Themes in 'The Wonderful Wizard of OZ' by Frank Baum

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

She could also go to the extreme trying to save animal civil rights because of what she believes in, even if it means to have no one to support her. She was coldly rejected when she tried to ask the Wizard for assistance, but ended revolting against him to save the remaining animals that were tortured and brutally killed. As you can tell, the image of the Wizard of Oz is not so welcoming compared to Maguire’s novel versus Buam's novel.

The five aspects of a quest are ( A.) a quester, ( B.) a place to go, ( C.) a started reason to go there, ( D.) challenges and trials en route, ( E.) and a real reason to do there. “Once you figure out quest, the rest is easy”. The started goal fades away throughout the story line and a new one is created. In the movie The Wizard of Oz the ( A.) Quester is a young, naive Dorothy, who is from Kansas. Dorothy is caught in a tornado and lands in the Land of Oz. ( B.) A Place To Go: When Dorothy arrives in Oz she finds out the only person the can get her back home is The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz, who lives in the Emerald City, and the only way to get there is to follow the Yellow Brick Road. ( C.) As Stated Reason To Go There: Dorothy wants

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

Dorothy is the protagonist of the story and a round character. She was an old woman whose husband died a few years ago. When her garden gnome goes missing she goes through mental issues when she starts receiving letters from Mr. Gnome and started having nightmares about the gnome and her husband being very ill. She tried very hard to believe that it wasn’t real by distracting herself but somewhere in the day she would always be reminded with a postcard, telegram or a nightmare.

The Wizard of Oz uses film form by using similarity and repetition. With Dorothy being the main character, she is always reappearing in the film. As well as all of the characters, The Tin Man, The Lion, and The Scarecrow, have similarities to Dorothy. Each of them need something, Dorothy needs to go back home, The Tin Man needs a brain, The Scarecrow needs a heart, and The Lion needs courage. The film also progresses from the beginning to the end, as well as the characters. Dorothy starts at one spot, follows the yellow brick road and eventually makes it to her destination to see The Wizard of Oz, gets what

I have spotted multiple themes though out this novel but, the main two themes I was were Good vs. Evil and Being Self-Sufficient. The main characters the tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Loin were heavily insecure about themselves. The scarecrow didn’t t think he was smart enough so he traveled with them to get a brain. The lion didn’t think he was brave enough so he traveled with them to get some courage. Though out the novel we see that the scarecrow is the smartest out of the group and that the lion risked he own life many times to save his friends.

The Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum was published on May 17, 1900, and the original movie was made in 1939 (produced by Mervyn LeRoy). Both the book and movie are similar. The story is about a little girl named Dorothy who is carried away from home by a cyclone. She ends up in the land of the Munchkins where she meets little people and a witch. Once she meets the witch she is told that in order for her to get back home she has to go to the Emerald City to speak to Oz. On her journey to Oz she meets three characters: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. These three characters also want something from Oz. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. Although the book and the

Stories have deeper meaning than what they appear. Life events such as the government, economy, or something happening to an individual can inspire them to express themselves through writing. In the original story of “The Wizard of Oz”, it tells a tale far more than people realize. The story portrays the government during the time period and hidden symbolism within the story and characters.

Primarily, The Wizard of Oz focuses on Dorothy (Judy Garland), a young, beautiful girl from Kansas, who is taken, along with her dog Toto (Terry),

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.

In the movie: It tells the story of a girl named Dorothy, who ends up in a tornado and gets hurled away from her farm in Kansas to a land that is not like anything she has experienced before. After Dorothy’s house falls and kills the Wicked Witch in the first scene, Dorothy is welcomed by the Munchkins. The kind witch, Glinda, appears and explains to Dorothy that in order to find out about getting back home, she needs to follow the yellow brick road. This road leads her to Emerald city, where she must ask the grand Wizard to get her back to Kansas. Along her way down the yellow brick road Dorothy encounters some characters who all have something they want to ask the wizard. However, when they finally arrive at the Emerald City, they discover the wizard is just a fraud and that everything they had been searching for they can find deep within themselves (metaphorically rather than physically).

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 cyclone had set the house down into a country of marvelous beauty.” is merely just the beginning of the tale of Dorothy traveling through a mysterious land, making interesting friends, and eventually slaying an evil witch. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an epic by L. Frank Baum is known by children and adults alike all over. And what exactly makes this tale of a naive little girl an epic? The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an epic due to its characteristics, conventions, archetypes, and the way it follows the stereotypical hero’s journey.