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Book Home  Books Information Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's story written
by L. Frank Baum, illustrated by W.W. Denslow, and first published
in 1900. The story chronicles the adventures of a girl named Dorothy
in the land of Oz. It is well regarded in popular culture and has
been widely translated as the first American fairy tale due to its
setting. Its initial success led to Baum writing and having published
thirteen more Oz books.
Dorothy Gale is a little girl who lives on a Kansas
farm with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em, and her little dog Toto. On
her way inside one day, a tornado appears and Dorothy is unable to
reach the storm cellar in time, so she takes shelter with Toto in
the farmhouse. It is caught up in the tornado, and deposited in a
grassy field in the country of the Munchkins, killing the Wicked Witch
of the East, who had established a reign of terror over the Munchkins.
The Good Witch of the North comes with the Munchkins
to greet Dorothy, and gives her the Silver Shoes the Wicked Witch
of the East had been wearing when she was killed (her death is explained
in The Tin Woodman of Oz as due to her being old and dried up before
Oz became a fairyland). In order to return to Kansas, the Good Witch
of the North recommends: "Let Dorothy go to the City of Emeralds"
and ask the Wizard of Oz to help her. The Good Witch of the North
also kisses Dorothy on the forehead, stating that no one will harm
a person who has been kissed by her. On her way down the Yellow Brick
Road, Dorothy meets some remarkable characters: she liberates the
Scarecrow from the pole he's hanging on, restores the mobility of
the Tin Woodman, and encourages the Cowardly Lion to journey with
her and Toto to the Emerald City. The Scarecrow wants to get a brain,
the Tin Woodman a heart, and the Cowardly Lion courage; and they are
convinced by Dorothy that the Wizard can help them too.
When they arrive at the Emerald City, the companions
must wear special spectacles to keep the brilliance of the Emerald
City from blinding them; wearing them, everything appears in different
shades of green. They are told that the Wizard will only see one of
them a day, and that the guard himself has never seen him! When each
traveler meets the Wizard, he appears each time as someone or something
different. To Dorothy, the Wizard is a giant head; the Scarecrow sees
a beautiful woman; the Tin Woodman sees a ravenous beast; the Cowardly
Lion sees a ball of fire. The Wizard agrees to help each of them,
but his help is conditional; one of them must kill the Wicked Witch
of the West, who rules over the Winkie Country.
Once Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman,
and the Cowardly Lion arrive in the Winkie Country, the Wicked Witch
sends wolves, crows, bees, and then her Winkie soldiers to attack
them; but each threat is dispatched by the travelers. Then, using
the power of the Golden Cap, the Witch summons the Winged Monkeys
to destroy the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman but to bring her Dorothy
and the Cowardly Lion alive. The Winged Monkeys can't attack Dorothy
anyway due to the Witch of the North's kiss, so they succeed in their
mission; the final one the Wicked Witch can command due to the Cap's
enchantment.
Dorothy is forced to work as a maid to the Wicked Witch,
while the Lion is pressed into service to pull her chariot. But the
Lion refuses to do so, because Dorothy sneaks him food every night.
Dorothy is also left unharmed because she wears the Silver Shoes that
have undefined magic powers. When the Wicked Witch gains one of the
shoes by trickery, Dorothy in anger grabs a bucket of water and throws
it on the Wicked Witch, who begins to melt. The Winkies rejoice at
being freed of her tyranny, and they help to reassemble the Scarecrow
and the Tin Woodman. So enamored are the Winkies of the Tin Woodman
that they ask him to become their ruler, which he agrees to do after
helping Dorothy return to Kansas.
The long walk from the Wicked Witch's former palace
to the Emerald City is alleviated by Dorothy's use of the Golden Cap,
which summons the Winged Monkeys to carry her and her companions to
the Emerald City. The King of the Monkeys relates how he and his mischievous
people were forced to choose between submission or annihilation; through
the Cap, they obeyed first Quelala, then the Wicked Witch, and now
Dorothy herself.
When Dorothy and her friends meet the Wizard of Oz again,
he tries to put them off. Only under threat of seeing the Winged Monkeys
again (who under the Wicked Witch's command attacked him in the past)
is the Wizard convinced to allow the travelers in to his throne room.
Toto discovers a curtained side room away from the Wizard's throne.
Pulling the curtain back, Toto reveals a wizened old man who had journeyed
here himself long ago from Omaha. He once rose high in a balloon and
then landed in Oz; when the people saw the letters "OZ"
on the balloon (in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, we find they are
his initials), they presumed he was their ruler and began building
the Emerald City. Finding himself in a country of witches, the soon-to-be-designated
Wizard saw the need to maintain anonymity—hence his appearances
to Dorothy and the others, which are revealed as clever (for the dawn
of the 20th century) special effects.
The Wizard tries to persuade the Scarecrow, the Tin
Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion that what they lack are not brains
or a heart or courage, but faith in themselves. But he still agrees
to meet each of them and to give them (without their knowledge) a
placebo which brings out the qualities they had all along. In order
to help Dorothy and Toto get home, the Wizard realizes that he will
have to take them home with him in the same hot air balloon in which
he arrived. Revealing himself to the people of the Emerald City one
last time, the Wizard appoints the Scarecrow, by virtue of his brains,
to rule in his stead. Just as they are rising into the air, however,
Toto leaps from the basket after a cat and Dorothy goes after him,
leaving the Wizard to rise and float away.
Dorothy turns to the Winged Monkeys to carry her and
Toto home, but they cannot cross the desert surrounding Oz. The citizens
of the Emerald City advise that Glinda, the Good Witch of the South,
may be able to send Dorothy and Toto home. They, the Scarecrow, the
Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion journey to Glinda's palace in the
Quadling Country. Together they escape the Fighting Trees, dodge the
Hammerheads, and tread carefully through the China Country. The Cowardly
Lion kills a giant spider which is terrorizing the animals in a forest,
and he agrees to return there to rule them after Dorothy returns to
Kansas.
At Glinda's palace, the travelers are greeted warmly,
and it is revealed by Glinda that Dorothy had the power to go home
all along. The Silver Shoes she wears can take her anywhere she wishes
to go. She tearfully embraces her friends—all of whom will be
returned, through Glinda's use of the Golden Cap, to their respective
sovereignties: the Scarecrow to the Emerald City, the Tin Woodman
to the Winkie Country, and the Cowardly Lion to the forest. Then she
will give the Cap to the king of the Winged Monkeys, so they will
never be under its spell again. Dorothy and Toto return to Kansas
and a joyful family reunion.
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