What Does The Yellow Brick Road Symbolize In The Wizard Of Oz

555 Words3 Pages

In the well-known novel The Wizard Of Oz, the author, L. Frank Baum, uses colors as symbolism and to set a certain mood throughout the story. The use of color is very important as it gives life to the setting and as stated before, helps set the mood. Without the description of color the story would definitely be more bland and forgettable. If someone were to take away the color description in the names The Yellow Brick Road, The Emerald City, and The Silver Slippers, then it wouldn't be iconic or come off to the reader as important. Also the symbolism in them would be harder to interpret. First, the most well known example of color in the story is the Yellow Brick Road. The Yellow Brick road is a pathway the characters must follow to take them to the Emerald City. "...her silver shoes tinkling merrily on the hard, yellow road-bed. The sun shone bright and the birds sang sweetly, and Dorothy did not feel nearly so bad as you might think a little girl would who had been suddenly whisked away from her own country and set down in the midst of a strange land." (Chapter 3) This line about traveling along The Yellow Brick Road shows that its supposed to give off a vibe of happiness. Yellow is a bright color that often represents happiness so the road being yellow can also mean that its the road to happiness. After-all, the characters are following it in hopes to get what they want from the …show more content…

The characters are trying to make their way to the city in hopes to get what they wish for. "Dorothy and her friends were at first dazzled by the brilliance of the wonderful city." (Chapter 11) The first line said once the characters are in the city shows how grand it is supposed to be. The chapter then goes on to describe how everything is green and how amazingly beautiful that is. It sets a elegant mood for the reader. It gives the city life and makes it an unforgettable