Wrinkle In Time

Chapter 1 Quotes

Quote:

"Not Mother. But Them. Everybody Else" (1)

Inference:

Because Meg feels like an outsider, everyone outside of her family is “Them. Everybody Else.” It’s Meg against the world.

Quote:

"Why do I always have to show everything?" (2)

Inference:

Unlike her mom, Meg can’t hide her feelings. What she thinks and feels shows up on her face.

Quote:

"The twins didn't have any problems" (3)

Inference:

The twins, Sandy and Dennys, are not outsiders. They fit in, are good at school and sports, and have each other.

Quote:

"You're like Charles Wallace. Your development has to go at its own pace. It just happen to be the usual pace" (4-5)

Inference:

Everyone learns at a different pace. It’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with it.

Quote:

"But it [testing] assures me that both you and Charles Wallace will be able to do pretty much whatever you like when you grow up to your- selves" (5)

Inference:

CW and Meg are smart in their own ways. They will realize this when they grow up to become their best selves.

Quote:

"I don't know if they're [the twins] really like everybody else, or if they're just able to pretend they are. I try to pretend, but it isn't any help" (7)

Inference:

Sandy and Dennys can pretend to be “normal.” Meg tries to pretend but it doesn’t help. She’s going to have to figure out that she has to accept who she is – that’s “normal”

Quote:

"Mother's not a bit pretty; she's beautiful...therefore I bet she was awful at your age" (7)

Inference:

It’s implied that when Mrs. Murry was Meg’s age, she was the same way – awkward and odd. But who we are as kids isn’t necessarily who we’ll grow into as adults.

Quote:

"Mother can take care of herself," Charles said. "Physically, that is" (9)

Inference:

Mrs. Murry can feed herself, stick up for herself, and look after the kids, but emotionally, spiritually, and mentally, she may need some help dealing with what’s happening.

Quote:

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," Charles intoned" (10)

Inference:

You might be trying to help someone out and still make the wrong choice. Repeatedly making the wrong choice will lead you to a bad place.

Quote:

"But at least you aren't trying to squash him [Charles] down." Mrs. Whatsit nodded her head vigorously. "You're letting him be himself" (11)

Inference:

The Murry family isn’t trying to make CW be someone he isn’t it. They are allowing him to be himself – strangeness and all.

Quote:

"Wild nights are my glory," Mrs. Whatsit said. "I just got caught in a down draft and blown off course" (12)

Inference:

This is a metaphor for life. Sometimes, you’ll be blown off course and lose your way. It happens and we do the best we can.

Quote:

"Mother, what's the matter!" Meg cried. "What did she say? What is it?" (12)

Inference:

Meg asks, “What is it?” meaning the tessaract. But the question she asks is Mrs. Whatsit’s name=

“What is it?”

Mrs. Whatsit

(What’s it)

Wrinkle In Time

Chapter 2 Quotes

Quote:

"I don't understand it [Mrs. Whatsit's visit] any more than you do, but one thing I've learned is that you don't have to understand things for them to be" (29).

Inference:

The existence of something is separate and different than our understanding it

Quote:

"What is a tesseract?" Meg asked. "It's a concept" (29) [Mrs. Murray said]

Inference:

The tesseract is going to be an idea – something that we won’t necessarily be able to touch (abstract idea – exists only in our heads)

Quote:

"We know you have a great mind and all, Mother," Sandy said, "but you don't have much sense" (29)

Inference:

Book smarts versus street smarts

Intellectual versus common sense

These are two different kinds of smart

Quote:

"The teacher was sarcastic, the rest of the class laughed, and she [Meg] flung herself down in her seat in a fury” (30).

Inference:

Sometimes people don’t see your perspective. They react to THEIR perspective.

Quote:

"I do face facts," Meg said. "They're lots easier to face than people, I can tell you" (32).

Inference:

Facts are either true or false (black and white answer)

People are more complicated (gray areas – opinion, perspective)

Quote:

"But I never say anything. You [CW] just seem to know" (36).

Inference:

Another example of CW’s sixth sense -instinct.

Quote:

"It's [CW's sense] being able to understand a sort of language, like sometimes if I concentrate very hard I can understand the wind talking with the trees" (36)

Inference:

Sometimes our understanding of an idea is limited by the words we use (inadequancy of words)

Quote:

"Thinking I'm [CW] a moron gives people some- thing to feel smug about…Why should I disillusion them?" (38)

Inference:

What other people think about us is none of our business. What people say is about THEM. We don’t have to necessarily correct their vision of us.

Quote:

"When I [Calvin] get this feeling, this compulsion, I always do what it tells me. I can't explain where it comes from or how I get it, and it doesn't happen very often. But I obey it" (39-40)

Inference:

Calvin explaining his sixth sense – his extra skill.

Quote:

"Le coeur a ses raison que la raison ne connait point. French. Pascal. The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing" (42)

Inference:

First good example of Mrs. Who – she uses other people’s words to explain what she means

All her quotes are from famous people who were considered very intelligent.