To many, The Wizard of Oz serves as a fairytale with the sole purpose of bringing joy to the reader. To others, however, the story weaves subtle, yet deep political themes in its pages. Debated for many years, some literary experts insist there are influences of Populism and what they fought for. They see influences of the fight for the silver standard, the roads paved of gold in America, criticisms of industrialization, racial commentary, class differences, and feminism among many other important themes. While there are many compelling arguments for each side; deeming the Wizard of Oz a true Populist parable may be far-fetched. There are many parallels and symbols one can find in the pages of Baum’s fairytale, but one cannot effectively connect them with Populist beliefs for certain. In this way, The Wizard of Oz does not serve as a true politically charged anecdote. Analyzing Baum’s life and personality helps to explain that, while there may have been strong influences of feminism due to the strong relationship he harbored with his wife, his political engagement and personality appear too lacking to write a politically driven fairy tale.
In Baum’s fairytale, many of the politically charged aspects of Oz that have been discussed also have perfectly practical explanations that relate to the time period of when the story was written. For example, one of the most prominent symbols that theorists see in The Wizard of Oz is the famous yellow brick road. Shortly after Dorothy