Quote 1: Character
Charles Wallace slipped his hand confidingly in Meg’s, and the sweet, little-boy gesture warmed her so that she felt the tense knot inside her begin to loosen. Charles loves me at any rate, she thought. (Ch 2: Pg 30: ¶ 8)
This quote shows how much Meg loves her little brother and that Charles is a good little kid.
Quote 2: Character
“What gives around here?” Calvin asked. “I was told you couldn’t talk.”
“Thinking I’m a moron gives people something to feel smug about,” Charles Wallace said. “Why should I disillusion them? How old are you Cal?” (Ch 2: Pg 33: ¶ 9-10)
These quotes show that despite what other people at school think, Charles Wallace is a really smart kid.
Quote 3: Character
“Do you think things always have an explanation?” [Meg said]
“Yes. I believe that they do. But I think that with our human limitations we’re not always able to understand the explanations. But you see, Meg, just because we don’t understand doesn't mean that the explanation doesn't exist.” (Ch 3: Pg 46: ¶ 6-7)
These quotes show Meg’s character as being someone who always wants an explanation so she understands things. It also shows that Meg’s Mom is a person who can believe in something that hasn't been proven yet.
Quote 4: Character
Charles Wallace looked steadily at Mrs Whatsit. “Are you afraid for us?”
“A little.”
“But if you weren’t afraid to do what you did when you were a star, why should you be afraid for us now?”
“But I was afraid,” Mrs Whatsit said gently. (Ch 6: Pg 95: ¶ 7-9)
These sentences show that Mrs Whatsit was afraid when she had to give up her life as a star to fight the evil darkness. She is also afraid for the children as they go off to do the same thing.
Quote 5: Plot
“Well, then, someone just tell me how we got here!” Calvin’s voice was still angry and his freckles seemed to stand out on his face. “Even traveling at the speed of light it would take us years and years to get here.”
“Oh, we don’t travel at the speed of anything,” Mrs Whatsit explained earnestly. “We tesser. Or you might say, we wrinkle.” (Ch 4: Pg 60: ¶ 6, 7)
Mrs. Whatsit is explaining to Calvin how they move through time and space in order to get to the different planets that they must visit to save Meg’s father.
Quote 6: Plot
“You see,” Mrs Whatsit said, “if a very small insect were to move from the section of skirt in Mrs. Who’s right hand to that in her left, it would be quite a long walk for him if he had to walk straight across.”
Swiftly Mrs Who brought her hands, still holding the skirt together.
“Now, you see.” Mrs Whatsit said, “he would be there without that long trip. That is how we travel.” (Ch 5: Pg 73: ¶ 8 – 10)
These sentences continue to explain how the kids will travel through time by giving an example that the children could see for themselves.
Quote 7: Plot
Meg looked. The dark shadow was still there. It had not lessened or dispensed with the coming of night. And where the shadow was the stars were not visible.
What could there be about a shadow that was so terrible that she knew that there had never been before or ever would be again, anything that would chill her with a fear that was beyond shuddering, beyond crying or screaming, beyond the possibility of comfort? (Ch 4: Pg 70: ¶ 3, 4)
These sentences show Meg’s reaction and how scared she was when she saw the dark shadow.
Quote 8: Plot
Calvin turned, rejecting the dark Thing that blotted out the light of the stars. “Make it go away, Mrs Whatsit,” he whispered. “Make it go away. It’s evil.” (Ch 4: Pg 70: ¶ 8)
This sentence shows Calvin’s reaction when he saw the dark shadow.
Quote 9: Plot
“Wwee musstt ggo bbehindd thee sshaddow.” [Mrs Which speaking]
This sentence reveals the purpose of the story which is to fight the shadow. The other plot quotes show how the characters move along in the story, but this shows what they must do.
Quote 10: Theme
Again Mrs Which’s voice reverberated through the cave. “Therre will nno llonggerr bee sso many pplleasanntt things too llookk at iff rressponssible people ddo nnott ddoo ssomethingg abboutt thee unppleassanntt ones.” (Ch 5: Pg 83: ¶ 2, 3)
This shows the importance of good people standing up for what is right.
Quote 11: Setting
Below them the town was laid out in harsh angular patterns. The houses in the outskirts were all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray. Each had a small, rectangular plot of lawn in front, with a straight line of dull-looking flowers edging the path to the door. Meg had a feeling that if she could count the flowers there would be exactly the same number on each house. In front of all the houses children were playing. Some were skipping rope, some were bouncing balls. Meg felt vaguely that something was wrong with their play. It seemed exactly like children playing around any housing development at home, and yet there was something different about it. She looked at Calvin, and saw that he, too, was puzzled.
“Look!” Charles Wallace said suddenly. “They’re skipping and bouncing in rhythm. Everyone’s doing it at exactly the same moment.”
This was so. As the skipping rope hit the pavement, so did the ball. As the rope curved over the head of the jumping child, the child with the ball caught the ball. Down came the ropes. Down came the balls Over and over again. Up. Down. All in rhythm. All identical. Like the houses. Like the paths. Like the flowers. (Ch 6: Pg 98: ¶ 5 and Pg 99: ¶ 1, 2)
The setting shows that the people in this world have no creativity or freedom to do what they want.
Quote 12: Theme
Meg shook her head violently. “No!” she shouted. “I know our world isn't perfect, Charles, but it’s better than this. This isn't the only alternative! It can’t be!”
“Nobody suffers here,” Charles intoned. “Nobody is ever unhappy.”
“But nobody’s ever happy, either,” Meg said earnestly. “Maybe if you aren't unhappy sometimes you don’t know how to be happy.” (Ch 8: Pg 136: ¶6-8)
Meg is talking about free will, which the people of Camazotz don’t have. If you don’t have sadness then you won’t know what is it to be happy.
Quote 13: Theme
“All right, I’ll go!” Meg sobbed. “I know you want me to go!”
“We want nothing from you that you do without grace,” Mrs Whatsit said, “or that you do without understanding.”
“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’s closest to him. (Ch 12, Pg 187, ¶ 1, 2, 5)
Meg finally understands that she must be the one to sacrifice her safety in order to save her brother and she must do it willingly.
Quote 14: Theme
“Who helps you?” [fight against the Dark Thing] Meg asked.
“Oh, dear, it is so difficult to explain things to you, small one. And I know now that it is not just because you are a child. The other two are as hard to reach into as you are. What can I tell you that will mean anything to you? Good helps us, the stars help us, perhaps what you would call light helps us, love helps us. Oh, my child, I cannot explain! This is something you just have to know or not know.”
“But—“
“We look not at the things which are what you would call seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal.” (Ch 11: Pg 178: ¶ 7; Pg 179: ¶1,2)
Theme is explained here as being eternal, like love. You can’t see it or explain it, but you just know it exists because you feel it. Compare to Hebrews 11:1 KJV in the New Testament.
Quote 15: Theme
And that was where IT made Its fatal mistake, for as Meg said, automatically, “Mrs Whatsit loves me; that’s what she told me, that she loves me,” suddenly she knew.
She knew!
Love.
That was what she had that IT did not have.
She had Mrs Whatsit’s love, and her father’s, and her mother’s, and the real Charles Wallace’s love, and the twins’, and Aunt Beast’s. And she had her love for them. (Ch 12: Pg198: ¶11; Pg 199: ¶ 1, 2)
This shows the eternal theme of love and how important it is for people to love and care for each other.
No comments:
Post a Comment