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Nginx
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Nginx
Original author(s)
Igor Sysoev
Developer(s)
Nginx, Inc.
Initial release
4 October 2004; 13 years ago (2004-10-04)[1]
Stable release
1.14.0 (17 April 2018; 9 days ago (2018-04-17)) [±][2]
Preview release
1.13.12 (10 April 2018; 16 days ago (2018-04-10)) [±][3]
Repository
http://hg.nginx.org/nginx/
https://github.com/nginx/nginx
Written in
C[4]
Operating system
BSD variants, HP-UX, IBM AIX, Linux, macOS, Solaris, Windows,[5] and other *nix flavors[6]
Type
Web server, reverse/mail proxy server
License
2-clause BSD[7]
Website
nginx.org
Nginx ( /ˌɛndʒɪnˈɛks/ EN-jin-EKS) (stylized as NGINX, NGiИX or nginx) is a web server which can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer and HTTP cache. The software was created by Igor Sysoev and first publicly released in 2004.[8] A company of the same name was founded in 2011 to provide support.[9]
Nginx is free and open-source software, released under the terms of a BSD-like license. A large fraction of web servers use NGINX,[10] often as a load balancer.[11]
Contents
[hide]
1 Popularity
2 Features
2.1 HTTP proxy and Web server features
2.2 Mail proxy features
3 Performance vs Apache
4 History
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Popularity[edit]
According to Netcraft's November 2016 Web Server Survey,[12] Nginx was found to be the second most widely used web server across all "active" sites (18.22% of surveyed sites) and for the top million busiest sites (27.83% of surveyed sites). According to W3Techs, it was used by 37.7% of the top 1 million websites, 49.7% of the top 100,000 websites, and by 57.0% of the top 10,000 websites.[13] According to BuiltWith, it is used on 38.2% of the top 10,000 websites, and its growth within the top 10k, 100k and 1 million segments increased.[14] Wikipedia uses Nginx as its SSL termination proxy.[15] As of OpenBSD release 5.2 (1 November 2012), Nginx became part of the OpenBSD base system, providing an alternative to the system's fork of Apache 1.3, which it was intended to replace,[16] but it was later replaced by OpenBSD's own httpd(8).[17]
Features[edit]
Nginx can be deployed to serve dynamic HTTP content on the network using FastCGI, SCGI handlers for scripts, WSGI application servers or Phusion Passenger modules, and it can serve as a software load balancer.[18]
Nginx uses an asynchronous event-driven approach to handling requests. Nginx's modular event-driven architecture[19] can provide more predictable performance under high loads.[20]
HTTP proxy and Web server features[edit]
Ability to handle more than 10,000 simultaneous connections with a low memory footprint (~2.5 MB per 10k inactive HTTP keep-alive connections)
Handling of static files, index files and auto-indexing
Reverse proxy with caching
Load balancing with in-band health checks[21]
TLS/SSL with SNI and OCSP stapling support, via OpenSSL.
FastCGI, SCGI, uWSGI support with caching
Name- and IP address-based virtual servers
IPv6-compatible
WebSockets and HTTP/1.1 Upgrade (101 Switching Protocols)[22]
Mail proxy features[edit]
TLS/SSL support
STARTTLS support
SMTP, POP3, and IMAP proxy
Authentication using an external HTTP server[23]
Other features include upgrading executable and configuration without client connections loss,[24] and a module-based architecture with both core[25] and third-party module support.[26]
The paid Plus product includes additional features such as advanced load balancing and access to an expanded suite of metrics for performance monitoring.[27][28]
Performance vs Apache[edit]
Nginx was written with an explicit goal of outperforming the Apache web server.[29] Out of the box, serving static files, Nginx uses dramatically less memory than Apache, and can handle roughly four times more requests per second.[30] This performance boost comes at a cost of decreased flexibility, such as the ability to override systemwide access settings on a per-file basis (Apache accomplishes this with an .htaccess file, while Nginx has no such feature built in).[31] Formerly, adding third party modules to nginx required recompiling the application from source with the modules statically linked. This was partially overcome in version 1.9.11 with the addition of dynamic module loading. However, the modules still must be compiled at the same time as nginx, and not all modules are compatible with this system—some require the older static linking process.[32]
History[edit]
Nginx, Inc.
Type
Private
Industry
Technology
Founded
2011
Headquarters
San Francisco, California, U.S.[9]
Key people
Gus Robertson (CEO), Igor Sysoev (CTO)
Products
Web servers
Website
nginx.com
Igor Sysoev began development of Nginx in 2002.[8] Originally, Nginx was developed to solve the C10k problem, and to fill the needs of websites including Rambler search engine and portal, for which it was serving 500 million requests per day by September 2008.[33][34]
A company of the same name was founded in July 2011 by Sysoev to provide commercial products and support for the software.[35]
The company's principal place of business is San Francisco, California, while legally incorporated in British Virgin Islands.[9]
In October 2011, Nginx raised $3 million from BV Capital, Runa Capital and MSD Capital, Michael Dell‘s venture fund.[36]
The company announced commercial support options for companies using Nginx in production. Nginx offered commercial support in February 2012,[37][38] and paid Nginx Plus subscription in August 2013.[39]
Support packages focus on installation, configuration, performance improvement, etc.[40] Support includes proactive notifications about major changes, security patches, updates and patches.
WordPress developer Automattic and content delivery network provider MaxCDN became funding partners for an update to Google's SPDY version 3.1, slated for early 2014.[41]
Nginx also offers consulting services to assist customers in custom configuration or adding additional features.[42]
In October 2013, Nginx raised a $10 million series B investment round led by New Enterprise Associates.[43] That round included previous investors, as well as Aaron Levie, CEO and founder of Box.com.[44][45] In December 2014, Nginx raised a $20 million series B1 round led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation from e.ventures (formerly BV Capital), Runa Capital, Index Ventures and Nginx’s own CEO Gus Robertson.[46][47]
See also[edit]
Free software portal
Comparison of web server software
Web accelerator
URL redirection § nginx rewrite
List of Nginx–MySQL–PHP packages
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "CHANGES". Retrieved 16 May 2017.
Jump up ^ Dounin, Maxim (17 April 2018). "nginx-1.14.0". nginx-announce (Mailing list). Retrieved 21 April 2018.
Jump up ^ Dounin, Maxim (10 April 2018). "nginx-1.13.12". nginx-announce (Mailing list). Retrieved 13 April 2018.
Jump up ^ "The NGINX Open Source Project on Ohloh". ohloh.net. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
Jump up ^ "nginx for Windows". Retrieved 28 May 2014.
Jump up ^ "Tested OS and platforms". Retrieved 15 October 2011.
Jump up ^ "Licensing". Retrieved 18 January 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b Tony Mobily (5 January 2012). "Interview with Igor Sysoev, author of Apache's competitor NGINX". Free Software Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Notice of Exempt Offering of Securities". Form D. US Securities and Exchange Commission 17 October 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
Jump up ^ https://news.netcraft.com/archives/2017/01/12/january-2017-web-server-survey.html
Jump up ^ https://www.linode.com/docs/uptime/loadbalancing/use-nginx-as-a-front-end-proxy-and-software-load-balancer
Jump up ^ "November 2016 Web Server Survey". 22 November 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Usage of web servers broken down by ranking". 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Builtwith: nginx Usage Statistics". 19 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Wikitech: HTTPS". Wikitech.wikimedia.org. 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
Jump up ^ OpenBSD Upgrade Guide: 5.1 to 5.2, 2012/11/06 15:00:27 sthen
Jump up ^ "Heads Up: Nginx Removed From Base".
