Posting Assignment #8 (due MONDAY 11/30, 11:59 P.M.)

"Mr. Murray was running across the lawn, Mrs. Murray running toward him, and they were in each other's arms, and then there was a tremendous happy jumble of arms and legs and hugging, the older Murrays and Meg and Charles Wallace and the twins, and Calvin grinning by them until Meg reached out and pulled him in and Mrs. Murray gave him a special hug all of his own. They were talking and laughing all at once, when they were startled by a crash, and Fortinbras, who could bear being left out of the happiness not one second longer, catapulted his sleek black body right through the screened door to the kitchen. He dashed across the lawn to join in the joy, and almost knocked them all over with the exuberance of his greeting" (201-202).

This is the Happy Ending. The first -- and last -- unambiguously happy ending in this course. (You could argue for Snow Crash, I suppose, but that whole "home seems about right" thing just feels way too resigned for me.) Good has triumphed; evil has been, if not vanquished, at least momentarily defeated.

The question I'd like you to consider is this:
What conception of good and evil does L'Engle propose in A Wrinkle in Time? What signifies "good," and what signifies "evil"? What does it mean to spend your life fighting for one and against the other, and why is it worth doing? And finally: to what extent do you support L'Engle's conception of good and evil? Is it helpful? Is it harmful? Why?

Please answer this question through two close readings: (1) a close reading of the passage above, looking at L'Engle's use of language and how it affects her conception of goodness (and happiness and victory and success), and (2) a close reading of at least one other passage of your choice, which you think will be most helpful in explaining her conception of evil (and sadness and defeat and failure -- they all seem to go together here). And of course, make sure to bring your close readings together into a single argument or idea. (And if you haven't guessed, us/them/it will be helpful here.)