IT
Although the children can see Meg's father, he is unable to see them. Charles says the only way to save him is to go into IT. Calvin makes another attempt to get through to the real Charles, staring hard at him, but again he fails. Meg then remembers the glasses Mrs. Who gave her. She puts them on and flings herself at the transparent door. She goes through it instantly, runs to the column and embraces her father. He asks her what she is doing there; he is still unable to see her. Meg gives him Mrs. Who's glasses, and then he can see. They escape from the column, with Meg clinging to her father. Mr. Murry tries to talk to Charles, but Charles only insults him.
Charles then leads the way to IT. Meg is in despair because her father does not seem to understand that Charles has been taken over by IT. They go down an elevator and out into the street. Meg wants her father to do something to save them all.
They go into a strange, domelike building. Meg feels a rhythmical pulsing; it seems as if something else is trying to control her breathing. The building is empty, but on a dais lies an oversized, disembodied, living brain. Meg knows this is IT. Her father shouts to them not to give in. As she feels herself being taken over by IT, Meg fights back, using the faults that Mrs. Whatsit had told her would be useful: anger, impatience, stubbornness. She yells out a nursery rhyme, then the Declaration of Independence. Charles says that on Camazotz, there is complete equality, but Meg replies that sameness is not equality. For a moment she escapes the power of IT, but then her control slips and she is in trouble again. Her father yells at her to recite the periodic table of elements, which she does. Her father then asks her what the square root of five is, so she must use her own brain. But she is still losing the battle to IT. Then Calvin tells Mr. Murry to tesser. Meg feels she is being torn apart by a whirlwind.
Analysis
Meg still has a lot to learn. In this chapter, she shows a blind faith in her father's ability to get them out of trouble. As she embraces him, she believes that "This was the moment that meant that now and forever everything would be all right." But Meg is still thinking like a child. Before the adventure is over she will have taken some great steps toward maturity. She will have realized that she cannot always rely on others to save her; she must take action herself to accomplish the goal.
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