Assessment of the Role of Meg in Madeleine L'Engle’s Book, A Wrinkle in Time

Introduction: Meg Essay

Being a hero, is more than wearing a super hero costume or be a popular individual or do crazy stunts. Everyone and anyone can be someone to change lives of others. Sometimes it just takes time to find ourselves, whether if you are unpatient? Rude? Selfish? List goes on....! Well your not the only person who feels that way. A novel “A Wrinkle In Time” by Madeleine L’Engle is a young adult science fiction story. The protagonist Margaret Murry, goes by Meg, struggles to be a heroine character.

Meg is 14 year old self hating and doubting teenage girl. Along with her brother Charles Wallace and her new founded friend Clavin are sweeped into an extraordinary world. With breathtaking sites, scary creatures, new friends, unusual behaviors and more! With the guidance of the 3 Ws, they go on a journey to save Meg’s missing father, who was gone most of her childhood. Meg realizes how incapable she is for this journey, and more doubt consumes her.

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Though Meg started as being self hating, like many hero’s she learns and grows to love herself. The book teaches love is the most powerful force in the world. And that’s what Meg learns as she grows into her heroine character. In this essay you will read about how Meg was in the beginning of the story as a doubtful and self hating girl, how she is changing into a hero, and how she change into a strong and courageous hero.

To conclude, anyone could be a hero. And that changing your ways can really make a difference in your life and others. Just like what Meg did!

Margaret Murry or Meg is a teenager who hates her self and doesn’t believe she’s good enough. At the start of the plot, Meg struggles to find her self and to find to find the true story of her father, who is missing. As I the reader, couldn’t agree more! I notice about Meg that she is very doubt full to herself and always seem to feel unloved. She brings her self down and always focuses on the negative side in every event. Even though people are trying to fix her and her attitude, she always ignores it and still feels down. I know that she is characterized that way because of the the clues the author is giving of. For example, in chapter one Meg was about to go down stairs since she couldn’t sleep until she cat got up with her. “Go back to sleep,” Meg said. “Just be glad you’re a kitten and not a monster like me” (5). This is indicating that Meg is doubting that she is a “monster” and she feels ugly or has a “monster” attitude. Another piece of evidence that proves Meg doubts herself and feels unloved, is in chapter one Meg is remembering conversations with her father about her brother Charles Wallace. “I don’t want him to grow up to be dumb like me” (8). This shows that Meg really doesn’t thinks she good enough for this society, and things that she is dumb and doesn’t want her brother to like her. The moron that she says. Also not to mention, in chapter three she invited Clavin to her house for supper, until Calvin said something that shocked Meg. Calvin looked at her and said, “You don’t know how lucky you are to be loved.” Meg said in a startled way, “I guess I never thought of that. I guess I just took it for granted.” (36). This quotation specify, that even though she had people around her that loved her, she never thought or felt that way to her self. And never saw the love the her family gave her. Based on the clues the author gave, and my evidence. One can conclude that in the early parts of the story, Meg was a teen girl who never really saw or felt loved and seems to always doubts herself in the moments that she can. This also shows that she as the protagonist, is unheroic and boring. That is not the person we expected a hero to be, but it makes the story more interesting to the reader, seeing then growth of the new hero. Which gives a better expectation to what’s to come.

In the past paragraphs of “A Wrinkle In Time” by Madeleine L’Engle, we as the readers learn that Meg began to grow into a strong and non-doubting female. She grows into the more heroine character that we knew she’d be. Meg, Charles and Calvin and the Three Ws, arrive at a planet called Uriel as they tessered there. This is the time in the story where the hero, Meg crosses The threshold into a new world called The extraordinary world. The children and the Three Ws explore the nature of Uriel, when Mrs. Whatsit shows the children that the only reason they tessered is because their father is in danger and they need to save him. But before that she shows them what their up against. Mrs. Whatsit shows the children the Black Thing. After that, they tessered again to go to a new planet called Camazotz. Where all “human” minds are controlled by IT. Every action done in that planet is always simultaneous. During all the scenes happening in the story, readers are beginning to see the growth of Meg as the hero. She begins to become the comforter. She is also now braver to confront what ever she needs to do in order to save her father. Meg stoped doubting herself realizing that she is going nowhere with that. She using her talisman, her faults, and accepted that her faults can save her in this journey. In chapter six, Meg did something that she never thought she’d do! “Now instead of reaching out to Calvin for safety, Meg took his hand in hers, not saying anything in words but trying to tell him by the pressure of her fingers what she felt. If anyone had told her only the day before she, Meg, the snaggle-toothed, the myopic, the clumsy, would be taking a boy’s hand to offer him comfort and strength, particularly a popular and important boy like Calvin, the idea would have been beyond her comprehension. But now it seemed as natural to want to help and protect Calvin as it did Charles Wallace” (83). This shows that Meg, the once unconfident, held Calvin’s hand in a protective way. Showing that Meg grew out of always being protected, but now turning into a protecter. Fast forwarding to chapter nine, Meg discovers her greatest faults. “What were her greatest faults? Anger, impatience, stubbornness. Yes, it was her faults that she turned to save herself now.” (138). This explains that Meg’s greatest faults can help her in the dangerous journey ahead. Furthermore, she accepts her faults knowing that she isn’t her without it. Lastly, in chapter eight, Meg finally stoped doubting herself and became stronger and braver, knowing that nothing was holding her back: “I’ve got to be brave, she said to herself. –I will be” (119). The more that we progress in this story we can clearly see that the once doubting and afraid teen she was. Transformed into the non-doubting and strong heroine that grew to be. Even though, Meg grew and changed, she still hasn’t fully change, which is a good thing so as readers we can still relate to her more, and maybe change the way we see ourselves.

