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Wizard Of Oz: Parable Of Populism

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In Henry Littlefield’s “The Wizard of Oz: Parable of Populism” he argues that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz may not be as innocent as it seems. While it does seem that it is just a fantasy story, there are actually some deep seated Populist allegory inside of it. The easiest connection to populism is set in the characters. The Tinman started off as as simple laborer, however the Witch has placed a spell on him. This spell has dehumanized him, and made it so that the faster and better he worked, the more quickly he became a type of machine. This can be easily linked to a populist view on honest labor as the Tinman started off as a simple, honest worker but is slowly being corrupted into less of a human and more of a machine. Scarecrow starts …show more content…

The winged monkeys don’t want to be out harassing Dorothy and friends, they just want to go back to the way their lives used to be. Unfortunately since the Wicked Witch controls them, they just do as they say. They are a clear representation of the American People. If we are under a bad or evil leadership, we will do bad or evil things. Likewise, if we are under an overwhelmingly good leader, we will do positive and beneficial things. We are easily swayed by those of higher power than us, just as the monkeys …show more content…

Upon returning, they finally learn the truth in that the Wizard is nothing more than “a little man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face.” In an attempt to keep of the illusion of the Wizard being a terrible and fierce man full of power, he hid in his castle and let no visitors in. He regretted letting Dorothy and friends in once they had uncovered the truth that he was just a humbug. Just as the Wizard tried to keep up a powerful image, so did the presidents of the United States. They would rarely make appearances for fear of not having the respect and authority they needed to rule this

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