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When trying to fight IT, Meg and Calvin use their intelligence at first; Calvin quotes Shakespeare and Meg shouts the Declaration of Independence, but they cannot beat the enormous brain with its own weapon, instead they have something IT does not have. They both fail in their first attempt and Meg begins reciting the irrational square roots to break the rhythm, which "continued to control the systole and diastole of her heart, the intake and outlet of her breath " (175). L'Engle uses an impressive parallel between Meg's rational brain and irrational square roots by contrasting her math oriented brain and her emotional personality. Only irrational qualities like love, emotions and faults could resist IT " the qualities that make us human. By giving emotions such an important role in her story and describing the terrifying brain that controls everyone, the author warns us, that intellect untempered by emotion is extremely dangerous. Without emotions people become robots, when controlled by the giant brain they are supposed to live a life without facing any hardships. While the man with red eyes is convincing children that "Nobody is ever unhappy [on Camazotz] " (157), Meg argues that "But nobody is ever happy, either " (157). This proves that only if we can feel love and pain we can think creatively and develop as unique individuals.
While in most children's stories parents are absent, Mr. Murry, is a unique character who is a physicist, meaning he is very intelligent, yet overwhelmed by emotions sometimes. Despite of his undeniable intelligence, his lack of experience causes him to make a mistake and is captured on Camazotz for a long time. For about two years he fights against IT, he becomes exhausted and looks terrible. What makes him resist the power of IT is love. It would be rational for him to give himself into the power of IT and live the rest of his life without any difficulties instead of sitting in a cell, but his sense of love and hope that he would be reunited with his family does not let him surrender.