"A Wrinkle in Time"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Madeleine L'Engle's children's book "A Wrinkle in Time" is one of the books which have been included on the list of the banned books in the United States. The paper explains that this is partly because it was structured as a Christian fantasy, blending science and religion to convey its main meaning about good and evil. The paper relates that it was not considered appropriate for children also because of its mystical implications, its feminist content and perhaps it was considered too challenging and possibly influential. The paper highlights that all these reasons were motivated by the time at which it appeared; the beginning of the 1960s.

From the Paper:

"Madeleine L'Engle's children's book "A Wrinkle in Time" is one of the books which have been included on the list of the banned books in the United States. The censorship of the book is explainable through the many sensitive spiritual matters it touches upon, and for the way in which it chooses to explore them, which has been considered by some critics as inadequate for children. "A Wrinkle in Time" has been equally subject to praise and critics and even serious censorship. It has received the Newbery Award as well as the National Humanities Medal, and has been extensively praised as a good challenge for children's imagination and a really good starting point for teachers to serve their educational purposes. However, at the same time, it has been termed as highly improper by other critics, who saw it as inappropriate for a children' s reading, because of the biased spiritual interpretations found in it."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bloom, Harold, ed. Women Writers of Children's Literature. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1998
• Foerstel, Herbert N. Banned in the U.S.A.: A Reference Guide to Book Censorship in Schools and Public Libraries. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2002
• L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1962
• --- A Special Message from Madeleine L'Engle . http://www.powells.com/biblio/0440498058
• Lundin, Anne. Constructing the Cannon for Children's Literature: Beyond Library Walls and Ivory Towers. New York: Routledge, 2004

More papers on "A Wrinkle in Time":

• Comparison Essay # 6644 : "A Wrinkle in Time" and "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"
• Analytical Essay # 29950 : "'A Wrinkle In Time'"
• Analytical Essay # 14455 : "Madeleine L'engle"

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