The Murry Family
This is Meg’s younger brother, who is considered "different" and barely speaks to anyone outside his family until he is four.
Charles Wallace
The novel opens with this weather phenomenon, which Meg calls "mad."
Dark and Stormy Night/Hurricane
This eccentric, multi-layered elderly woman moves into the haunted-looking abandoned house near the woods.
Mrs. Whatsit
Charles Wallace tells Meg he knows what she is thinking, prompting people to call him this.
Mind Reader
Mrs. Who quotes a famous line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in..." what?
Ourselves
This is the profession of Meg’s missing father, which makes him a target of government interest.
Physicist/Scientist
This is the scientific concept Mr. Murry was studying involving the shortest distance between two points in space.
Tesseract
Mrs. Whatsit startles the household by stealing this specific item from the local tramp.
Sheets
Calvin notes that he feels an immediate sense of this regarding Charles Wallace and the Murray family, feeling like he has finally found where he belongs.
Sense of Belonging/Home
This vocabulary word, meaning an offensive, rude, or uncooperative person, describes how Meg feels toward her teachers at the start of the book.
Cantankerous or Belligerent
Besides Charles Wallace, these are the names of Meg’s twin younger brothers.
Sandy and Dennys
Mrs. Murry uses this common household item and an ant to explain the concept of a tesseract to Meg.
skirt or a piece of string/fabric
This high school basketball captain and intellectual meets Charles Wallace and Meg in the woods and decides to walk home with them.
Calvin O'Keefe
Mrs. Which, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Whatsit are often referred to collectively by this type of mythical/supernatural beings.
Witches
Calvin describes his large family as lacking this quality, meaning they have plenty of people but no real warmth or individuality for him.
Communication/Love/Understanding
Mrs. Murry maintains her composure and works in this location attached to their old-fashioned house, conducting experiments.
Her Laboratory
Meg’s school is described as being trapped in this rigid, conventional societal expectation, much to Meg's frustration.
Conformity
Mrs. Whatsit mutters this ominous phrase in Latin/English mixture after being given a warm drink by Mrs. Murry, shocking her.
"There is such a thing as a tesseract"
Mrs. Who frequently communicates using these literary devices originating from various languages and famous writers.
Quotations
Charles Wallace warns Meg and Calvin that they must be prepared for this major event that is about to take place involving the three Mrs. W's.
A Journey/Mission