Political Figures In The Wizard Of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz projects its message in a very subtle unsuspected way. For a child the story is just a magical story full of colors but underlying the colors “Baum created a children’s story with a symbolic allegory implicit within its story line and characterization” (50). The book is full of symbolism, when Dorothy lands on West Witch with her house, she is given a pair of silver slippers by the Good Witch of the North. She is

Dorothy and her friends finally got to Emerald City. They finally got to see the Wiz and he told them that he would not grant any of their wishes unless she killed the wicked witch of the West. Dorothy and all of her friends were really disappointed. Eventually, Dorothy and her friends went to see the wicked witch of the West and the witch was very mean to them. The witch really wanted Dorothy’s slippers but she refused to give them to her. Dorothy is starting to get discouraged because the witch seemed to be more powerful than she was.

Dorothy start on her way down the yellow brick road and meets three important characters. First she meets the scarecrow with no brain. He represents Farmers and agricultural workers who are ignorant of many city things but honest and hardworking. Farmers were string supporters of the populist movement and the scarecrow ends up being a strong supporter of Dorothy throughout the entire film. Next they meet the tinman. The tinman represents industrial workers. He is a lumberjack whose body has been replaced with metal. This represents how many workers had been dehumanized and viewed as only a means to make money. Finally they meet the cowardly lion. When they first meet the lion he does his best to scare them but ends up being afraid of them. He tells them he wants to go the emerald city so the wizard can give him courage. He represents politician William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was a populist presidential candidate and the out spoken leader of the populist movement. He had been criticized as being a coward for not supporting the U.S. and its decision to go to war with Spain. Bryan wanted to get into Washington so he could change American politics. This reflects the lion wanting to go to the emerald city to get his courage from the wizard. Along the way they run into the wicked witch of the west. She tries to stop them from getting to the emerald city.

The Wizard of Oz is a classic known by all. The plot is fairly simple. Poor bored Dorothy is sick of her normal boring life on her Aunt and Uncles farm in Kansas and decides to run away to a more exciting life. Her plans are changed when she meets a fortune teller who convinces her to go back home. Unfortunately, as she is headed back home a horrible storm starts and she and her dog Toto are blown away, along with her house. When she lands, she comes outside to see that she has landed on a person with red shoes. She is met by tiny people and a witch called Glinda who tells her that she has landed on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy tells Glinda she wants to go home, and Glinda tells her if she follows the yellow brick road she will end up in the Emerald City where the Wonderful Wizard of Oz can help get her home.

The placement of a prop or altering the way the light shines on a scene, however insignificant they may seem, are ways that the director can select and control meaning in a film. Such is in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939), specifically during the scene where Dorothy (Judy Galand) has been locked in the Wicked Witch of the West's (Margaret Hamilton) castle room by herself; many aspects of mise-en-scene are noticeable. Many of the elements of the scene she is in contribute to her state and other aspects of the movie. The setting and props of the film all seem to centralize to where she is and how she got there. The light focus' just on Dorothy but also amplifies the intensity of the situation she is in. The behavior of

Johnson 's description of the witch 's features became the most significant facet of the story, especially the significance attaches to color symbolism: “Her lips are like carnations red, / Her face like new-born lilies fair, / Her eyes like ocean waters blue...” (13-15). J. Johnson uses the power of imagery here by depicting the evil witch as a shockingly beautiful lady. He utilizes similes to convey that she is gentle looking and captivating. With this image in mind, Johnson also makes it clear that looks can be deceiving:

The creator of The Wizard of Oz Noval appears to consistantly use the colors red, white and blue as a reference to the United States in terms of American values. Glinda is described in the colors of the national flag with rich red hair, white dress and blue eyes. Glinda plays an important role in the story as a good and powerful witch. She also plays an important role at the end of the story when she helps Dorothy achieve her dreams. Oz who was depicted as most powerful was not able to help Dorothy, however, it's Glinda who helps dorothy learn the secret to the slippers at the end of the story so Dorothy can go back to Kansas. Glinda is among the most important influences in the story which correlates with how American values influence how

There are only three witches in the movie: The Good Witch of the North, The Wicked Witch of the East and The Wicked Witch of the West. In the movie Glinda is the name of The Good Witch of the North. Whereas in the book The Good Witch of the South has the name Glinda and The Good Witch of the North has no name. As the book goes on they reach Oz and he asks them to kill The Wicked Witch of the West. The Wicked Witch is not seen or heard from until the end of the book. In the movie she is seen several times. Dorothy and Toto see her in The Land of the Munchkins, when they rescue the Tin man, and when they all arrive at The Emerald City.