Jump up ^ Use nginx for Proxy Services and Software Load Balancing, 11 May 2010, by Sam Kleinman, Linode Library
Jump up ^ "The Architecture of Open Source Applications (Volume 2): nginx". aosabook.org. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
Jump up ^ Basic nginx Configuration by Sam Kleinman; 21 August 2010
Jump up ^ "Module ngx_http_upstream_module". nginx.org. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
Jump up ^ "Proxy: support for connection upgrade (101 Switching Protocols)". trac.nginx.org. 19 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
Jump up ^ "Module ngx_mail_auth_http_module". nginx.org. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
Jump up ^ "Official documentation: Controlling nginx". nginx.org. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
Jump up ^ "nginx documentation". nginx.org. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
Jump up ^ "3rdPartyModules — Nginx Community". wiki.nginx.org. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
Jump up ^ "How to monitor NGINX". Datadog. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
Jump up ^ "Application Load Balancing with NGINX Plus". NGINX. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
Jump up ^ "NGINX vs. Apache: Our View of a Decade-Old Question". NGINX. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Web server performance comparison". DreamHost. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "NGINX vs. Apache (Pro/Con Review, Uses, & Hosting for Each) - HostingAdvice.com". HostingAdvice.com. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Introducing Dynamic Modules in NGINX 1.9.11 - NGINX". NGINX. 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
Jump up ^ "Choosing Your Web Server: Apache Vs. Nginx". Eyerys. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
Jump up ^ "Nginx: the High-Performance Web Server and Reverse Proxy". Linux Journal. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
Jump up ^ "Company". nginx.com. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
Jump up ^ Natasha Starkell (11 October 2011). "Russian Nginx Raises $3 Million From International Investors". Techcrunch. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
Jump up ^ Darryl K. Taft (8 February 2012). "NGINX Launches Commercial Support for Open-Source Web Server". e Week. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
Jump up ^ Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (8 February 2012). "Commercial Support now available for the open-source NGINX Web server". ZDNet Open Source blog. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
Jump up ^ "Nginx Inc. Launches NGINX Plus". 22 August 2013.
Jump up ^ Taft, Darryl K. (8 February 2012). "NGINX Launches Commercial Support for Open-Source Web Server". eweek.com. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
Jump up ^ Shankland, Stephen (20 December 2013). "Nginx upgrade funded by fans of Google's SPDY Web protocol". CNET. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
Jump up ^ "Commercial Support now available for the open-source NGINX Web server". ZDNet. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
Jump up ^ Sean Michael Kerner (16 October 2013). "Nginx Raises $10 Million in New Funding for Server Development". e Week. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
Jump up ^ Frederic Lardinois (15 October 2013). "Nginx Raises $10M Series B Round Led By NEA". Techcrunch. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
Jump up ^ Jolie O'Dell (15 October 2013). "Nginx ties up a sweet $10M funding deal and hundreds of millions of users". Venture Beat. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
Jump up ^ Frederic Lardinois (9 December 2014). "Nginx Raises $20M Series B1 Round To Drive International Expansion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
Jump up ^ Jordan Novet (9 December 2014). "Nginx gets $20M, because an open-source web server is just the beginning". VentureBeat. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
External links[edit]
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text:
A Wrinkle in Time
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For the film adaptations, see A Wrinkle in Time (2003 film) and A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film).
A Wrinkle in Time
First-edition dust jacket
Author
Madeleine L'Engle
Illustrator
Ellen Raskin (1960s editions)
Country
United States
Language
English
Series
Time Quintet
Genre
Young Adult, Science fantasy
Publisher
Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Publication date
January 1, 1962
OCLC
22421788
LC Class
PZ7.L5385 Wr 1962[1]
Followed by
A Wind in the Door
A Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel written by American writer Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962.[2] The book won the Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.[3][a] It is the first book in L'Engle's Time Quintet, which follows the Murrys and Calvin O'Keefe.
The book spawned two film adaptations, both by Disney: a 2003 television film directed by John Kent Harrison, and a 2018 theatrical film directed by Ava DuVernay.
Contents
[hide]
1 Publication history
2 Plot summary
3 Major themes
4 Reception
5 Characters
5.1 Main characters
5.1.1 Margaret "Meg" Murry
5.1.2 Charles Wallace Murry
5.1.3 Calvin O'Keefe
5.2 Primary immortal characters
5.2.1 Mrs Whatsit
5.2.2 Mrs Who
5.2.3 Mrs Which
5.2.4 The Man with Red Eyes
5.2.5 IT
5.3 The Black Thing
5.4 Sub-characters
5.4.1 Alex Murry
5.4.2 Dr. Katherine "Kate" Murry
5.4.3 Sandy Murry
5.4.4 Dennys Murry
5.4.5 Mrs. Buncombe
5.4.6 Mr. Jenkins
5.5 Supporting alien characters
6 Locations
7 Adaptations
7.1 Audio books
7.2 Film adaptations
7.3 Play
7.4 Opera
7.5 Graphic novel
8 References in popular culture
9 Further reading
9.1 Other books in the series
9.2 Concerning A Wrinkle in Time
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 External links
Publication history[edit]
The book was written between 1959 and 1960.[4] L'Engle wrote repeatedly about the writing of the story and the long struggle to get it published. In A Circle of Quiet (1972),[5] she explains that the book was conceived "during a time of transition." After years of living in rural Goshen, Connecticut, and running a general store, L'Engle's family, the Franklins, moved back to New York City, first taking a ten-week camping trip across the country and back again. L'Engle writes that "we drove through a world of deserts and buttes and leafless mountains, wholly new and alien to me. And suddenly into my mind came the names, Mrs Whatsit. Mrs Who. Mrs Which."[6] This was in the spring of 1959. L'Engle was reading about quantum physics at the time, which also made its way into the story.[7] When she completed the book in early 1960, however, it was rejected by at least 26 publishers, because it was, in L'Engle's words, "too different," and "because it deals overtly with the problem of evil, and it was really difficult for children, and was it a children's or an adults' book, anyhow?"[2][6]
In "A Special Message from Madeleine L'Engle" on the Random House website, L'Engle explains another possible reason for the rejections: "A Wrinkle in Time had a female protagonist in a science fiction book," which at the time was uncommon. After trying "forty-odd" publishers (L'Engle later said "twenty-six rejections"), L'Engle's agent returned the manuscript to her. Then at Christmas, L'Engle threw a tea party for her mother. One of the guests happened to know John C. Farrar of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and insisted that L'Engle should meet with him. Although the publisher did not, at the time, publish a line of children's books, Farrar met L'Engle, liked the novel, and ultimately published it.[8]
The book has been continuously in print since its first publication. The hardback edition is still published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. The original blue dust jacket by Ellen Raskin was replaced with new art by Leo and Diane Dillon, with the publication of A Swiftly Tilting Planet in 1978. The book has also been published in a 25th anniversary collectors' edition (limited to 500 signed and numbered copies), at least two book club editions (one hardback, one Scholastic Book Services paperback), as a trade paperback under the Dell Yearling imprint, and as a mass market paperback under the Dell Laurel-Leaf imprint. The cover art on the paperback editions has changed several times since first publication.
