Cbr17bingo Green
I never read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a kid. Like many, my acquaintance with the story was from the 1939 film, which I always enjoyed watching even though the flying monkeys and Wicked Witch scared me. Later, in high school or college, I remember hearing that the original story was an allegory about turn-of-the-century American populism and the argument over whether or not the gold standard should be abandoned. You can read a bit about that theory here. Whether or not that interpretation of the story is accurate, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is widely recognized as a classic children’s tale. In the introduction, written in 1900, L. Frank Baum wrote that he meant his story to serve as an updated, more modern fairy tale than the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen stories.
“…the time has come for a series of newer ‘wonder tales’ in which the stereotyped genie, dwarf and fairy are eliminated, together with all the horrible and blood-curdling incidents devised by their authors to point to a fearsome moral to each tale. Modern education includes morality; therefore the modern child seeks only entertainment in its wonder tales and gladly dispenses with all disagreeable incidents.”
Baum goes on to say that the whole point of this story is entertainment for children without “the heartaches and nightmares.” It is a very entertaining children’s story, but Baum didn’t exactly dispense with “all disagreeable incidents.” And I think there is a moral or lesson to be learned in the end, having to do with friendship, teamwork and recognizing one’s own abilities.
The main character is, of course, Dorothy, who lives on a bleak farmstead in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and Toto. The stuff with the farm hands and Elvira Gulch is not part of this original story. The cyclone hits within the first couple of pages, and Dorothy and Toto find themselves in Munchkinland. Yes, the Munchkins are thrilled that the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, and Dorothy gets herself a new pair of shoes (silver, not ruby, which you already know all about if you have seen or read anything about Wicked the movie). Glinda does not figure here at all, but the Munchkins tell Dorothy that the guy you have to see if you need a big problem solved (like how to get home again) is the Wizard of Oz. Follow the yellow brick road and expect trouble. As per the film, Dorothy and Toto set off, and along the way, they pick up the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion. The tale gives you more background on these characters, with the Tinman’s story being the most compelling, as he had once been fully human and in love.
The journey to Oz is full of adventures that mostly got left out of the 1939 movie, which is a shame because the adventures are pretty exciting and demonstrate how Dorothy’s three new friends actually already possess the qualities they wish for the Wizard to give them: brains, heart and courage. I was rather surprised though at the amount of killing that goes on in this tale that Baum said would dispense with disagreeable incidents. Tinman knows how to use that axe and isn’t afraid to do so! As in the 1939 film, the gang makes it to Oz and finds out that they have to eliminate the Wicked Witch of the West (nothing about her broom) before Oz does anything for them.
In the movie, once the gang returns to Oz and the Wizard takes off without Dorothy, Glinda shows up to tell her how to get home again. In the book, another adventure unfolds before Dorothy meets Glinda and gets the secret code to go home. They have to travel south, go through a few new, weird worlds and keep demonstrating their gifts before the big payoff. Again, I kind of wish the movie version had included some of these weird worlds, like the land of china people and the helpful field mice. The book also puts a bit of a twist on the flying monkeys, involving a gold cap and three wishes.
Anyway, what I liked most about the story is that it shows how important friendship is, that you can find your courage, develop heart and learn to be a good leader when you are with people who love and support you. We are better people when we work together than when we try to go it alone.