The theme seems to stand out clearly in the book, “Dorothy Must Die,” as it is relevant to the story of the Wizard of Oz. In the very first part of the book, readers are able to see that there is no line between good and wicked. Ever since Amy had arrived in Oz, she’s able to see that it looks unfamiliar. Once Indigo was killed, Amy was to be executed to meet with Dorothy. However, after meeting with Dorothy, Amy was to be put in a jail cell until her trial because of treason and being rude. As she sat alone in her jail cell, Amy began to wonder as to why Dorothy is the way she is now. She sat there, baffled by the fact of how the Dorothy she had read about and seen movies about was always so kind. The author had stated, “I hate to break it to you, but just because someone has pretty hair and a good skin and a crown doesn’t mean

We should all be familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz. The protagonist, Dorothy, is swept into the magical land of Oz by a tornado, where she meets Glinda the Good Witch, who gives her the ruby slippers of the Wicked Witch of

The children’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, which was published in 1900 by L. Frank Baum is conceded as a classic story that many people love. The book gained so much popularity and that led to the release of the film adaptation, “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939. Even though the film adaptation was very similar to the original book, there were some changes in the main character (Dorothy) and the roles of the witches, which were ineffective and effective respectively. First, I will talk about Dorothy’s character and her quest to get back home. Second I will talk about the roles of the witches.

In The Wizard of Oz, the ordinary world and the beginning of the adventure are presented with stunning visual effects. Dorothy, the protagonist, is shown struggling in her ordinary world. She is confronted by the mean neighbor Miss Gulch who wants to take away Dorothy’s dog Toto and give him to the animal control authorities because of Toto’s bad behavior. Dorothy reacts childishly with a temper tantrum, begging her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em not to let Miss Gulch have her way. She confronts Miss Gulch when she tries to take Toto, saying, “You wicked old witch! Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, don't let 'em take Toto! Don't let her take him -- please!” (The Wizard of Oz). In a fit of temper, Dorothy decides to run away because she thinks that it is the only way she can protect her dog from Miss Gulch. The plot picks up the story of Dorothy’s life at a rather bleak point. Dorothy is portrayed as powerless and directionless and she does not appreciate the gifts she has in her family and life. Her character flaws and areas of growth are clear from such behavior. She seeks to be the leader of her own life but she lets temper get in the way of her enacting effective change. Furthermore, in her decision to run away Dorothy shows that she does not appreciate those who love her or the blessings of her loving home.

Many of the farmers from the West blamed their problems on the wealthy and industry. Later on in the text, Dorothy meets the Good Witch of the North. The Good Witch represents a Northern electorate who had supported populism. The Good Witch sends Dorothy to go to the Wizard of Oz, down the yellow brick road to Emerald City, who has the power to send her back to Kansas. The Good Witch also gives Dorothy the silver shoes, which also serves as protection. This can relate to the Bimetalism vs. Gold Standard. I say this because Dorothy shoes are silver and she is sent to go down the yellow brick road, which can be seen as gold bricks. This can be known as gold money. In this time, it was clear that silver vs. gold was important to the farmers involving the economy. The silver was supposed to be available for the working class, and would increase the amount of money for the working class. In the text, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. The Scarecrow represents the western farmers, and how their hardships and troubles from inflation caused them to have doubts and problems with their money. The Tinman represents the American worker who mostly has populist views. He also represents how the worker felt dehumanized and was helpless. In addition to this, the Wicked Witch of the East put a spell on him that every time he swung his axe, he would chop a piece of him off. This would make his body smaller, in relation to his work being minimized by the

The Wizard has modern ideals for Oz and has harsh views towards anything seen as more traditional or “royalist,” such as one of the several religions in Oz, Lurlinism, as stated in the quote, “...public Lurlinism - even as a joke - bordered on being intolerably retrograde, even royalist. And that did not do in the Wizard’s reign.” He rules over Oz as a dictator, and is not open to opposition from citizens; his word is final even when there is logic against him, according to the quote, “‘I don’t believe, Elphie, that the Wizard is open to entertaining arguments, even by as august an Animal as Doctor Dillamond.’” The Wizard causes the oppression of Oz, therefore creating the Marxist environment of Wicked.

of the west from The Wizard of Oz, she is so sinister it makes her stand out and