In this video, I’ll summarize the plot of A Wrinkle in Time in about four minutes and give you an analysis of the story. Okay, let’s get started with the introduction.
1. The Mysterious Strangers
Meg Murry is an intelligent but awkward girl who struggles at school and feels out of place in the world. Her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is unusually gifted and seems to know things others do not. Their father, a scientist, has been missing for years after working on a secret government project involving time and space travel. One stormy night, a strange woman named Mrs. Whatsit arrives at their home, hinting that their father’s disappearance is connected to a mysterious force called the tesseract.
2. The Journey Begins
Mrs. Whatsit, along with her companions Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, reveals that Meg’s father is trapped on a distant planet controlled by an evil force known as the Black Thing. Meg, Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O’Keefe agree to travel through time and space using the tesseract, a method of folding space, to rescue him. The group lands on several different planets, meeting powerful beings who explain that the Black Thing represents a spreading darkness threatening the universe.
3. The Power of IT
The travelers arrive on Camazotz, a planet completely controlled by IT, a giant, disembodied brain that forces everyone into rigid conformity. The people of Camazotz live in a society where individuality is erased, and free will is nonexistent. Charles Wallace, overconfident in his mental abilities, tries to fight IT but is hypnotized and taken over by its control. Under IT’s influence, he turns against Meg and Calvin, forcing Meg to confront the danger on her own.
4. Rescuing Mr. Murry
Meg and Calvin find Mr. Murry imprisoned by IT. Using the power of the tesseract, he manages to escape with Meg and Calvin, but Charles Wallace remains under IT’s control. They land on a peaceful planet called Ixchel, where Meg recovers from her injuries with the help of a kind, sightless creature named Aunt Beast. However, she knows she must return to Camazotz alone to save her brother, as she is the only one who can resist IT’s influence.
5. The Power of Love
Back on Camazotz, Meg faces IT and her possessed brother. She realizes that the one weapon IT does not have is love. By focusing on her deep love for Charles Wallace, she breaks IT’s hold on him and frees him from its control. With Charles Wallace back to normal, they use the tesseract to return home. The family is reunited, and the adventure ends with Meg understanding that love, courage, and individuality are the greatest strengths against darkness.
Theme 1: Good vs Evil
One of the central themes in A Wrinkle in Time is the fight between light and darkness, good and evil. The Black Thing and IT represent forces of oppression and conformity, while Meg and her allies represent hope and free will. Throughout the novel, Meg learns that fighting evil does not always require physical strength—sometimes, love and resilience are the most powerful weapons.
Theme 2: Individuality
Camazotz serves as a warning against the dangers of conformity, where people lose their identities in a system of complete control. IT enforces sameness, eliminating choice and creativity. Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin’s journey emphasizes the importance of thinking for oneself and embracing what makes each person unique. The novel celebrates individuality as a source of strength and a necessary force against oppression.