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Meg is a thirteen-year-old girl who is a misfit at school, despite her unusual intelligence that the teachers can't seem to appreciate. The main source of her unhappiness, however, comes from the fact that her brilliant scientist father disappeared a number of years ago, and has made no contact with his loving, close-knit family since. With the help of her younger brother Charles Wallace and newfound friend Calvin, she embarks on an adventure with Mrs. Whatsit and co. to save her father, who is trapped on another planet by the powers of darkness.
Meg Murry Quotes in A Wrinkle in Time
The A Wrinkle in Time quotes below are all either spoken by Meg Murry or refer to Meg Murry. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
How did Charles Wallace always know about her? How could he always tell? He never knew—or seemed to care—what Dennys or Sandy were thinking. It was his mother's mind, and Meg's that he probed with frightening accuracy.
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Meg Murry (speaker), Sandy and Dennys Murry, Charles Wallace Murry
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13
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One of the major concerns of A Wrinkle in Time is with powers beyond rational knowledge. This quote establishes Meg's character as someone who is perturbed when confronted with phenomena that she doesn't understand. Meg's preference for the comprehensible (as opposed to mystery) tempts her to jump to easy conclusions based on appearances, which is something Charles Wallace is less prone to. As shown in this quote, this is part of Charles Wallace's gif: understanding things about people that they aren't explicitly communicating, or knowing essential truths about other people that aren't readily apparent. Charles Wallace's gift is also important because it is not rationally explained. He has powers that nobody can exactly account for or duplicate. This is one of many nods in this book to the importance of forces beyond rationality.
It is significant that Charles Wallace focuses his gift on characters who are the least "normal" (i.e. those who don't conform to the "rules" or expectations of society). Sandy and Dennys represent people who fit in socially, and Charles Wallace prefers to spend his energy on those who don't. As the book ultimately shows, this is because those who are able to express their individuality are those who have power. The only people who can fight evil are those who understand and respect themselves enough to not automatically conform to their surroundings.
Chapter 2 Quotes
"Lead on, moron," Calvin cried gaily. "I've never even seen your house, and I have the funniest feeling that for the first time in my life I'm going home!"
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Chapter 3 Quotes
"But you're good at basketball and things," Meg protested. "You're good in school. Everybody likes you."
"For all the most unimportant reasons," Calvin said. "There hasn't been anybody, anybody in the world I could talk to. Sure, I can function on the same level as everybody else, I can hold myself down, but it isn't me."
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"But Charles Wallace doesn't look different from anybody else."
"No, Meg, but people are more than just the way they look. Charles Wallace's difference isn't physical. It's in essence."
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Chapter 4 Quotes
It was a shadow, nothing but a shadow. It was not even as tangible as a cloud. Was it cast by something? Or was it a Thing in itself?...What could there be about a shadow that was 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?
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Chapter 6 Quotes
"We are the most oriented city on the planet. There has been no trouble of any kind for centuries. All Camazotz knows our record. That is why we are the capital city of Camazotz. That is why CENTRAL Central Intelligence is located here. That is why IT makes ITs home here." There was something about the way he said "IT" that made a shiver run up and down Meg's spine.
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Chapter 8 Quotes
"I'm different, and I like being different." Calvin's voice was unnaturally loud.
"Maybe I don't like being different," Meg said, "but I don't want to be like everybody else, either."
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"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."
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Chapter 9 Quotes
"But that's exactly what we have on Camazotz. Complete equality. Everybody exactly alike."
For a moment her brain reeled with confusion. Then came a moment of blazing truth. "No!" she cried triumphantly. "Like and equal are not the same thing at all!"
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Chapter 10 Quotes
"You don't even know where we are!" she cried out at her father. "We'll never see Mother or the twins again! We don't know where earth is!...What are you going to do!" She did not realize that she was as much in the power of the Black Thing as Charles Wallace.
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Chapter 11 Quotes
It was a music more tangible than form or sight…It seemed to travel with her, to sweep her aloft in the power of song, so that she was moving in glory among the stars, and for a moment she, too, felt that the words Darkness and Light had no meaning, and only this melody was real.
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Chapter 12 Quotes
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.
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"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Meg Murry Character Timeline in A Wrinkle in Time
The timeline below shows where the character Meg Murry appears in A Wrinkle in Time. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
On a dark and stormy night, teenager Meg Murry is lying in her bed. It's not only the stormy weather that's keeping her...
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Charles Wallace is another cause of Meg's concern. He's unusually intelligent (not surprising, as both their parents are brilliant), but he also...
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Anticipating her thoughts, Charles has already put some hot milk on the stove for Meg. As they chat and make sandwiches for themselves, Mrs. Murry joins them. She's almost extravagantly...
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...amount of brightly colored clothing. Charles seems to know her and calls her Mrs. Whatsit. Meg is very suspicious of her, considering her strange clothes and the time of night, but...
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...sheets, and furthermore, that there is such a thing as a "tesseract". While Charles and Meg have no idea what this means, Mrs. Murry turns white and murmurs to herself, "How...
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Chapter 2
The next morning, Meg tries to understand what happened the night before, hoping it was a dream, but Mrs....
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At school, Meg gets sent to the principal's office because of being sulky and belligerent in class. Mr....