The book was reissued by Square Fish in trade and mass market paperback formats in May 2007, along with the rest of the Time Quintet. This new edition includes a previously unpublished interview with L'Engle as well as the text of her Newbery Medal acceptance speech.[9]
Plot summary[edit]
Thirteen-year-old Meg Murry's classmates and teachers see her as a troublesome and stubborn student. Her family knows that she is emotionally immature but also sees her capable of doing great things. The family includes her scientist mother Katherine, her missing scientist father Alexander, the twins Sandy and Dennys, and her five-year-old brother Charles Wallace Murry, a child genius who can sometimes read Meg's mind.
The book begins with the line "It was a dark and stormy night," an allusion to the opening words in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford. Unable to sleep during a thunderstorm, Meg descends from her attic room to find Charles Wallace sitting at the table drinking milk and eating bread and jam. They are then joined by their mother, and are visited by their new eccentric neighbor, Mrs Whatsit. In the course of conversation, Mrs Whatsit casually mentions there is such a thing as a tesseract, which causes Katherine to almost faint.
The next morning, Meg discovers that the term refers to a scientific concept her father was working on before his mysterious disappearance. The following afternoon, Meg and Charles Wallace encounter Meg's schoolmate, Calvin O'Keefe, a high-school junior who, although he is a "big man on campus", considers himself a misfit as well. They then go to visit an old haunted house near town which Charles Wallace already knows is the home of Mrs Whatsit. There they encounter two companions of Mrs Whatsit's, the equally strange Mrs Who and the unseen voice of Mrs Which. She promises that she and her friends will help Meg find and rescue her father. A budding love interest develops between Meg and Calvin. In the evening, Charles Wallace declares it is time for them to go on their mission to save their father. This is accompanied by the appearance of the third member of the "Mrs Ws", Mrs Which, who appears to materialize out of nothing.
Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which turn out to be supernatural beings who transport Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin O'Keefe through the universe by means of tesseract, a fifth-dimensional phenomenon explained as being similar to folding the fabric of space and time. Their first stop is the planet Uriel, a Utopian world filled with Centaur-like beings who live in a state of light and love. Mrs Whatsit herself shows that she, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which are all these centaur-like creatures in disguise as humans. There the "Mrs Ws" reveal to the children that the universe is under attack from an evil being who appears as a large dark cloud called The Black Thing, which is essentially the personification of evil. The children are then taken elsewhere to visit a woman who is a medium (the "Happy Medium") with a crystal ball. In it, they see that Earth is partially covered by the darkness, although great religious figures, philosophers, and artists have been fighting against it. Mrs Whatsit is revealed to be a former star who exploded in an act of self-sacrifice to fight the darkness.
The children then travel to the dark planet of Camazotz, which has "given in" to the Black Thing. Meg's father is trapped there. They find that all the inhabitants behave in a mechanistic way and seem to be under the control of a single mind. At the planet's central headquarters (described as CENTRAL Central Intelligence), they discover a red-eyed man with telepathic abilities who can cast a hypnotic spell over their minds. He claims to know the whereabouts of their father. Charles Wallace deliberately looks into the red eyes of the man, allowing himself to be taken over by the mind controlling planet in order to find their father. Under its influence, he takes Meg and Calvin to the place where Alexander is being held prisoner because he would not succumb to the group mind.
The planet turns out to be controlled by an evil disembodied brain with powerful abilities, which the inhabitants of Camazotz call "IT." Charles Wallace takes them to the place where IT is held. In such proximity to IT, the children are threatened by a possible telepathic takeover of their minds. With special powers from Mrs Who's glasses, Alexander is able to "tesser" Calvin, Meg and himself away from Camazotz, but Charles Wallace is left behind, still under the influence of IT. Dr. Murry, inexperienced at tessering, does not know how to protect Meg from the Black Thing which surrounds the planet as they tesser through it, nearly killing her. When they arrive on the neighboring planet of Ixchel, Meg is nearly frozen, and paralyzed. Calvin and the Murrys are discovered by the planet's inhabitants - large, eyeless "beasts" with featureless faces, tentacles and four arms, who prove both wise and gentle. Meg's paralysis is cured under the care of one inhabitant, whom Meg nicknames "Aunt Beast." Meg overcomes her anger at her father for leaving Charles Wallace on Camazotz, realizing that parents can't fix everything, and sometimes children can solve problems themselves.
Then the trio of Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which arrive. They charge Meg with rescuing Charles Wallace from IT, because only Meg has a strong enough bond with him. Their father had last seen Charles Wallace when he was a baby and Calvin had only just met him. They each give her a gift. Mrs Whatsit gives Meg her love. Mrs Who quotes to Meg a passage from the Bible about God choosing the foolish of the world to confound the wise, and the weak to defeat the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Mrs Which tells Meg that she has one thing that IT does not have but doesn't specify what it is. Upon arriving at the building where IT is housed, Charles Wallace is still there under IT's influence. Meg realizes that the one thing she has that IT does not is love. She focuses all her love at Charles Wallace and is able to free him from IT's control. Mrs Who, Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit tesser the Murrys and Calvin back to Earth. In the vegetable garden they are all reunited with Katherine and the twins. Mrs Whatsit says that although she and the others like the spectacle of the family reuniting, they have to go somewhere. Before Mrs Whatsit finishes her sentence, she and the others disappear.
