Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- For a book that's chock full of fantasy elements, why does it work so hard to ground its fantasy in science? What difference does it make that the tesseract is based on an actual concept from physics rather than being a made-up magic power?
- Could Camazotz work if IT were a benevolent giant brain in a dish instead of an evil one, or its system doomed to fail regardless of who is in power?
- Why does Meg's love for Charles Wallace defeat IT? What does this final faceoff say about the ongoing battle between good and evil in the novel?
- How would the message of the novel change if Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which accompanied Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin to Camazotz?
- Like IT, Aunt Beast tells Meg to just relax and not worry, speaks directly into her mind, and tells her what to do. What, then, makes Aunt Beast different from IT?
- Mrs. Murry says that Charles Wallace is something "different" and "new" (3.94). Charles Wallace says that Meg is "not really one thing or the other" (2.127). What might these statements mean? Is there anything in the rest of the novel that helps to clarify what's going on in these passages?