A WRINKLE IN TIME

Madeleine L'Engle
Group Discussion Questions for Chapter One to Twelve

Graphic by Kristin 2002

CHAPTER ONE

1.In what ways does the author introduce the Murrays as a very natural family? List the ways.
2.Since such strange things happen to this family, why does the author not picture them as a "strange" family?
3.Explain the possible purpose of the storm happening?
4.Explain the possible purpose of the "tramp" rumor?
5.Who does the tramp turn out to be?
6.What does Mrs. Whatsit mention that upsets Mrs. Murray so much?
7.In the introductory part of a story there is generally an event which starts the story on its way. We refer to that event as the Motivating Force. Which of the following is the Motivating Force:
a) Mr. Jenkin's interview
b) Mrs. Whatsit's visit
c) The storm



CHAPTER TWO

1."We rather had an interrupted night," Mother said. What were the interruptions?
2.How does Mrs. Murray define the tesseract which had troubled her and Meg?
3.Why was Meg called into the principal's office?
4.What fact did the principal want her to face?
5.How did Meg justify her belief?
6.Why did Charles Wallace suggest a visit to Mrs. Whatsit?
7.How did Charles Wallace's love for Meg show?
8.How did Charles know what had happened to Meg at school?
9.How did Charles prove to Calvin that he wasn't a moron?
10.What similar compulsion did both Calvin and Charles have?
11.Charles said, "Mother is not one of us."
a) What did he mean?
b) Who does "us" refer to?
12.What description of the haunted house makes it appear sinister?
13.Mrs. Who gave rather astonishing answers to Charles Wallace's questions. What did she mean by each:
a) "I think he's a good idea."
b) "It's getting near time."
c) "He needs our help."
d) "We won't go without you."
14.In all the dialogue in Chapter one, one fact is particularly often mentioned, especially in Mr. Jenkin's interview with Meg. What is it?



CHAPTER THREE

1.How was Calvin accepted in his home? Was there anything about Calvin that would account for this?
2.What did Meg realize about her own family after talking with Calvin?
3.Meg could help Calvin in his math, even if he was several grades ahead of her.
a) What does this show about Meg?
b) Did she improve on the teacher's method?
c) Were they allowed to do it their own way?
d) What had made Meg so adept at numbers?
e) What surprised Calvin about the Murrays?
4.Though Calvin was liked at school, he felt alone. Why?
5.Why did he feel at home with the Murrays?
6.What scientific facts had Meg revealed to him?
7.How does Mother explain Charles' difference?
8.List the information Calvin got about father from Meg.
9.How did Calvin make Meg feel "great"?
10.What startling news did Charles bring?
11.How did Mrs. Who appear on the scene?
12.How did Mrs. Whatsit appear?
13.Who else appeared on the scene?
14.Referring back to the beginning of the chapter, where were the children when the three strange "ladies" appeared?
15.What peculiarity is there about Mrs. Which?
16.What did she have difficulty doing?


CHAPTER FOUR

1.What aspect of nature was introduced at the beginning of the chapter?
2.Where did Meg seem to be? What had happened to her corporeal body?
3.What had happened to light, darkness, sound, silence, and the world of things?
4.What trouble did Meg have when she saw Charles and Calvin?
5.How did Calvin materialize?
6.Why did the women laugh so heartily?
7.Where did they all find themselves?
8.How had they got there?
9.For what purpose had they come here?
10.Into what did Mrs. Whatsit metamorphose?
11.What did they experience as they flew over the singing creatures?
12.What did the creatures each give to the children?
13.What change did Charles undergo during the flight?
14.What did the children use the flowers for?
15.Where did they all land?
16.What did Mrs. Whatsit show them?
17.List some descriptive words about The Thing.
18.What effect did The Thing have on the children?
19.What idea dawned on Meg at the end of the chapter?




CHAPTER FIVE

1.What did Mrs. Which propose to do?
2.Which are the first four dimensions?
3.What is the fifth dimension?
4.What advantage does the tesseract have?
5.Explain the title of the story now: A Wrinkle in Time.
6.On the first part of the tesseract, to what kind of planet did they go? Explain.
7.What mistake had Mrs. Which made?
8.Where did they arrive on the next part of the tesseract?
9.What worried the children?
10.How did Mrs. Whatsit calm them?
11.With what word could you best describe the conditions on Orion?
12.Where did they go on Orion?
13.Whom were they supposed to meet?
14.What was the woman doing?
15.Using the crystal ball, what did the Medium want to show the children ?
16.What did they see instead?
17.What was the Dark Thing?
18.Where was it being fought?
19.Who fought it on the planet Earth? Name at least ten people.
20.Where had the Dark Thing won control?


CHAPTER SIX

1.What great event did the children see in the crystal ball?
2.What had happened to Mrs. Whatsit before her present state?
3.Where did the group tesser to after seeing the Medium?
4.What command did Mrs. Which give the children?
5.What did Mrs. Who give Meg for the final moment of peril?
6.What did Mrs. Whatsit give Calvin?
7.Who would be in the greatest danger?
8.What was peculiar about the town?
9.What was the discipline like in this town?
10.What permit did each have to have?
11.What happened if the rhythm were broken?
12.Who governed and controlled everything here?
13.Of what system of government does the author poke fun at?
14.Of what terrible danger does Calvin hint at?