Major themes[edit]
Madeleine L'Engle's fantasy works are in part highly expressive of her Christian viewpoint in a manner somewhat similar to that of Christian fantasy writer C. S. Lewis. She was herself the official writer-in-residence at New York City's Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, which is known for its prominent position in the liberal wing of the Episcopal Church.[10] L'Engle's liberal Christianity has been the target of criticism from more conservative Christians, especially with respect to certain elements of A Wrinkle in Time.[11]
The theme of picturing the fight of good against evil as a battle of light and darkness is a recurring one. Its manner is reminiscent of the prologue to the Gospel of John, which is quoted within the book. When the "Mrs Ws" reveal their secret roles in the cosmic fight against "the darkness" they ask the children to name some figures on Earth (a partially dark planet) who fight the darkness. They name Jesus, and later in the discussion Buddha is named as well, along with various creative artists and philanthropists. The three women are described as ancient star-beings who act as guardian angels.[12]
Further, the themes of "conformity" and the "status quo" are present. It is a generic theme that is within every society there is a powerful dominant group that challenges the minority group. Very few of the powerless members of this group are resilient. In this case, IT is the powerful dominant group that manipulates the planet of Camazotz into conformity (i.e., they all have the same rhythm). Even Charles Wallace falls prey (due to flattery) and is hence persuaded to conform. It is thanks to Meg that she and her family are able to break from conformity.[13] According to the author's granddaughter Charlotte Jones Voiklis, the story wasn't a simple allegory of communism; in a three-page passage that was cut before publication, the process of domination is said to be an outcome of dictatorship under totalitarian regimes, and by an excessive desire of security under democratic countries.[14][15]
Scholar Jean Fulton writes, "L'Engle's fiction for young readers is considered important partly because she was among the first to focus directly on the deep, delicate issues that young people must face, such as death, social conformity, and truth. L'Engle's work always is uplifting because she is able to look at the surface values of life from a perspective of wholeness, both joy and pain, transcending each to uncover the absolute nature of human experience that they share."[7]
Reception[edit]
At the time of the book's publication, Kirkus Reviews said, "Readers who relish symbolic reference may find this trip through time and space an exhilarating experience; the rest will be forced to ponder the double entendres."[16]
A Wrinkle in Time is on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000 at number 23.[17] Reasons given include the book's references to witches and crystal balls,[18] the claim that it "challenges religious beliefs",[19] and the listing of Jesus "with the names of great artists, philosophers, scientists, and religious leaders".[20]
A 2004 study found that it was a common read-aloud book for sixth-graders in schools in San Diego County, California.[21] Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".[22] It was one of the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.[23]
In 2016, the novel saw a spike in sales after Chelsea Clinton mentioned it as influential in her childhood in a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.[24]
Characters[edit]
For appearances of these characters in other novels by L'Engle see Major characters in the works of Madeleine L'Engle
See also: Meg Murry, Charles Wallace Murry, Calvin O'Keefe, and Sandy and Dennys Murry
Main characters[edit]
Margaret "Meg" Murry[edit]
Meg is the outcast of the family and also the oldest child of scientists Alex and Kate Murry. Mathematically brilliant but less than adept at other subjects in school, Meg is "awkward", unpopular, and defensive around authority figures as well as her peers. Although she has the brains to accomplish difficult tasks, she rarely puts her strengths to use. She adores her mother and three brothers especially her youngest brother, Charles Wallace, and weeps much for her missing father. Like many adolescent girls, Meg is unhappy with her physical appearance, particularly her mouse-brown, unruly hair, braces and glasses, and considers herself a "monster" in comparison with her mother. But then she meets Calvin. She is about thirteen years old, and is a couple of grades below Calvin, who is fourteen years old but in eleventh grade. Introduced on the first page of the book, she is the story's main protagonist.
Charles Wallace Murry[edit]
Charles Wallace is the youngest Murry child, being five years old. He is very smart and is the most extraordinary and the most vulnerable of the novel's human characters, and the youngest to journey to Camazotz. Charles Wallace did not talk at all until he was nearly four years old, at which time he began to speak in complete sentences. Now five years old, Charles Wallace speaks only to his family, but can empathically or telepathically "read" certain people's thoughts and feelings, and above that has an extraordinary vocabulary. A biological "sport," he is intellectually curious, loving, and unfazed by extraordinary people and events. He was the first to meet the Mrs Ws and brought Meg to see them. Initially able to block IT out of his mind, he opens his mind to the Man with Red Eyes and thus falls under IT's control.
Calvin O'Keefe[edit]
Calvin is the third oldest of Paddy and Branwen O'Keefe's eleven children, a tall, thin, red-haired 14-year-old high school junior who is not the best in math but has to study to play on the school basketball team, and is one of the popular boys in high school. His mother is a very cranky, tired woman with too many children. Neglected by his own family, Calvin enters the lives of the Murry family, starting in Chapter Two. He also loves Meg Murry. He shows some signs of being able to communicate telepathically, the same power Charles Wallace seems to have, a technique referred to in later books as kything. He also feels as if he has been hiding his true self all his life, and likes the Murry family much more than his own, which is characterized by abuse and dysfunctional dynamics.
Primary immortal characters[edit]
Hardcover art by Leo and Diane Dillon, showing the "Mrs Ws"
The three characters of Mrs Whatsit, Mrs Who, and Mrs Which are beings who have the ability to travel at will across large stretches of time and space by dematerializing and rematerializing. They are capable of changing form, but spend most of their time on Earth as elderly women. All three are billions of years old, having once been stars that had each sacrificed themselves as a nova or supernova to destroy the parts of the Black Thing nearest them.
Mrs Whatsit[edit]
Mrs Whatsit is first described as a very old woman wrapped in layers of clothes with a jacket and first appears in chapter one. Charles Wallace finds her in a 'haunted house' in the woods, where she has been living with her two friends, Mrs Who and Mrs Which. Mrs Whatsit is the youngest of the Mrs Ws (despite being 2,379,152,497 years, 8 months, and 3 days old), and the best of the three at interacting with the children.
In Chapter Four, the group (Charles Wallace, Calvin, and Meg) witnesses the physical transformation of Mrs. Whatsit into a centaur-like winged being on the planet Uriel. After explaining the self-sacrificial stars to the children, Mrs Whatsit admits to Meg that she had once been one of them, and to Mrs Which that it hadn't been very long (from their perspective) since it happened.
Mrs Who[edit]
Mrs Who is described as a plump woman with spectacles. She communicates in Latin, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Portuguese and Greek, notably quoting William Shakespeare, Pascal, Dante Alighieri, Seneca, A. Perez, Horace, Miguel de Cervantes, Delille, Euripides, the Bible and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Mrs Whatsit explains that Mrs Who finds it "difficult to verbalize" in her own words.
Mrs Which[edit]
Mrs Which's physical appearance is not set; she appears as a shimmering light most of the time. However, she does once take on the appearance of a traditional witch, complete with black hat and broom. She does not stay long in this form, though, as corporeal appearance is quite difficult for her to maintain. She first appears at the end of Chapter 3. She is the clear leader of the three women and the wisest, and upon appearing, immediately demonstrates her vast knowledge of understanding in tesseract travel. Her distinguishing quirk is her long, drawn-out method of speech, symbolized by doubled and tripled consonants in her words (as in; "Nnoww, cchilldrenn, yyou musstt nott bee frrightennedd att whatt iss ggoingg tto hhappenn,"). She is the one who usually provides the group, most especially Meg, with the clues the children need to solve the problems encountered during their travels.
The Man with Red Eyes[edit]
The Man with Red Eyes is a being whom Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin encounter on their quest to rescue Meg and Charles Wallace's father on the planet Camazotz. He is the Prime Coordinator on Camazotz. He and IT control Camazotz together and are the main antagonists. He entices Charles Wallace to look into his glowing red eyes in order to find his father. When Charles Wallace does so, he too becomes possessed by the mind of IT, after which the Man with Red Eyes drops out of the story.
IT[edit]
Current book cover art (2007) by Taeeun Yoo, showing the Mrs Ws (at the left) and the children at the CENTRAL Central Intelligence building (at the right)
IT is the bodiless, telepathic brain that dominates the planet of Camazotz and the main antagonist. IT controls all the people in Camazotz and makes people often do the same things together in a mechanistic synchronism as if they were robots. IT speaks through The Man With Red Eyes and later through Charles Wallace, and is functionally part of the interstellar cloud of evil called the Black Thing. IT is described as a giant sized human brain. Housed in a dome near the "CENTRAL Central Intelligence" building, IT is said to pulse and quiver on its dais. IT's aim is to enforce absolute conformity on Camazotz, with the claimed benefit of eliminating war, unhappiness and inefficiency. However, IT is aware of cruelty, referring to "ITself" as "the Happiest Sadist". While IT usually speaks through one of its pawns, IT can speak directly to people through telepathy, but IT only does this once throughout the entire novel. IT's name is always used whenever IT is spoken of (rather than the pronoun "it"), so pervasively that even the word "itself" is rewritten as "ITself."
