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Wizard Of Oz Symbolism

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Recommended: Analysis of the wizard of oz book

Michael Mangal 10/27/14 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a fictional adventure novel that was written by L. Frank Baum in 1902. This novel is about a young girl named Dorothy who was trying to find her way back home to Kansas after ending up in the World of Oz. However this girl’s journey was much more than a fantastical adventure, but symbolism for the Populist Party of this time period. The story is said to represents political and social issues during the 1890’s. Dorothy was meant to represent the majority. She was a symbol of the everyday man or woman. Her home was in Kansas, which during the time was a populist state due to the high population of farmers. The yellow brick road represented the gold that the United States currency …show more content…

During the 1890’s the powerful businessmen lived in either the east (New York) or the west. Dorothy meets a ‘party’ of people on her journey including a scarecrow, lion, and tin man. The scarecrow represented the farmers, the tin man represented industrial workers and the cowardly lion was said to represent the American military. The most interesting symbolism to me was the Wizard of Oz himself. In the story the wizard was only a man who tricked people into believing he was a powerful man who could grant them their wishes. In reality he was simply a man behind the curtain who had no power at all. The wizard represented powerful politicians and bankers. In my opinion, I believe that the wizard in the story represented the Gilded Age as a whole. The wizard was a sign of hope for Dorothy. Dorothy travels on the golden road to meet the wizard and finds out he is not powerful at all. Dorothy realizes that there is no such thing as a wizard who can grant her wishes but rather she must get home on her own. I believe the wizard represents the Gilded Age because on the outside the wizard was a powerful man who can lead Dorothy home when he really was nothing more than a

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The Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, proves to be a story that has survived the test of time. Even today, many critics are analyzing different aspects of the story and there is debate over what type of storyline it follows. Many make the argument that it was written as a myth or fairytale, while others believe the symbols can be better interpreted to have other meanings, such as being related to the Populist Party in the late 19th century and issues from the time period. Although many symbols and characters throughout the novel parallel common Populist ideas and people, it was not intentionally written to be a Populist allegory by Baum.

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It’s a scene engraved into the western world’s collective memory: a pigtailed girl in red slippers, skipping along a yellow brick road with a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion. This image, from the book “The Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 film of the same name, represents the epic of the modern age. Whereas in ancient times, we had Gilgamesh or King Arthur as our gallant hero, now we have a little girl from a farm in Kansas. At first glance, this simple story of a young girl lost in a magic land could not compete with the great tales of old. However, this epic shares more than a few similarities with this seemingly childish

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“The Wizard Oz” by L. Frank Baum thought to be a parable on populism. Indeed there are many secret messages that readers can connect to Populism such as the yellow brick, Dorothy’s silver shoes, and Dorothy herself. In every chapter at least one connection can be assembled to the lesson based on concept populism. “But The silver shoes are yours and you shall have them to wear“ (Baum 15) “The road to the city of Emeralds is paved with yellow brick” (Baum 18)

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L. Frank Baum uses three main symbols that create an allegory and represents the political circumstances during the late 19th century. Baum did not intentionally do this, but as you read the novel you will see the connections throughout. During the final years of the 1800s, industrial cities, with all the problems brought on by rapid population growth and lack of infrastructure to support the growth, occupied a special place in U.S. history. For all the problems, the cities promoted a special bond between people and laid the foundation for the multiethnic, multicultural society that we cherish today. During the time of the Industrial Revolution many things affected the farmers, factory workers, and William Jennings Bryan.

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Gulch is used as a metaphor in “The Wizard of Oz” to symbolize Miss Gulch’s extreme threat towards Dorothy throughout the movie. In the beginning of the movie, Miss Gulch is a villian towards Dorothy because she wants to take away Dorothy. After Dorothy arrived home, Miss Gulch came and showed Dorothy’s aunt and uncle her warrant to take away Toto and put him down. This makes Miss Gulch a threat to Dorothy because she wanted to take away one of the things that matters most to her.

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Buddhism consists of a belief in peace, unity, respect, and self-discovery through humility and honesty.  Following these ideals creates a more knowledgeable and aware individual and society.  L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz reflects on these themes of Buddhism through the use of allegorical settings to create a story about a young girl trying to find her way home. After deciding to run away because of the evil neighbour Mrs. Gilch, Dorothy is caught in a tornado, thrown around, and wakes up to find herself in a foreign land.

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The characters in the movie, “The Wizard of Oz” are character foils to Dorothy, as they share personalities with Dorothy. The Scarecrow requests for the wizard to give him a brain because he is not smart. In the movie, the scarecrow believes that he is not smart, giving him the idea that he does not have a brain. Dorothy can be viewed as not having a brain like the scarecrow because she does not think about her actions, showing that they share this trait. The Tin Man requests for the wizard to give him a heart, hoping that the wizard can.

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The Wizard of Oz is a musical about a young girl, named Dorothy, who lives on a farm in Kansas. She desperately wants to get away, and decides to run away from home. After she meets a peddler who convinces her to go back home, she ends up going back home to find a “cyclone” heading right for her house. Dorothy, her dog, Toto, and her house

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The Wizard of Oz shows that he is William McKinley when he says to Dorothy, "I'm really a very good man, but I'm a very bad Wizard, I must admit." (Baum). This quote shows how he never really wanted to be the ruler of Oz. Similar to William McKinley whom never wanted to President. Another way that we can see how the Wizard of Oz is William McKinley is his action.

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Frank Baum uses colors throughout the novel the Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. . Color play s a important role in the story l. Each color symbolizes a n object of wealth or emotion . The author wrote the book in the 1900’ s during the depression era, and the lack of money was the most talked about topic in the nation. Frank Baum managed to address this issue in his book with the use of symbolic imagery. The story opens with the color gray which depicts sadness.

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As the story of The Wizard of Oz plays out the character Dorothy goes through significant change, she is a dynamic character. Her heart turns from wanting to grateful as she matures into a young lady, which is important to this plot, because her journey of growing up impacts the entirety of the story and it impacts all of the characters she encounters along the way. The entire story begins with Dorothy frantically begging for the attention of her preoccupied aunt and uncle. Everything about her actions and words hint at self absorbent and immaturity. Not caring for the duties that her caretakers were tending to she throws herself into the mood and feelings of nobody loves me, driving her away from her home into danger, but the danger changes

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Her name has become well-known throughout the years and has become the symbol of feminism. Creating a female protagonist inspires young females to express themselves as well highlight the power of women. Dorothy is introduced as a 6-year-old girl taken away by a tornado from her aunt and uncle. The reader follows her journey as she faces obstacles along the way to return to her home. Dorothy being a vulnerable six years old girl, becomes one of the most powerful being in the land of Oz.

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In The Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming, 1939, specifically during the beginning scene, Dorothy was in sync with the setting. Dorothy was in the proper placement of the props around her, adding to the feelings of her reflecting the place she is in. The background eluded to the idea that she is far away from the golden spherical instrument that 's supposed to hold a globe, on the window sill in the background. There 's also an interesting painting below the window sill, it 's a golden band of boxes; this could be the representation of how Dorothy is gonna get to where she 's going, the yellow brick road. However, the crystal ball seems to be the most prominent part of the scene, the contrast of Dorothy 's position enhanced the feeling to the viewer that Dorothy is scared and alone.

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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.

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