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Kanokwan Jukmongkol

Mr. Bishop

English 12

December 7, 2017

Megs Individualism in A wrinkle in Time

Individuality versus conformity tends to be the main topic of this novel. This can

apply to the psychoanalytical theory of repression, desires, and fears which have an effect on

Megs subconscious and unconscious mind and behaviors and thoughts in this novel. "A

wrinkle in time also ask these real questions about the universe and the good and the evil, and

the power of love, and all of this mad science and complex thinking, assuming that kids are

able to think about everything. At I think a lot of people forget or do not understand. But

children's books are the best place to ask great questions, according to (NPR Staff, 2012). A

wrinkle in time by Madeleine Lengle is a story about Meg who travels through time and

space; tester with her little brother Charles and her friend from school, Calvin, on rescuing

her missing scientist father. While they were searching and traveling through the fifth

dimensions, there are conflicts that happen in her mind during her space traveling.

Children's books have been popular in the last thirty-five years as a simple joke, a story of

overcoming good, evil, and a celebration of total conquest. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin

survived their adventures. Intentions, reasoning, and faith are another concept which are

unique in the world of children's literature, (Eli Weiss, 1998). Individuality versus

conformity, the nature of Beauty and the power of the love of the family are the main themes

of this novel. They are important themes that drive this story. After the journey has started,
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Meg wasnt quite experienced and was easily confused. Her behaviours and thoughts start to

change after facing different situations.

My first observation on this story is individuality versus conformity. Most people in

Megs school often make fun of her by being different. She struggles with conformity and

individuality, wether she wants to be accepted or be herself. Therefore, this makes Meg feel

odd from the mainstream of the society and feels to be accepted. Meg wants to be accepted

and be like the normal people. She decides to do what everyone does. She even wants to be

like her twin brothers who seems to fit in with society. This can be applied to the

psychoanalytical theory on desires. The desire of recognition for Meg who wants to be

recognized and accepted by the majority of society. On the other hand, of trying to be

someone else, she should embrace her uniqueness by accepting her own existence and her

individuality. Individuality is what makes us human. Conformity is what most people think is

good and society gets influenced by it, e.g. culture and beliefs and so on.

However, there is something involving with Christian framework. Christian know-

how, fiction, materialism, can not explain evil, and does not understand good things. We have

narrowed our lives by rejecting the spirit and reducing our existence to a shorter life. As

human beings, we are thirsty for something more because art that limits its boundaries to the

realm of the narrowest material, thinks too much about reality, and denies many important

qualities of good, (Dr. Kelly Franklin, 2016). The nature and beauty is the next observation

of this story. At first Meg worried about her appearance. She feared the look of others

because she wore braces and knotted hair. She also thinks that Charles is ordinary and has a

strange expression. That would probably help him fit in the society and be accepted. From

time to time, Meg thinks that because of her outward appearance and because Charles, she

cannot fit in and this makes her less popular. People will mock her and make her life even
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harder. Then, she began to realize that people like to judge people by the way they look. It is

similar to the pre-judemental. When you are independent and different, people will not accept

you very easily. During her father's pursuit, she realizes that her outer beauty may not win her

popularity, But it is her inner intellect and character that will help her find her father and at

the same time find a friendship with Calvin. Also, Murry also reminds her that her inner

essence makes her and Calvin special and their special talents help them through the quest to

find Mr. Murry.

The next and last observation about the popularity of the novel is the triumph of the

love of family. Since Meg's father has gone missing, she was in trouble, and even Murry and

Charles Wallace were affected in their own way. Meg never restrained her father's thoughts

from leaving with other women. She always believed in him. Meg has a faith in her father,

though some of their unconscious fears that their father abandoned them, Meg and Charles

never stopped loving and believing in their father. This is what gives them the strength to

overcome any obstacle until they find him and bring him back. In addition, this love can

bring other people into the family. It is a sacred bond that when they are together, they are

invincible, they can face any obstacle. The thing that connects to the thesis is that our

thoughts and behavior are controlled by our subconscious mind as we see in the novels. They

will never stop loving and believing in their father, and this is what makes them eager to find

him back and overcome every obstacle that they have to face during their journey.

For those many reasons, we can take a conclusion from it. It concludes that Meg's

behavior and thoughts change during the time of the subconscious and unconscious,

analyzing and interpreting the experiences she lived in while she was trying to find and help

her father. She was once about to lose her own identity and individuallity before going on a

mission to fine her father because of the desire of conformity was about to swallow her true
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self. She learned the importance of difference, identity, and difference in society, and learned

to be proud of it as she believe. Appearance will not help her find her father and she should

be proud of her inner essence.

References
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Franklin, Dr. Kelly Scott. Faith and Sci-Fi: The Christian Universe of A Wrinkle in

Time. Catholic World Report, 25 June 2016, www.catholicworldreport.com/

2016/06/25/faith-and-sci-fi-the-christian-universe-of-a-wrinkle-in-time/.

Staff, NPR. The Unlikely Best-Seller: 'A Wrinkle In Time' Turns 50. NPR, NPR, 5 Mar.

2012, www.npr.org/2012/03/05/146161011/the-unlikely-best-seller-a-wrinkle-

in-time-turns-50

Weiss, Eli. A Wrinkle in Time, 4 Dec. 1998, www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/Yale/

project12/spirit.html.