In the ending of the wonderfully written novel “A Wrinkle In Time” by Madeleine L’Engle, Meg reaches the point of becoming a new person. She took the role of the archetypal character as a hero. Meg, Calvin and her father, arrive at a planet called Ixchel, where they meet strange beasts. That later on taking them in and nourishing them. At this time Meg faces her fear and takes the courage and goes back to Camozotz and saves her brother Charles Wallace. Hero’s usually make sacrifices to save another in need, they are altruistic. So for Meg accepting that she needs to journey back to Camozatz alone to save her brother, is very altruistic of her. Meg as well needed to defeat IT, thinking she might die or get consumed by IT, she still found a way to save her brother, it shows she has become a true hero. In chapter 12, Meg finally accepted to go back to Camozatz alone “ All right, I’ll go!” Meg sobbed (169). Meg agreed to go back alone, in the sake for her bother. She understood she is the only one to break the tension between IT and Charles. Also in chapter 12, Meg understands why she has to go alone, why is the only one to save her brother. “ that it has to be me. It can’t be anyone else. I don’t understand Charles, but he understands me. I’m the one who is closest to him.” (170). Meg understood why The Three Ws didn’t save Charles themselves, or why she has to alone. She is closest to Charles. This really shines the heroine character she needs to be if she wants her beloved brother back. Meg reaches to Camozatz, and try’s to defeat IT when something popped in her head. “Suddenly she knew. She knew! Love. That was what he had that It didn’t have.” (180). Meg cracked the code, she used her thinking skills, that she thought she didn’t have in the beginning of the story. To find what she needs to get her brother back! With the knowledge of Love was the answer se fought IT with it. “Charles. Charles, I love you. My baby brother who always takes care of me. Come back to me, Charles Wallace, come away from IT, come back, come home. I love you, Charles. Oh, Charles Wallace, I love you.” (181). Meg, the teenager girl that in the beginning of the story thought that love to her was not real. But she changed, she realized that she was loved, and used that knowledge to save her brother. She realized that love is the most powerful force, and used that to defeat the mind of IT. And with that, Meg has come so far, from being a self hating teen to an inspiring role model hero. She change into a new person with a new life, she change for the better. For herself and her family. Proving that change is good, it’s for the better to become a newborn hero!

Changing can affect people differently, but we all go through it. Change can transform us into a person that will eventually change the ways of living in the world. The changing of Meg Is a great example of this phenomenon. In the beginning of the novel, Meg was very doubtful and hated herself as a person. But going more in the story, she gains confidence and strength to be able to do things on her own. And in the end, she is a newborn hero, she changes and grows showing anyone could be a hero. Not only growing and changing could possibly change yourself, but also change us as humans Not only growing and changing could possibly change yourself, but also change us as humans. Today people are garbage they care about the most unimportant things about the world. There are so little good people on this earth. But that could be changed. By changing our attitude , or words, and our ways. We can all be our only heroes for yourself and for others. “Change” is one of those words that are easy to say but hard to do. A published author, Veronica Roth, once said in an interview “one choice can change you, one choice can destroy you, and one choice can define you.” So you have a choice whether to change your ways and become an individual that could save humanities life, or stick to your old ways making no difference to the world nor benefit yourself. To conclude, I only have one question for you...... Will you change?