A Wrinkle In Time

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In Chapter 2, Mr. Jenkins tells Meg, “[...] I can’t do anything more with you. Go on back to study hall. Try to be a little less antagonistic. Maybe your work would improve if your general attitude were more tractable.” 

What does antagonistic mean in this context?

A) Meg is the novel’s villain or “bad guy.”

B) Meg is a quiet, kind person.

C) Meg is often misunderstood.

D) Meg is generally disagreeable.

2. In Chapter 1, Meg worries about a “tramp” breaking into her family’s house with a knife. Who is she afraid will break into her house?

A) A runaway prisoner

B) A homeless person, or someone who gets by on begging or stealing

C) Her father in disguise and on the run from the law

D) An imaginary, dangerous creature

3. In Chapter 2, Calvin and Charles Wallace refer to themselves as sports, meaning, “A change in gene [...] resulting in the appearance in the offspring of a character which is not present in the parents, but which is potentially transmissible to their offspring.”

What is one characteristic their parents don’t have that the two boys share?

A) Both boys started talking in full sentences at only 4 months old, after months of not talking at all.

B) Both boys perceive things that others cannot see, via their intuition or a gut feeling.

C) Both boys are extremely gifted at math and science, far more advanced than most adults.

D) Both boys are extraordinary athletes, sought out by professional sports teams from all over the country.

4. Which scene best displays Charles Wallace’s unique gifts as a “sport?”

A) Meg’s reflecting about Charles’s ability to perceive how others are feeling or thinking, especially Meg and their mother

B) Charles Wallace being unable to taste the food on planet Camazotz because he had completely blocked IT out of his mind

C) Charles Wallace being able to solve complex math equations in his head at the age of three

D) Charles Wallace walking through the woods with Fortinbras and accidentally meeting the Mrs. Ws

5. Which scene best displays Calvin’s unique gifts as a “sport?”

A) Calvin running away from home to travel time and space with the Murray children

B) Calvin encouraging Meg to stay calm and focused during their troubles on Camazotz

C) Calvin being able to communicate best with the beings on planet Ixchel

D) Calvin kissing Meg before she goes back to Camazotz to save Charles Wallace

6. Why do Meg’s mom and brother say they hope Meg finds or learns to use “a happy medium?”

A) They want Meg to be happy by trying to fit in with others.

B) They want Meg to not worry so much or be so extreme.

C) They want Meg to not be so tall, so she can grow up and be pretty like her mother.

D) They want Meg to grow up happy by accepting that she isn’t that different from her peers.

7. How does the Happy Medium they meet in Orion’s Belt represent the hopes Meg’s family has for her?

A) The Happy Medium sees the future, which will help Meg and her friends grow up more like everyone else.

B) The Happy Medium is not too tall or short, and she is very pretty, just like Meg’s mother.

C) The Happy Medium is always happy because she ignores all the bad and evil things in the universe.

D) The Happy Medium likes dark and evil things, but she always balances it out by trying to find something positive.

8. At the haunted house, and before entering CENTRAL CENTRAL intelligence, Calvin describes the feeling he has about the place as a “compulsion.” What does compulsion mean in this context?

A) Calvin experiences a strong, undeniable feeling of obligation.

B) Calvin’s actions are dictated by an unseen wizard named Compulsion.

C) Calvin feels all-powerful and all-knowing in these situations.

D) Calvin goes into a meditative state called compulsion, which helps him predict the future.

9. In Chapter 1, Mr. Jenkins calls Meg “belligerent” and “uncooperative.” How do these traits—her faults—save her on the planet Camazotz?

A) Meg uses the violent force of her anger to break her father out of his prison cell.

B) Meg’s anger forms a protective shield around her, Charles Wallace, and Calvin, which keeps IT powerless.

C) Meg’s anger and stubbornness help her to resist IT’s attempts to take over her mind.

D) Meg becomes one with IT, using her anger to become the supreme ruler of Camazotz.

10. Before leaving the children on Camazotz, Mrs. Whatsit enhances Calvin’s gift of communication. How does his gift help him on Camazotz?

A. Calvin’s gift of communication is of no great use on Camazotz, but he is most helpful in speaking with the beings on planet Ixchel.

B) Calvin uses his gift to convince IT that IT has no power, and IT gives up control of Camazotz.

C) Calvin’s ability to communicate forms a weapon that helps him break Mr. Murray out of his prison cell and take them all home.

D) Calvin’s ability to communicate helps calm Meg down in moments of crisis, but he’s not always able to get through to her.

11. Both Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who warn Charles Wallace about pride, arrogance, and believing he knows everything. How do these faults endanger him?

A) Because he is arrogant, Charles Wallace refuses to eat the fake turkey dinner offered by IT.

B) Because he believes he knows everything, Charles Wallace gets the group lost and captured by agents of CENTRAL CENTRAL Intelligence.

C) Because he is prideful, Charles Wallace refuses to ask the citizens of Camazotz for help understanding their society.

D) Because he is arrogant, Charles Wallace believes he can give himself over to IT and make his own way back.

12. Mrs. Whatsit gifts Charles Wallace “the resilience of [his] childhood.” How does this save him in the end?

A) In the end, Charles Wallace breaks his body away from IT and reforms in a matter of minutes.

B) In the end, Charles Wallace is just a little boy who is loved by his sister, and this love helps him find his way back from IT.

C) In the end, Charles Wallace is just a little boy who wants to go home, and wishing for it makes it happen for him and the others.

D) In the end, Charles Wallace is just a baby, and IT abandons him for a more mature mind.

13. Why does IT think it’s doing everyone on Camazotz a great favor by taking over their minds?

A) IT does not think people are smart enough to make their own decisions.

B) IT’s power grows stronger with every mind IT conquers, so IT goes to other planets looking for fresh minds.

C) IT believes that in order for everyone to be equal, everything must be the same, so IT took over the people and their planet.

D) IT is a megalomaniac who ultimately loves the power of being able to control people and get away with it.

14. What is the significance of IT taking the form of an oversized, disembodied brain?

A) IT represents the intelligence and mental strength an individual uses to solve a complex problem.

B) IT symbolizes the power of control over the actions and behaviors of everyone living on Camazotz.

C) IT stands for the opposite or lack of emotion, which is why Meg's anger at her father can defeat IT.

D) IT embodies the dark side of Charles Wallace, whose own favorite feature is his brain.

15. On the planet Ixchel, what does Meg learn that ends up saving both her and Charles Wallace’s life from IT?

A) Meg learns that things aren’t always what they look like. When she returns to Camazotz, she finds IT’s true form and frees Charles Wallace.

B) Meg learns that not every being has sight. When she returns to Camazotz, she teaches Charles Wallace how to feel his way back from IT.

C) Meg learns to find a happy medium. When she returns to Camazotz, she uses positive thinking to overwhelm IT and bring Charles Wallace back from IT.

D) Meg learns that the people and beings in her life love her. When she returns to Camazotz, she uses her love for Charles Wallace to make him come back from IT.

Long-Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What does Meg’s anger at her father reveal about her motivations to go to Camazotz in the first place?

2. How does Meg’s experiencing disappointment in her father change her motivations for going back the second time?

3. How does love save Meg? Speculate how her knowing that she is loved by Mrs. Whatsit and her family might change Meg's character going forward.