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How Does L. Frank Baum Use Visual Images In The Wizard Of Oz

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In the novel the wizard of Oz author L. frank Baum goes to extreme lengths to explain and paint a visual image of every color from every scene in the book. From Dorothy’s blue and white dress to explain the shining green city of Oz and how it blinds you nothing in the book is left without color and detailed descriptions. This sort of description is done not only to provide the reader with a visual image to match the description of the character. It is also being used as a sort of symbolism for each character. The colors not only represent the style of each character but also their personality. An example of this would be Dorothy’s blue and white chiffon dress. In the story we are painted a very detailed and vivid picture of how the dress is …show more content…

The yellow brick road and the gleaming green city of Oz. both of these set pieces are described as being extremely bright and clean. This paints a picture in the viewer’s mind of how easy it seems to be to get to the city and subsequently the great wizard. In terms of the yellow brick road it is presented as easy street. It’s shown to be the quickest and safest route to the gangs’ goals. Then when they finally get off of the road they are brought to Oz. Oz itself is given this image a bright shining utopia where even though the ruler is a fake and the witch lives not too far from them nothing bad ever happens. It even has little details such as being so shinning bright that you need googles to view it without it hurting your eyes. A literal beacon of perfection which serves as a stark comparison to the areas that lay next to …show more content…

After leaving the city of Oz the gang is on the road the wicked witch’s house. While traveling on the route to her house we are told about how it’s a dark and dreary place. It’s also show that the gang faces many hardships from beginning to end. This in turn leads to the wicked witch and how her colors match exactly to her personality and motives. The witch is described in typical witch clothing all black clothes and a pointed hat. This showcases her as a typical villain with the dark being a symbol for her evil. Meanwhile the green skin she is said to have could symbolize the envy she feels towards Dorothy for having the wicked witch of the east sliver slippers, an item which she repeatedly tries to steal from Dorothy whenever she gets the chance. She is literally green with envy at the girl and tries to get what she wants until her defeat. This is a stark contrast to the good witches who wear all gleaming white and are thus shown as kindhearted and

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