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With the concepts of "girlhood" and "gender" in mind, how might you compare and/or contrast this text to The Chocolate War? Use an image or write a short explanation (less than 40 words)

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Post 1 or 2 notable quotation(s) (typed, photo, or screenshot) to illustrate your thoughts about the representation of girls and women in the first section of the book. Include the pg. #.

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Post an image or write a short post (less than 40 words) to describe a point that came up in your reflection or conversation about gender roles and expression in the first section of the book.

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Meg comparing herself to her mom in Ch. 1

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Meg comparing herself to her mom in Ch. 1

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"Maybe if I weren't so repulsive looking - maybe I if I were pretty like you" in Ch. 1 Meg compares herself to her Mom and look at beauty standards within the novel, how beauty is important from a sterotypical standpoint.

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“Meg looked up at her mother, half in loving admiration, half in sullen resentment. It was not an advantage to have a mother who was a scientist and a beauty as well. Mrs. Murry's flaming red hair, creamy skin, and violet eyes with long dark lashes, seemed even more spectacular in comparison with Meg's outrageous plainness.” (16-17)

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"Maybe if I wasn't so repulsive-looking - maybe if I were pretty like you-" (18)

"Mother's not a bit pretty; She's beautiful," (18)

There is a focus on female appearance. Beauty is associated with outward appearance and value. Mrs. Murry is glamorized. Meg focuses on her own outward appearance, particularly with hatred and disgust. Male appearance is barely brought up.

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"No doubt your mother wants to believe that your father is coming home, Meg" (p. 33). This quote about a woman coming from a man seems to show the attitudes that men had about women and their emotions regarding hope and grief. Even through Mrs Murray is highly educated and "[her] business is facts," Mr Jenkins still appears to dismiss this hope as simple women's emotions rather than the hard core realism of a man (my words but this is how I interpreted his reaction)

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"Go back to sleep," Meg said. "Just be glad you're a kitten and not a monster like me." She looked at herself in the wardrobe mirror and made a horrible face, baring a mouthful of teeth covered with braces (L'Engle 10).

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This part on pg. 8 challenges gender roles as the first page shows that Meg had tackled a bully and shows that she herself can defend herself rather than waiting for someone to defend her. She's phsycially able to beat up a guy but her twin brothers still think that she is unable to protect herself.

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Did anyone else notice that Meg was the only one to help her mother wash the dishes after dinner? I am not sure if this is an expectation of the oldest child, but it is noticeable that Meg as the only daughter was the one to help Mrs Murray in the kitchen.

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"'I'll fix it,' Meg offered, going to the pantry for a can of tuna fish" (23)

exemplifies traditional gender roles

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I think that there is definitely a focus on what it feels like to pass through adolescence as a girl, including the anxieties and hatred of one's appearance.

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When Ms. Whatsit transforms into the centaur-being? the kids attempt to gender her. "She? he? it? smiled at them..." (pg. 74) And Ms. Whatsit insists to still be called her regular name which continues to challenge gender, and reframing identity whenever a transformation were to take place.

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Meg's temper (storming out of class, arguing with the principal, beating up someone for Charles Wallace) gets her in trouble because girls her age aren't supposed to act that way.

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L’Engle seems to be presenting a positive portrayal of gender fluidity through Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit. In the beginning they are presented as powerful women’s however later Mrs. Whatsit transforms to a male being while still using female pronouns.

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Compared to the Chocolate War, gender appears to be significantly more flexible in A Wrinkle in Time. This is likely due to the novel's focus on characters who are "different," such as Charles Wallace and Meg.

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"I wish you wouldn't be such a dope, Meg. [...] You don't have to take everything so personally." (30)

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" 'She's a little one-sided, I grant you,' Mrs. Murray said, 'though I blame her father and myself for that. She still enjoys playing with her dolls' house, though' 'Mother!' Meg shrieked in agony" (pp. 44 of my copy)

The doll house is a memory many people who were raised feminine have. The fact that Meg still plays with it shows that she is still a child but at the age when that might be a bit embarrassing. Meg's reaction is also interesting because it reflects the more rebellious side of her character feeling comfortable enough to talk back to her mom (Don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't talk to my mom like that). It reflects the also very relatable memory for most women of finding specifically her mother irritating and almost oppressing. Teenage girl normally prefer the company of their fathers than there mothers (assuming both are in the picture) and are generally more annoyed with the grown female presence. This passage reflects girlhood in the sense that it depicts the more "feminine" side of Meg's character and juxtaposes it with rebellion which is more commonly represented in male characters.

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"If you want to help your father then you must learn patience" (71)

Subtle critique of female boldness, outgoing nature, and negative connotations associated with women being loud and impulsiveness.