The Black Thing[edit]
A formless, shadowy being. According to the Mrs. Whatsit, the Black Thing is the source of all evil in the universe, and little more is described of it. It is unclear from where the Black Thing came or what its motivations are. It is even unclear what its relationship to IT is, although it's suggested that IT is a powerful servant of the Black Thing. The Black Thing has been fought by many people, all of whom have added to the peace of the world, including Mr. Murry.
Sub-characters[edit]
Alex Murry[edit]
Meg's father is a physicist, researching the mysteries of the space/time continuum, specifically five-dimensional means of travel between planets. He is also the father of Meg, Sandy, Dennys and Charles Wallace. He has been missing for some time as the novel opens. Not even his government colleagues know where he is. He is usually referred to as Mr. Murry. His first name is revealed in the fifth and last Time novel An Acceptable Time. In the television adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, he is renamed Jack. He first appears in a flashback in Chapter One.
Dr. Katherine "Kate" Murry[edit]
Meg's mother is a microbiologist, wife of Dr. Alexander Murry, and mother of the four Murry children. She is considered beautiful by the Murry children and others, having "flaming red hair" and violet eyes. Her physical attractiveness, academic and scientific accomplishments give Meg a bit of an inferiority complex. She is introduced in Chapter One, and usually referred to as Mrs. Murry. As in her husband's case, her first name is given in the subsequently published An Acceptable Time. The television version of her character is renamed Dana.
Sandy Murry[edit]
Sandy and his twin brother Dennys are the middle children in the Murry family, older than Charles Wallace but younger than Meg. They are 10 years old at the time of this book. Sandy is named after his father, Dr. Alex Murry. Although they are certainly intelligent, Sandy and his twin are considered the "normal" children in the family: B students, good at sports, and well able to fit in with their peers. Of the twins, Sandy is generally the leader, and the more pragmatic of the two. He and Dennys first appear in Chapter One.
Dennys Murry[edit]
Dennys is the twin of Sandy Murry. Dennys and his twin are usually inseparable, with Dennys generally following Sandy's lead. However, Dennys is slightly less skeptical than his brother about the strange theories and even stranger adventures of Meg and Charles Wallace. (Note: The name Dennys is a shortened version of "Dionysus", which is the name of a Greek god, but is pronounced the same way as the more common spelling "Dennis.")
Mrs. Buncombe[edit]
The wife of the constable in Meg's hometown, who has twelve bed-sheets stolen from her at the beginning of the novel.[25]
Mr. Jenkins[edit]
Mr. Jenkins [25] is Meg's cold and unfeeling high-school principal who calls her "belligerent and uncooperative" and implies that her family is in denial about Mr. Murry's true whereabouts.
Supporting alien characters[edit]
The Happy Medium lives in a cavern on a planet in Orion's Belt. Human in appearance, she is described as wearing a satin gown and a silk turban, and uses a crystal ball to look at distant places and people. Her title comes from the character's jolly temperament, and her preference for looking at happy things. She helps Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace see The Black Thing through the crystal ball and understand what they are fighting against. She is introduced in chapter five. (The name "Happy Medium" is a pun alluding to the common expression for reaching an acceptable compromise: "to find a happy medium.")
Aunt Beast is a character who takes care of Meg and befriends her on the planet Ixchel after Meg is "frozen" by the Black Thing. Introduced in chapter ten, the character has four arms, no eyes, and numerous long, waving tentacles instead of fingers. Tall, gray in color, sightless and telepathic, Aunt Beast has a motherly, nurturing attitude toward Meg. The name Aunt Beast is one that Meg and the alien come up with together, based on the character's perusal of Meg's mind. The character's actual name, if any, is not given.
Locations[edit]
Main article: Places in the works of Madeleine L'Engle
Early scenes in the novel take place in and around an unnamed village, later established in An Acceptable Time as being in Connecticut. The nearly 200-year-old Murry farmhouse has parallels in the Austin family series of books and in L'Engle's own Connecticut home, Crosswicks.[6]
When Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace travel to other planets, the ones whose names are given include the following:
Camazotz – A planet of extreme, enforced conformity, ruled by a disembodied brain called IT. Camazotz is similar to Earth, with familiar trees such as birches, pines, and maples, an ordinary hill on which the children arrive, and a town with smokestacks, which "might have been one of any number of familiar towns". The horror of the place arises from its ordinary appearance, endlessly duplicated. Thus, the houses are "all exactly alike, small square boxes painted gray"; this characterization has been compared with "the burgeoning American suburbia"[26] such as the post-war housing developments of Levittown, Pennsylvania. The people who live in the houses are similarly described, with "mother figures" who "all gave the appearance of being the same". Camazotz has also been compared with "an early sixties American image of life in a Communist state", a characterization partially dismissed as too glib.[27] The name Camazotz refers to a Mayan bat god, one of L'Engle's many mythological allusions in her nomenclature.[28] It is also stated that Camazotz is a planet that has "given in" to the Black Thing, implying that it was not always the dystopian place that it is at present..
Ixchel – A planet of muted colors, inhabited by tall, sightless creatures with tentacles. It orbits the same sun as Camazotz. The name Ixchel refers to a Mayan jaguar goddess of medicine.[28]
Uriel – A planet with extremely tall mountains, an allusion to the Archangel Uriel. It is inhabited by creatures that resemble winged centaurs. It is "the third planet of the Star Malak (meaning 'angel' in Hebrew) in the spiral nebula Messier 101", which would place it at roughly 25 million light-years from Earth. The site of Mrs Whatsit's temporary transformation into one of these winged creatures, it is the place where "the guardian angels" (i.e. the Mrs Ws, who are explicitly referred to as such by Calvin later in the book) "show the questers a vision of the universe that is obscured on earth."[12]
They also stop briefly on an unnamed two-dimensional planet and on an unnamed planet in Orion's belt, the latter of which is the home of the Happy Medium.