CHAPTER SEVEN

1.What did Calvin suggest to do?
2.Why did they all stay together?
3.What did the man warn them about?
4.What was peculiar about the man on the platform?
5.How did he speak to the children?
6.What did the children think he was trying to do to them?
7.Why did Charles hit the man?
8.Where does Charles first yield to the man?
9.Why was the food distasteful to Charles and tasteful to the others?
10.What big challenge did the man give to Charles?
11.What was the agreement?
12.Why could Charles eat at last?
13.What seemed different about him?
14.What was Meg's and Calvin's great fear?





CHAPTER EIGHT

1.According to the man, what was the great change in Charles?
2.Who did Charles say were their real enemies?
3.Why did Charles think that this planet was as good?
4.Where was Charles supposed to take Meg and Calvin?
5.What advice did Meg remember that had been given to Calvin? Did it work?
6.What did Charles say was done to all ill people to overcome illness and deformity?
7.How did Charles open the door to the elevator?
8.According to Charles, what was it on the planet earth that created all problems?
9.What had happened to the individual on Camazotz that eliminated wars?
10.How was the boy being punished that had not bounced his ball in rhythm?
11.Where did they find father?
12.List all the good points Charles says about Camazotz.
13.Though the points are exaggerated about Camazotz, the author wants to picture conditions in a certain type of government. Which type of government does she picture?
14.To what might the transparent column be compared in a totalitarian type of government?










CHAPTER NINE

1.What was Charles' attitude towards his father?
2.What advice did Charles give Meg now to save her father?
3.How did Calvin try to get Charles out of the trance?
4.What advice did Meg suddenly remember?
5.How did Charles try to hinder Meg?
6.How did Meg get into the invisible column?
7.What effect did the spectacles have on the atoms?
8.How did Father get to see Meg and Charles?
9.Since there was only one pair of spectacles, how did Father get Meg out after she became imprisoned?
10.Where did Charles take Father and the children?
11.What effect did the atmosphere in the CENTRAL Central Intelligence have upon Meg?
12.What was IT? Describe.
13.What good did Meg's faults do her now?
14.How did she try to resist IT?
15.What advice did Calvin give Mr. Murray to save Meg quickly?
16.How good was Mr. Murray at tessering?
17.Throughout the story, Meg has shown her exalted thoughts about her father. What does she begin to see about him now?



CHAPTER TEN

1.How had the children held out against IT so long?
2.What weakness had IT developed over the centuries?
3.How had Mr. Murray got to Camazotz?
4.How had Charles succumbed to IT?
5.Why did Mr. Murray not realize how long he had been in the column?
6.What had Mr. Murray discovered in his experience?
7.What effect had the tessering had on Meg?
8.What was the reason for it?
9.What was Meg's main concern after the tesser?
10.What did she blame her father for?
11.What advice did she give him?
12.Why had Mr. Murray not tessered Charles?
13.Why was Meg so accusing to her father?
14.Explain: "She was teetering on the see-saw of love and hate."
15.How did Mr. Murray console Meg?
16.Who came to see Mr. Murray and the children?
17.What was strange about these "things"?
18.How did they affect Meg?
19.What did they propose to do with Meg?







CHAPTER ELEVEN

1.How did Mr. Murray and Calvin react to the beasts?
2.What sort of mistakes do people make on earth that Calvin did not want repeated?
3.What did Meg think would happen to her?
4.What choices concerning Meg were left to Mr. Murray and Calvin?
5.How had Meg been saved?
6.What did the beasts think of sight?
7.What do you suppose replaced sight for the beasts?
8.What had to be done before attempting to rescue Charles?
9.How did the beasts distinguish between night and day?
10.What did Ixchel and Camazotz share?
11.What were the beasts' buildings like?
12.How did Meg feel about her father after beginning to recover?
13.What was the food like?
14.Which phase of Meg's recovery concerned the beasts?
15.What was wrong with Meg's description of the three ladies?
16.Why did the thin beast think people on earth were lonely?



CHAPTER TWELVE

1.What did Meg think Mrs. Whatsit was supposed to do?
2.What did Mr. Murray think was the last resort?
3.What made Meg think Mrs. Which wanted her to go?
4.What good did it do for Aunt Beast to volunteer her help in tessering Meg?
5.What is a sonnet?
6.Why was Meg in a hurry to go?
7.Why did Meg cry when saying goodbye to her father?
8.Why didn't Mrs. Whatsit accompany Meg?
9.What did Meg take on her journey this time?
10.How did Meg feel, (and how did she wish she could feel) when she returned to Camazotz?
11.How did Meg feel when she saw Charles?
12.What quality did Meg possess to keep her free from IT?
13.How did Meg almost lose self-control?
14.How did Meg save Charles?