History Literature / AWindInTheDoor

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* AliensAmongUs: Louise the Larger, the ordinary-looking garden snake, is the earthly guise of a cosmic BigGood known as a Teacher. [[spoiler:So is Charles Wallace' doctor and Louise's namesake, Dr. Louise.]]

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* HonestAxe: Meg is presented with three identical Mr. Jenkinses and asked to Name which one is the real one. She asks each one what he will do about Charles Wallace and his problems in school. The fakes declare their intentions to help Charles Wallace succeed, one via aggressive methods and one with sympathetic sensitivity. She realizes the real Mr. Jenkins is [[spoiler: the one who is annoyed by the test and doesn't get what's going on.]] Played straight in the end when [[spoiler: the real Mr. Jenkins begins to understand Charles Wallace and Meg better, and he will work to make things better.]]

* HonestAxe: Meg is presented with three identical Mr. Jenkinses and asked to Name which one is the real one. She asks each one what he will do about Charles Wallace and his problems in school. The two fakers talk as though they want Charles Wallace to be blandly successful. She realizes the real Mr. Jenkins is [[spoiler: the one who is annoyed by the test and doesn't get what's going on.]] Played straight in the end when [[spoiler: the real Mr. Jenkins begins to understand Charles Wallace and Meg better, and he will work to make things better.]]

* EldritchAbomination: Proginoskes ''looks'' the part - Mr. Jenkins even faints when he sees him fully for the first time. But he's utterly committed to the side of the Light [[spoiler:until he Xes himself at the end as a HeroicSacrifice.]] The ''real'' abominations - literally hell-spawned - are the Echthroi.

* YearInsideHourOutside: Within a mitochondrion, the heart of the host ([[spoiler: Charles Wallace]] in this case) beats about once a decade.

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* FallenAngel: Progo says that our mythology would call Echtroi fallen angels.

* FallenAngel: Porto says that our mythology would call Echtroi fallen angels.

* AliensAmongUs: Louise, the ordinary-looking garden snake, is the earthly guise of a cosmic BigGood known as a Teacher. [[spoiler:So is Charles Wallace' doctor and Louise's namesake, Dr. Louise.]]

** The deadly dance of the farandolae killing the fara is [[FridgeHorror frighteningly similar]] to the sort of thing ''prions'' do - rogue protein molecules that corrupt their uncorrupted versions, turning ''them'' into prions. Eventually, the out-of-control prions destroy all the normal proteins and end up killing their host cell. They are released, to kill other cells in the same way...

* BrattyHalfPint: Sporos, as little as a half-pint can get -- he's a farandola, about the size of a single protein molecule.
** The "bratty" part comes in when Sporos quite contemptuously announces himself as superior breed of creature, much more akin to the cosmic cherubim then mere humans. It starts to hurt your head when you realize that to farandolae like Sporos, a human being is a galaxy unto themselves, and they are utterly dependent on their "galaxy" for their survival. [[spoiler:Calvin and Mr. Jenkins finally break through his arrogant detachment in the end and encourage him to literally grow up - but at the price of dropping their guard, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero which allows the Echthroi to possess Mr. Jenkins fully]]]].

* BilingualBonus: The mitochondrion that the final conflict takes place in is called Yadah (יָדָה). In Hebrew, it means "worshipping with hands outstretched" or in more modern usage, "Lifting up one's voices to sing God's praises." The name was no accident.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The main conflict in the mitochondrion, between the nihilistic, individualistic, skeptical younger generation, who wants to overthrow the time-honored traditions, and who refuse to grow up, and the older generation, whose devotion to invisible truths and time-honored traditions is necessary for the continuation of their world. Given that this book was written in 1973, it sounds like this may be the author's view of TheSixties.
** On the other hand, Meg recalls a conversation between her parents where they lament how humanity's insatiable desire for progress and technology has resulted in a world of pollution and violence, and the farandolae must be taught to listen to the music of the body they live in in order to reach harmony. This sounds more like the counterculture's desire for environmentalism, simple living, and mysticism.

* HeroicSacrifice: Later [[spoiler: Mr. Jenkins, who makes it out alive]], and [[spoiler: Progo, whose fate is ambiguous]].

* HonestAxe combined with SpotTheImposter: Meg is presented with three identical Mr. Jenkinses and asked to Name which one is the real one. She asks each one what he will do about Charles Wallace and his problems in school. The two fakers talk as though they want Charles Wallace to be blandly successful. She realizes the real Mr. Jenkins is [[spoiler: the one who is annoyed by the test and doesn't get what's going on.]] Played straight in the end when [[spoiler: the real Mr. Jenkins begins to understand Charles Wallace and Meg better, and he will work to make things better.]]

* {{Synchronization}}: Kything has elements of this, as seen with the scientist's experiment with his plant.

* TruthInTelevision: In point of fact, mitochondrial enzymes (protein molecules, or polypeptides) do go through a maturation process and many anchor themselves in the membrane. Having too many immature enzymes floating around too long is ''very bad'' for the cell and eventually causes it to self-destruct. L'Engle merely takes all the parties and applies the AnthropicPrinciple, turning them all into sentient beings, able to be influenced by the Echthroi.
** The deadly dance of the farandolae killing the fara is [[FridgeHorror frighteningly similar]] to the sort of thing ''prions'' do - rogue protein molecules that corrupt their uncorrupted versions, turning ''them'' into prions. Eventually, the out-of-control prions destroy all the normal proteins and end up killing their host cell. They are released, to kill other cells in the same way...
* TwoTeacherSchool: In the last book, Mr. Jenkins was Meg's high school principal; now he's Charles Wallace's elementary school principal. Justified by saying that the school board deliberately had him moved from one to the other because the elementary school needed reform. [[spoiler:That was just an excuse the school board used. In truth, he was being demoted because he was too weak-willed and couldn't handle the high school students.]]

* CallBack: During the SpotTheImposter quest, [[spoiler: a fake]] Mr. Jenkins alludes to a conversation that took place in AWrinkleInTime.

** The deadly dance of the farandolae killing the fara is [[FridgeHorror frighteningly similar]] to the sort of thing ''prions'' do - rogue protein molecules that corrupt their uncorrupted versions, turning ''them'' into prions. Eventually, the out-of-control prions end up killing their host cell and are released, to to kill other cells in the same way.

** The deadly dance of the farandolae killing the fara is [[FridgeHorror frighteningly similar]] to the sort of thing ''prions'' do - rogue protein molecules that corrupt their uncorrupted versions, eventually killing the cell and then spreading out to kill other cells.

--> Meg: Will the [newly born] star be Named?
--> Proginoskes: He calls them all by name.

* BigGood: Blajeny fills this role for the most part, but both he and Proginoskes allude to an ultimate BigGood - God.