Adaptations[edit]
Audio books[edit]
In 1994, Listening Library released an unabridged, 4-cassette audio edition read by the author.[29]
On January 10, 2012, Audible released a 50th anniversary edition recorded by Hope Davis.[30]
From left: David Dorfman as Charles Wallace Murry, Katie Stuart as Meg Murry, and Gregory Smith as Calvin O'Keefe on the planet Uriel
Film adaptations[edit]
Further information: A Wrinkle in Time (2003 film) and A Wrinkle in Time (2018 film)
In 2003, a television adaptation of the novel was made by a collaboration of Canadian production companies, to be distributed in America by Disney. The movie was directed by John Kent Harrison, with a teleplay by Susan Shilliday. It cast Katie Stuart as Meg Murry, Alfre Woodard as Mrs.Whatsit, Alison Elliott as Mrs.Who, and Kate Nelligan as Mrs.Which. In an interview with Newsweek, when L'Engle was asked if the film "met her expectations", she said, "Yes, I expected it to be bad, and it is."[31]
A theatrical feature film adaptation of the novel by Walt Disney Pictures, was released in 2018. The film is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Storm Reid, Michael Peña, and Zach Galifianakis.[32][33]
Play[edit]
An adaptation by James Sie premiered at the Lifeline Theatre in Chicago in 1990, and returned to the stage in 1998 and 2017.[34]
John Glore adapted the novel as a play that premiered in 2010. It was written for six actors playing 12 parts. One actor plays Mrs Whatsit, the Man with Red Eyes, and Camazotz Man. Dr. Kate Murry, Mrs Who, Camazotz Woman, and Aunt Beast also share one performer. The stage adaptation premiered in Costa Mesa, California, with productions in Bethesda, Maryland; Cincinnati; Philadelphia; Orlando; Portland, Oregon; and other cities.[35][36]
An adaptation by Tracy Young premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in April 2014, as well as at colleges and theaters around the U.S.[37]
Opera[edit]
In 1992, OperaDelaware (known for frequently adapting children's books) staged an opera based on A Wrinkle in Time written by Libby Larsen with a libretto by Walter Green. The review in Philly.com stated "The composer does not place arias and set pieces, but conversational ensembles with spoken dialogue that made the young daughter's climactic but concise song about familial love all the more imposing."[38][39]
Graphic novel[edit]
In 2010, Hope Larson announced that she was writing and illustrating the official graphic novel version of the book. This version was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in October 2012.[40][41]
References in popular culture[edit]
The television show Lost featured appearances of the book: it is one of the novels Sawyer reads on the Island, and it is seen on his dresser.[42]
Further reading[edit]
Other books in the series[edit]
L'Engle wrote four other books featuring this generation of the Murry family, collectively known as the Time Quintet.
A Wind in the Door (1973) ISBN 0-374-38443-6
A Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978) ISBN 0-374-37362-0
Many Waters (1986) ISBN 0-374-34796-4
An Acceptable Time (1989) ISBN 0-374-30027-5
Jean C. Fulton remarks that the books are not "intended to be read consecutively, these books, though integrated, are independent." Although Many Waters was published approximately eight years after A Swiftly Tilting Planet, it takes place several years earlier, when Sandy and Dennys are in high school and Meg is in college.
Four further novels have been published that feature Meg and Calvin's children, especially Polly O'Keefe. The most recent of these, An Acceptable Time, features Meg's parents, and is marketed with the four Murry books as part of the Time Quintet; Sandy Murry appears prominently in A House Like a Lotus, which features Polly O'Keefe. Nearly every novel by Madeleine L'Engle connects to the Murry-O'Keefe series either directly or indirectly with appearances by recurring characters. See also: List of L'Engle's works and Major characters in the works of Madeleine L'Engle for further detail.
Concerning A Wrinkle in Time[edit]
Scholastic BookFiles: A Reading Guide to A Wrinkle in Time ISBN 0-439-46364-5
Chase, Carole F. Suncatcher: A Study of Madeleine L'Engle and Her Writing, p. 170. Innisfree Press, 1998, ISBN 1-880913-31-3
See also[edit]
Tunnel Through Time
Wormhole
Children's literature portal
Speculative fiction portal
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ The biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's writing was inaugurated in 1956, recognizing a single book published during the preceding two years. Since the first three renditions—that is, from 1962—it has recognized a living author for a lasting contribution, considering his or her complete works. Nevertheless, a "Runner-Up List" with single book titles was published from 1960 to 1964. [Pages 15–16. This source does not identify those runners-up or report their number.]
Glistrup, Eva (2002). "Half a Century of the Hans Christian Andersen Awards". The Hans Christian Andersen Awards, 1956–2002. International Board on Books for Young People. Gyldendal. 2002. Pages 14–21. Hosted by Austrian Literature Online (literature.at). Retrieved 2013-07-22.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "A wrinkle in time". LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-10-30.
^ Jump up to: a b L'Unji, Madeleine (2007). "Go Fish: Questions for the Author", A Wrinkle in Time. New York: Square fish. p. 236. ISBN 0-312-36754-6.
Jump up ^ Chase, Carole F. (1998). Suncatcher: A Study of Madeleine L'Engle And Her Writing. Philadelphia: Innisfree Press, Inc. p. 170. ISBN 1-880913-31-3.
Jump up ^ L'Engle, Madeleine (1987). A Wrinkle in Time, 25th Anniversary Collectors' Edition (Limited ed.). ikNew York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. pp. viii–ix.
Jump up ^ L'Engle, Madeleine. A Circle of Quiet. ISBN 0-374-12374-8.
^ Jump up to: a b c L'Engle, Madeleine (1972). A Circle of Quiet. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. pp. 5–6, 21, 66, 217–218. ISBN 0-374-12374-8.
^ Jump up to: a b Fulton, Jean C. (2002). "A Wrinkle in Time". In Fiona Kelleghan. Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. 2. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press. p. 596. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2012. Madeleine L'Engle's view of the universe was changed by the work of such well-known physicists as Albert Einstein and Max Planck. She expressed her new perspective in A Wrinkle in Time...
Jump up ^ L'Engle, Madeleine (2004). "A Special Message from Madeleine L'Engle". Teachers @ Random: A Wrinkle in Time. Random House, Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
Jump up ^ "It's Time to Read A Wrinkle in Time". Square Fish Books. 2007. Archived from the original on March 3, 2007. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
Jump up ^ Chan, Sewell (November 30, 2008). "Repaired After Fire, Cathedral Reopens". The New York Times.
Jump up ^ Hettinga, Donald (1998), "A Wrinkle in Faith: The unique spiritual pilgrimage of Madeleine L'Engle", Books & culture: a Christian review, Christianity today
^ Jump up to: a b Hettinga, p. 26
Jump up ^ Fulton, Jean C (2002). "A Wrinkle in Time". In Kelleghan, Fiona. Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature. 2. Pasadena, CA: Salem Press. pp. 597–98. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2012. ...the importance of both individual initiative and family interaction is a thematic thread. L'Engle made both the Murry adults highly talented, both intellectually and scientifically. This was atypical of fiction published in the 1950s, when the book was written. Female characters rarely were featured as intellectuals or scientists. L'Engle has been praised for this departure as well as for her creation of strong female characters. Critics even suggested that in making Meg the protagonist in A Wrinkle in Time, L'Engle opened the door for the many female protagonists who have appeared in more recent fantasy and science fiction.
Jump up ^ "A wrinkle in time excerpt". The Wall Street Journal.
Jump up ^ Maloney, Jennifer (April 16, 2015). "A New 'Wrinkle in Time'". The Wall Street Journal.
Jump up ^ "A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle". Kirkus Reviews. March 1, 1962. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
Jump up ^ "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000". Banned Books Week. American Library Association. 2007. Archived from the original on April 4, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
Jump up ^ Matheson, Whitney (September 29, 2004). "Some of the best books in life are ... banned?". USA Today. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
Jump up ^ "Why Were These Books Banned?". Library – Faculty Services. Val A. Browning Library, Dixie State College of Utah. 2001. Archived from the original on March 15, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
Jump up ^ "A Wrinkle In Time". banned books project. Solonor.com. September 21, 2003. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
Jump up ^ Fisher, Douglas; et al. (2004). "Interactive Read-Alouds: Is There a Common Set of Implementation Practices?" (PDF). The Reading Teacher. 58 (1): 8–17. doi:10.1598/RT.58.1.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 7, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
Jump up ^ National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Retrieved August 22, 2012.
