Archetypes in A Wrinkle in Time

       In Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Meg Murry, Charles Wallace Murry, and Calvin O'Keefe go on a quest to find and rescue Meg and Calvin's father, and kill "It."  They travel through time to different planets with three creatures, Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.  

       The Hero: Meg Murry is definitely the hero of the story.  She is the one who is most determined in trying to find her father on the strange planet of Camazots, and who is most changed by the journey.  While this makes the story a Task/Quest, it is also kind of a Loss of Innocence.  Throughout the book, Meg is maturing and learning about herself. 

       The Mentors of A Wrinkle in Time are Mrs.Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which.  They are the ones who take them on the journey in the first place, they also take them to planet of Camazots, and give them as much knowledge as they can.  All three are very wise (especially Mrs. Which,) and have a lot of experience fighting "It".  For example, Mrs. Whatsit sacrificed her life as a star in the name of fighting "It," or the "Black Thing," making her the youngest of the three.  

       The Shadow of A Wrinkle in Time is definitely "It."  You don't directly meet "It" until further into the book, but "It" is there from the beginning.  "It" has the power to control or hypnotize, and then speak through people.  On the planet of Camazots, "It" has taken control of just about everyone there, and also possesses Meg and Charles Wallace's father.  As a result of "It" taking control of them, almost everyone on Camazots does the exact same thing at the exact same time.  For example, when Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace first arrived on Camazots, they walked down a street.  Every boy on the street was bouncing a ball that landed on the ground at the exact same time.  When they knocked on the door of one of the houses, every door on the block opened and a lady stuck her head out of each one.  Earlier they saw one of the boys with a ball drop his, and it rolled away on the ground.  Later, they saw the boy in Camazots's CENTRAL Central Intelligence Building, sort of being reprogrammed by "It."  The people are not robots-they can make mistakes, and they don't all look the same-they are just under "It"'s control.  "It" opposes Meg by keeping her from her father.  
       The Shapeshifter: So far, I'm not sure who the Shapeshifter is (if there even is one,) and I don't remember from when I originally read the book.  
        Before this, I had only thought of there being a main character, a character who opposes the main character, and the rest were just secondary characters.  Now, I have realized that almost all of the important characters play a very specific role in a book.