A Wrinkle in Time

Imagine a world covered by black shadows, deprived of love and swallowed by evil. That’s the world where Meg lives in A Wrinkle in Time. In this world, Meg is depicted as a troublemaker while her smart brother, Charles, is considered a weirdo. A schoolmate of Meg’s, Calvin, also thinks of himself as a misfit. The trio starts the journey of rescuing Meg’s father. Three incredible women reveal the place where her father is trapped, an exotic planet, which is controlled by a brain called IT. It casts the shadow of chaos and evil to manipulate the whole universe, including the Earth. By means of “tesseract,” travelling through the wrinkles among dimensions, the trio finally reaches the planet and successfully rescues Meg’s father.

A Wrinkle in Time is such a story that provides excitement as well as reflection. I’m especially impressed with the three mysterious madams, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. They are three divine beings, whose appearances always surprise me. We won’t be able to know who they really are even at the end of the book. They don’t even have a specific look. What’s more, they’re not familiar with any language since they’re ancient, but they got their own ways to communicate and deliver messages. For example, Mrs. Whatsit is the youngest and the most amiable of the three, so she is mostly in charge of contacting Meg. Being able to talk via quoting others’ famous sayings only, Mrs. Who represents knowledge. Mrs. Which’s trembling words symbolizes inner sound. Her voice is always the sound of souls. Actually, the three madams may just be around us. They are respectively one’s kindness, wisdom and spirit, which may not offer us substantial help, but we need to remember and listen to them when we lose ourselves.

Besides the mystery of the spirits, I also have a brand-new perspective on my own shortcomings. We all know our strengths and weaknesses, but we seldom realize one’s deficiency may one day become advantageous. It’s actually two sides of a coin. For example, Meg is perceived as an impulsive and stubborn girl at school. However, when fighting against IT, her stubborn temperament turns into her biggest weapon helping her ward off IT’s mind control. On the other hand, Charles Wallace might be smart and capable of everything. Thinking that he could break into IT, he thus loses his caution and is then controlled by the evil brain. In this scene, his talent leads to his pride, and then his fall. This reminds me that we should not judge one’s trait as sheer good or bad. Take myself, for example. I’m quite an unaffected person. No matter what happens, I remain calm. I am used to concealing my feelings from my friends or family. Unfortunately, my awkwardness of showing feelings is usually interpreted as “indifference.” But when I encounter nerve-wracking situations, I hardly get nervous because my moods always stay still. Whether big exams or cut-throat competitions, people always say I am as calm as a cucumber. In this situation, this trait of mine becomes an advantage to me. Therefore, never should we look down on our own weaknesses, for there are moments when they will become our strengths.

Being a romance lover, I seldom read science fiction. However, this story blows my mind with exciting adventures, innovative ideas, and profound meaning. While indulging myself in reading it, I hope I could be as smart as Charles, helpful like Calvin and strong-willed like Meg. Imagining myself travelling through “wrinkles in time”, I find a new me, still with weaknesses, but more powerful than I think.