheveled
clothes. None of the women are described as being beautiful, nor do they seem to
posses traits that would allow other people to immediately trust them or put faith in
them. Meg, especially, feels that she cannot trust Mrs. Whatsit when she first meets
her, though Charles Wallace assures her that she is there to help them.The children
soon learn, however, that the ladies' appearances are not all that they seem. Mrs.
Whatsit had actually been a star that had done battle with the Dark Thing and lost
her star life because of it. Her beauty is also seen when she transforms into a
beautiful winged creature that takes them to the top of a mountain to see the Dark
Thing. Through the example of the three ladies, the children learn to look past
appearances to see the motivations of good within a person. In one sense,
characterizing the ladies as Guardian angels fits the Christian framework of the
novel. They are endowed with gifts that allow them to travel through time and
space. Likewise, Mrs. Whatsit was at one time a star, meaning she was part of God's

creation. Their most angelic qualities, however, is their ability to love

unconditionally, a trait that is the highest quality each character is striving for.

L'Engle buried religious imagery into the book which put her on the radar of
being banned. Her take on Christianity fuses religion with science as well as magical
themes much like many books before her and even after her. Just as recent books
on witches and magic have been condemned by some, L'Engle's book was one of
the first to fuse these controversial themes in one novel. This book was banned for
many reasons such as the constant struggle of fighting love with guilt, the
differences of growing up and finding oneself, and the Christian connotation buried
between the words. LEngles book has taught many children the fundamentals of
being different and will remain a work of esteemed literature for children who are
willing to challenge their mindsets in different ways