Jump up ^ Bird, Elizabeth (July 7, 2012). "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results". School Library Journal "A Fuse #8 Production" blog. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
Jump up ^ Brogan, Jacob (29 July 2016). "The Book Chelsea Clinton Touted as Her Childhood Favorite Is Now Outselling Trump's Art of the Deal". Slate. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
^ Jump up to: a b Madeleine L'Engle (2013-09-30). "A Wrinkle in Time: Characters". SparkNotes. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
Jump up ^ Hettinga, Donald R. (1993). Presenting Madeleine L'Engle. New York: Twayne Publishers. p. 27. ISBN 0-8057-8222-2.
Jump up ^ Blackburn, William (1985). "Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time: Seeking the Original Face". Touchstones: Reflections on the Best in Children's Literature. 1: 125. ; cited in Hettinga, pp. 27.
^ Jump up to: a b Stott, Jon (Fall 1977). "Midsummer Night's Dreams: Fantasy and Self-Realization in Children's Fiction". The Lion and the Unicorn. 1 (2): 25–39. doi:10.1353/uni.0.0401. ; cited in Hettinga, pp. 27, 30.
Jump up ^ L'Engle, Madeleine (1994). A Wrinkle in Time (Audiobook ed.). Listening Library. ISBN 0-8072-7587-5.
Jump up ^ L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. Davis, Hope (Narrator) (Audible ed.). ASIN B006LPK3WS.
Jump up ^ Henneberger, Melinda (May 7, 2003). "'I Dare You': Madeleine L'Engle on God, 'The Da Vinci Code' and aging well". Newsweek. MSNBC. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
Jump up ^ Kroll, Justin (November 1, 2016). "Zach Galifianakis, Andre Holland, and 'Pan' Star Levi Miller Join 'A Wrinkle in Time'". Variety. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
Jump up ^ Gettell, Oliver (November 1, 2016). "A Wrinkle in Time adds Zach Galifianakis, André Holland, Rowan Blanchard". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
Jump up ^ Bommer, Lawrence. "A Wrinkle in Time". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
Jump up ^ Carpenter, Susan (February 28, 2010). "'Wrinkle in Time' takes leap to South Coast Rep stage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
Jump up ^ Wren, Celia (December 9, 2010). "A 'Wrinkle' wrought smoothly for the stage". Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Plays: A Wrinkle in Time". Chicago Reader. 2014.
Jump up ^ Webster, Daniel (March 30, 1992). "'Wrinkle In Time' At Playhouse, Premiered By Operadelaware". Philly.com. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
Jump up ^ "Libby Larsen - Opera". libbylarsen.com.
Jump up ^ "A first look at Hope Larson's A Wrinkle in Time". Comic Book Resources. 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
Jump up ^ Arrant, Chris (2010-08-31). "Hope Larson talks comics | Robot 6 | The Comics Culture Blog". Robot6.comicbookresources.com. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
Jump up ^ Chaney, Jen & Kelly, Liz (December 19, 2007). "Lost Book Club: 'A Wrinkle in Time'". Washington Post. Retrieved July 3, 2011.
External links[edit]
Madeleine L'Engle (madeleinelengle.com)
A Wrinkle in Time reviewed at The Open Critic
A Wrinkle in Time title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
A Wrinkle in Time (TV) (mini) on IMDb
Official book site for the May 2007 release.
Awards
Preceded by
The Bronze Bow Newbery Medal recipient
1963 Succeeded by
It's Like This, Cat
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Plant stem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Stem showing internode and nodes plus leaf petioles
This above-ground stem of Polygonatum has lost its leaves, but is producing adventitious roots from the nodes.
This article is about the stem part of a plant. For the use of stem node in phylogenetics and cladistics, see Phylogenetic nomenclature.
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes:
The nodes hold one or more leaves, as well as buds which can grow into branches (with leaves, conifer cones, or inflorescences (flowers)). Adventitious roots may also be produced from the nodes.
The internodes distance one node from another.
The term "shoots" is often confused with "stems"; "shoots" generally refers to new fresh plant growth including both stems and other structures like leaves or flowers. In most plants stems are located above the soil surface but some plants have underground stems.
Stems have four main functions which are:[1]
Support for and the elevation of leaves, flowers and fruits. The stems keep the leaves in the light and provide a place for the plant to keep its flowers and fruits.
Transport of fluids between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem
Storage of nutrients
Production of new living tissue. The normal lifespan of plant cells is one to three years. Stems have cells called meristems that annually generate new living tissue.
Contents
[hide]
1 Specialized terms
2 Stem structure
2.1 Dicot stems
2.2 Monocot stems
2.3 Gymnosperm stems
2.4 Fern stems
3 Relation to xenobiotics
4 Economic importance
5 References
6 Further reading
Specialized terms[edit]
Stems are often specialized for storage, asexual reproduction, protection or photosynthesis, including the following:
Acaulescent – used to describe stems in plants that appear to be stemless. Actually these stems are just extremely short, the leaves appearing to rise directly out of the ground, e.g. some Viola species.
Arborescent – tree like with woody stems normally with a single trunk.
Branched – aerial stems are described as being branched or unbranched
Bud – an embryonic shoot with immature stem tip.
Bulb – a short vertical underground stem with fleshy storage leaves attached, e.g. onion, daffodil, tulip. Bulbs often function in reproduction by splitting to form new bulbs or producing small new bulbs termed bulblets. Bulbs are a combination of stem and leaves so may better be considered as leaves because the leaves make up the greater part.
Caespitose – when stems grow in a tangled mass or clump or in low growing mats.
Cladode (including phylloclade) – a flattened stem that appears more-or-less leaf like and is specialized for photosynthesis,[2] e.g. cactus pads.
Climbing – stems that cling or wrap around other plants or structures.
Corm – a short enlarged underground, storage stem, e.g. taro, crocus, gladiolus.
Decumbent stem in Cucurbita maxima.
Decumbent – stems that lie flat on the ground and turn upwards at the ends.
Fruticose – stems that grow shrublike with woody like habit.
Herbaceous – non woody, they die at the end of the growing season.
Pedicel – stems that serve as the stalk of an individual flower in an inflorescence or infrutescence.
Peduncle – a stem that supports an inflorescence
Prickle – a sharpened extension of the stem's outer layers, e.g. roses.
Pseudostem – a false stem made of the rolled bases of leaves, which may be 2 or 3 m tall as in banana
Rhizome – a horizontal underground stem that functions mainly in reproduction but also in storage, e.g. most ferns, iris
Runner (plant part) – a type of stolon, horizontally growing on top of the ground and rooting at the nodes, aids in reproduction. e.g. garden strawberry, Chlorophytum comosum.
Scape – a stem that holds flowers that comes out of the ground and has no normal leaves. Hosta, Lily, Iris, Garlic.
Stolon – a horizontal stem that produces rooted plantlets at its nodes and ends, forming near the surface of the ground.
Thorn – a modified stem with a sharpened point.
Tuber – a swollen, underground storage stem adapted for storage and reproduction, e.g. potato.
Woody – hard textured stems with secondary xylem.