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When she returns home, Meg finds Charles waiting for her with a snack, Fortinbras on a leash, and a plan...
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As they near Mrs. Whatsit's house, Meg and Charles are surprised to run into a boy from Meg's school: Calvin O'Keefe. Meg...
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As the three of them return to the Murrys house, Meg is thoroughly confused. Charles doesn't know quite what's going on yet but says that he's...
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Chapter 3
Meg and Calvin talk as they walk to the Murrys house, and it's clear that this...
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As they wait for dinner to be ready, Meg explains to Calvin a little bit about her father, and then astounds Calvin by helping...
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...read Charles a book before goes to bed (Charles requests the Book of Genesis), and Meg tentatively asks her mother if she's upset. Mrs. Murry says yes, because she misses their...
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Calvin comes downstairs and takes Meg for a walk outside. He asks her more about her father, and she tells him...
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Chapter 4
A moment ago, Meg was standing with Calvin and Charles in the backyard of their house. Now, all of...
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...seems to be dimmed by a dark, terrifying shadow. When they return to the ground, Meg asks Mrs. Which if that Black Thing is what her father is fighting.
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Chapter 5
...And they are going to get to him by tessering. Mrs. Whatsit then explains to Meg what a tesseract is: it's like a wrinkle in time and space, where you simply...
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Chapter 6
...doesn't allow to show in front of her children. As sad as this sight is, Meg is only inspired even more to fight the Black Thing and rescue her father.
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...here. However, she gives them three "gifts": to Calvin, his unusual ability to communicate, to Meg, her faults, and to Charles, his childhood. Mrs. Who, who, like Mrs. Which, wasn't able...
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As Meg, Charles, and Calvin walk through the neighborhood on the outskirts, they notice that every house...
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...worried that he won't recognize his father after not seeing him for a year, but Meg reassures him. Calvin says he's having another one of his intuitions, another compulsion (like the...
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Chapter 7
Meg, Charles, and Calvin enter the building. Inside, they ask a man how to see whoever's...
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...his mouth: the children simply hear a kind and gentle voice in their brains, though Meg senses with fear the presence of the Black Thing in him. The man's eyes have...
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The man with red eyes seems to have been expecting Meg and Charles, but not Calvin (who is apparently an unpleasant surprise). Still, he doesn't seem...
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...pulsing eyes, and after a while, slowly begins walking towards him. At the last minute, Meg screams as she sees the irises of her brother's eyes disappearing and tackles Charles to...
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...man with red eyes has a synthetic turkey dinner brought out, which tastes delicious to Meg and Calvin but like sand to Charles, because he's blocking the man entirely from accessing...
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Chapter 8
When Meg demands of the man with the red eyes what has happened to the real Charles...
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The man with red eyes asks Charles to bring Meg and Calvin to Mr. Murry, and strangely, Charles now knows his way around the building....
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Charles then lectures them that rather than search for Mr. Murry, Calvin and Meg should give in to IT. He notes how happy everyone is on Camazotz: how no...
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...Charles takes them to a cell, within which is a round, transparent column, within which is…Meg and Charles' father, Mr. Murry.
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Chapter 9
Meg rushes to her father, but smashes painfully into the cell wall, which she didn't realize...
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Suddenly, Meg has an intuition, and puts on Mrs. Who's glasses. With the glasses on, she's able...
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Outside, the Charles Wallace under the control of IT awaits, displeased. Meg briefly introduces her father to Calvin. Mr. Murry then tries to talk Charles, but Charles...
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Charles leads Meg, his father, and Calvin out of the CENTRAL Central Intelligence building, through nighttime streets, and...
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...into ITs efforts to control them with its pulses. To try and fight it off, Meg yells the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence. But when she says "that all...
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Chapter 10
As Meg slowly regains consciousness, she feels like her whole body is one huge chunk of ice....
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Meg eventually regains her vision and her speech, and she sees that they are on a...
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...walk upright, have four arms, and tentacles in the place of fingers, ears, and hair; Meg is utterly revolted by their appearance. Calvin begins to introduce themselves and explain their situation,...
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Chapter 11
...Mr. Murry is at first against it, he consents to allowing these beasts to take Meg to heal her, since they reveal that they are also fighters against the Black Thing....
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When she wakes up, Meg finds herself in a room feeling far better than before, with the beast sitting by...
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Their discussion turns to Charles Wallace, and as soon as Meg begins blaming her father for abandoning him, the beast becomes stern, telling her: "Nobody said...
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The next morning, Meg awakens, feeling refreshed. She asks Aunt Beast about what planet they're on; it turns out...
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Chapter 12
...appeared, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which cannot fully materialize on the beasts' planet. Meg begins complaining to them about her father, but they, who clearly have a lot of...
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Meg realizes that she is the one who must rescue Charles. She feels terrified and overwhelmed,...
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Mr. Murry and Calvin immediately protest Meg going back to Camazotz alone. But they are persuaded when Mrs. Whatsit tells them that...
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The time comes for Meg to leave for Camazotz. She thanks the beasts and Aunt Beast, embraces her father lovingly,...
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Meg braces herself and sets out for the domed building where IT is waiting. All too...
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Meg stands there, gazing at Charles, and loving him. She focuses not on IT, but on...
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