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Both texts feature a largely absent father

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In pg. 29, Sandy dismisses his mother's intelligence in favour for her emotions, and her belief that her husband is still alive may seem like an emotional or irrational decision even though her husband is missing.

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There are female characters with rich and fully developed inner lives. Female characters propel the plot, as well our narrator is female. The female characters are not sexualized. For example, Calvin and Meg portray the innocence of what children perceive a relationship is.

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Compared to The Chocolate War, this novel shows the significant emotions of adolescence in a light that is more accepting. As Meg deals with her classmates and her feelings regarding her identity as a student, daughter, and person, these emotions are not shrouded with a rhetoric that they are unacceptable or that Meg should not feel, but rather with an accepting air that she needs to be kind to herself.

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Meg has a personality outside of boys & she is a more complex character who is surrounded by important characters of both genders, unlike The Chocolate War where all the important characters are male and all female characters are unimportant or dead.

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Meg's mom while often described as attractive is also mentioned as being intelligent and just as capable if not more, as her husband as a scientist. Her being attractive is mainly mentioned by male characters like Calvin and implied to be what most people think about her. Meg also feels inadequate compared to her mother and this with her belief that she's not smart fuel's Meg feelings of inferiority and unworthiness.

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Similar struggles with gender role expectations during adolescence 

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Similar struggles with gender role expectations during adolescence 

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Similar to how Jerry struggles with or resorts to traditional ideas of masculinity during his times of struggle, Meg grapples with what is expected of her in the context of being a young girl traditionally, but also living up to the exceptional standards set by her mother.

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Women are seen as educated, intelligent, and capable of important roles. Their presence is necessary to the novel, holding the position of forefront characters. Not dismissed and unimportant like in the Chocolate War.

The plot has focused on a man thus far. Saving her father is the main interest at this point. Focus on a man can be seen as alike The Chocolate War.

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Mrs. Whatsit, Who, and Which as Dynamic Characters

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Mrs. Whatsit, Who, and Which as Dynamic Characters

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Within the novel, the female presenting "three W's" act as crucial figures and complex characters, defying the standard tropes of what a female character should be

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"Tramp"//The Double Standard of Language and Cursing

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"Tramp"//The Double Standard of Language and Cursing

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**The connotations of a tramp being a promiscuous woman began after the 1920s. Meg uses the old definition (whether on purpose or not is unknown), but nonetheless this word was still regarded as impolite at the time.

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Meg using less-than-polite vocabulary as a way of distancing herself from femininity/politeness/the very gendered expectations she is being faced with.

(This is further emphasized by the exchange she has with her teacher and principle after speaking out of turn in class--considered as "inexcusably rude" and when she raises her voice even slightly she is regarded as "bellowing"), meanwhile boys in The Chocolate War are cursing left and right, physically beating up their classmates, and face no repercussions.

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“Meg has it tough… she’s really one thing or the other” (40)

“Just be glad you’re a kitten and not a monster like me” (10)

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Meg is both the oldest child in the family but also the only girl and there's a strong sense of responsibility that defines her especially with how she defends both the twins and Charles Wallace fiercely. She also defends her mother and father and their marriage as well. She places herself in the way of conflict which is typically a non-feminine trait in literature but within the context of her being an eldest daughter and only daughter it makes sense as this kind of behavior and self-expectation is typically seen in older siblings and in eldest daughters as care-takers of their siblings

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The Chocolate War is overexaggerated gender binaries - done on purpose

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The Chocolate War is overexaggerated gender binaries - done on purpose

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The Chocolate War over exaggerates gender binaries in an almost satirical way through its boys only school and commodification of women, where as A Wrinkle in time has characters that both follow and challenge the gender binaries.

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The only comparison I can think of is that both authors seem to have an interest in depicting young relationships. Calvin and Meg are clearly being hinted at as a future couple; since the first moment of them meeting each other, Calvin treats Meg differently than most others in the novel, and they constantly touch (holding hands, he grabs her back, touches her arm, etc.). This is interesting because of the Christian subplot throughout the novel-->I grew up Christian and touching was not a thing that was particularly encouraged or seem as normal as it is portrayed in the book. In the Chocolate War, the boys regularly think about girls and relationships and what it would be like to be in a romantic partnership with a girl (intentions either completely sexual or not).

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This novel is much more fantastical than the Chocolate War, which depicts a far graver reality.

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"Mother's not a bit pretty; she's beautiful" -18

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Mrs. W's break the sexist image of the "hag" through their true identities as powerful and complex entities.

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"Listen, you go right on wearing your glasses. I don’t think I want anybody else to see what gorgeous eyes you have." (pg. 38) In this scene toxicity is evident in Calvin's comments. He would rather Meg hide her beauty because of his own insecurities motivating him to possess and own Meg's beauty. The underlining belief is that women's beauty is to be owned and protected.