Stem structure[edit]
Flax stem cross-section, showing locations of underlying tissues. Ep = epidermis; C = cortex; BF = bast fibres; P = phloem; X = xylem; Pi = pith
See also: Stele (biology)
Stem usually consist of three tissues, dermal tissue, ground tissue and vascular tissue. The dermal tissue covers the outer surface of the stem and usually functions to waterproof, protect and control gas exchange. The ground tissue usually consists mainly of parenchyma cells and fills in around the vascular tissue. It sometimes functions in photosynthesis. Vascular tissue provides long distance transport and structural support. Most or all ground tissue may be lost in woody stems. The dermal tissue of aquatic plants stems may lack the waterproofing found in aerial stems. The arrangement of the vascular tissues varies widely among plant species.
Dicot stems[edit]
Dicot stems with primary growth have pith in the center, with vascular bundles forming a distinct ring visible when the stem is viewed in cross section. The outside of the stem is covered with an epidermis, which is covered by a waterproof cuticle. The epidermis also may contain stomata for gas exchange and multicellular stem hairs called trichomes. A cortex consisting of hypodermis (collenchyma cells) and endodermis (starch containing cells) is present above the pericycle and vascular bundles.
Woody dicots and many nonwoody dicots have secondary growth originating from their lateral or secondary meristems: the vascular cambium and the cork cambium or phellogen. The vascular cambium forms between the xylem and phloem in the vascular bundles and connects to form a continuous cylinder. The vascular cambium cells divide to produce secondary xylem to the inside and secondary phloem to the outside. As the stem increases in diameter due to production of secondary xylem and secondary phloem, the cortex and epidermis are eventually destroyed. Before the cortex is destroyed, a cork cambium develops there. The cork cambium divides to produce waterproof cork cells externally and sometimes phelloderm cells internally. Those three tissues form the periderm, which replaces the epidermis in function. Areas of loosely packed cells in the periderm that function in gas exchange are called lenticels.
Secondary xylem is commercially important as wood. The seasonal variation in growth from the vascular cambium is what creates yearly tree rings in temperate climates. Tree rings are the basis of dendrochronology, which dates wooden objects and associated artifacts. Dendroclimatology is the use of tree rings as a record of past climates. The aerial stem of an adult tree is called a trunk. The dead, usually darker inner wood of a large diameter trunk is termed the heartwood and is the result of tylosis. The outer, living wood is termed the sapwood.
Monocot stems[edit]
Stems of two Roystonea regia palms showing characteristic bulge, leaf scars and fibrous roots, Kolkata, India
Vascular bundles are present throughout the monocot stem, although concentrated towards the outside. This differs from the dicot stem that has a ring of vascular bundles and often none in the center. The shoot apex in monocot stems is more elongated. Leaf sheathes grow up around it, protecting it. This is true to some extent of almost all monocots. Monocots rarely produce secondary growth and are therefore seldom woody, with Palms and Bamboo being notable exceptions. However, many monocot stems increase in diameter via anomalous secondary growth.
Gymnosperm stems[edit]
The trunk of this redwood tree is its stem.
Tasmanian tree fern
All gymnosperms are woody plants. Their stems are similar in structure to woody dicots except that most gymnosperms produce only tracheids in their xylem, not the vessels found in dicots. Gymnosperm wood also often contains resin ducts. Woody dicots are called hardwoods, e.g. oak, maple and walnut. In contrast, softwoods are gymnosperms, such as pine, spruce and fir.
Fern stems[edit]
Most ferns have rhizomes with no vertical stem. The exception is tree ferns, with vertical stems up to about 20 metres. The stem anatomy of ferns is more complicated than that of dicots because fern stems often have one or more leaf gaps in cross section. A leaf gap is where the vascular tissue branches off to a frond. In cross section, the vascular tissue does not form a complete cylinder where a leaf gap occurs. Fern stems may have solenosteles or dictyosteles or variations of them. Many fern stems have phloem tissue on both sides of the xylem in cross-section.
Relation to xenobiotics[edit]
Foreign chemicals such as air pollutants,[3] herbicides and pesticides can damage stem structures.
Economic importance[edit]
White and green asparagus – crispy stems are the edible parts of this vegetable
There are thousands of species whose stems have economic uses. Stems provide a few major staple crops such as potato and taro. Sugarcane stems are a major source of sugar. Maple sugar is obtained from trunks of maple trees. Vegetables from stems are asparagus, bamboo shoots, cactus pads or nopalitos, kohlrabi, and water chestnut. The spice, cinnamon is bark from a tree trunk. Gum arabic is an important food additive obtained from the trunks of Acacia senegal trees. Chicle, the main ingredient in chewing gum, is obtained from trunks of the chicle tree.
Medicines obtained from stems include quinine from the bark of cinchona trees, camphor distilled from wood of a tree in the same genus that provides cinnamon, and the muscle relaxant curare from the bark of tropical vines.
Wood is used in thousands of ways, e.g. buildings, furniture, boats, airplanes, wagons, car parts, musical instruments, sports equipment, railroad ties, utility poles, fence posts, pilings, toothpicks, matches, plywood, coffins, shingles, barrel staves, toys, tool handles, picture frames, veneer, charcoal and firewood. Wood pulp is widely used to make paper, paperboard, cellulose sponges, cellophane and some important plastics and textiles, such as cellulose acetate and rayon. Bamboo stems also have hundreds of uses, including paper, buildings, furniture, boats, musical instruments, fishing poles, water pipes, plant stakes, and scaffolding. Trunks of palm trees and tree ferns are often used for building. Stems of Reed are an important building material for use in thatching in some areas.
Tannins used for tanning leather are obtained from the wood of certain trees, such as quebracho. Cork is obtained from the bark of the cork oak. Rubber is obtained from the trunks of Hevea brasiliensis. Rattan, used for furniture and baskets, is made from the stems of tropical vining palms. Bast fibers for textiles and rope are obtained from stems include flax, hemp, jute and ramie. The earliest paper was obtained from the stems of papyrus by the ancient Egyptians.
Amber is fossilized sap from tree trunks; it is used for jewelry and may contain ancient animals. Resins from conifer wood are used to produce turpentine and rosin. Tree bark is often used as a mulch and in growing media for container plants. It also can become the natural habitat of lichens.
Some ornamental plants are grown mainly for their attractive stems, e.g.:
White bark of paper birch
Twisted branches of corkscrew willow and Harry Lauder's walking stick (Corylus avellana 'Contorta')
Red, peeling bark of paperbark maple
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Raven, Peter H., Ray Franklin Evert, and Helena Curtis. 1981. Biology of plants. New York, N.Y.: Worth Publishers.ISBN 0-87901-132-7
Jump up ^ Goebel, K.E.v. (1969) [1905]. Organography of plants, especially of the Archegoniatae and Spermaphyta. New York: Hofner publishing company.
Jump up ^ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Abiotic factor. Encyclopedia of Earth. eds Emily Monosson and C. Cleveland. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
Further reading[edit]
Speck, T.; Burgert, I. (2011). "Plant Stems: Functional Design and Mechanics". Annual Review of Materials Research. 41: 169. doi:10.1146/annurev-matsci-062910-100425.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plant stem.
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GND: 4182592-5
NDL: 00566958
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Plant_stem&oldid=830401196"
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Adventitious roots

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