Wizard of Oz Essay Example for Free

Wizard of Oz EssayL. Frank Baums The Wizard of Oz (1900) presents what might be considered the Statess first fairy-tale. Certainly, few other works of childrens literature claim such a widespread and mixerly profound influence as this work, which is as wholesome known as a movie and via various stage-productions as well as many contemporary re-interpretations and variations on the original theme. on that point is hardly a child who is not intimately acquainted with Dorothy and her adventures more than hotshot billion mess have either seen the screen version of The Wizard of Oz or read L. Frank Baum famous book It is a r be child who cannot recite the words to Ding dong, the Witch is dead, or who doesnt know what a Munchkin is. (Cashdan 218) Baums story approach initial controersy and continues to receive a share of controversy for its depth of themes and resonances. These themes are rooted in political, social, and economic aspects of the human experience and Baums under lying theme emerges as one which celebrates the integrity of the man-to-man and individual liberty above accepted social hierarchies, norms, or in close to cases laws.Accepting who you are is the emotional chord that reverberates throughout The Wizard of Oz. The various psychological malaises from which people sufferanxiety attacks, phobias, neurotic disturbances, and the likeoften are the result of fears they harbor about what might happen if they interacted with others in an open and honest way. (Cashdan 236) As a uniquely American fairy-tale, Baums novel also inverts many of the classical motifs of historical fairy-tales. Characters in classical fairy-tales often face dillemas brought upon by sin or overindulgence greed or thwarted ambition or even revenge.In The Wizard of Oz all fo the storys important characters deal instead with perceived shortcomings in the self as opposed to excesses The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly social lion are convinced that they W izard of Oz Page -2- are not as intelligent, feeling, or courageous as others. Their hope is that Dorothy will help them remedy these shortcomings helping her companions fulfill their destinies helps her fulfill her own.(Cashdan 218) Baums depiction of OZ is a utopian one which forwards profound political, social, and economic ideas beneath its dazzling and myth-inspired fairy-tale surface. Many readers and scholars have set aspects of an idealized economy and social order in the Oz books These aspects include, among others, a communal sharing of food, the elimination of bullion and poverty, a dearth of punishment, an absence of greed nd the virtual elimination of death or disease. (Karp 103)Baums ken is a combination of pastoral and urban utopias, a vision which is epculiarly American and remains distinctive over a century past its inception. The utopia, however, is a constructed on a series of apparent contradictions a utopia that is at the same time egalitarian and authori tarian and to establish a society that values and protects individual rights, interests, and freedoms, as well as cultural multiplicity, at the same time as it promotes the value of a unified state to which individuals owe allegiance. (Karp 103) Baums answer to these contradiction resides in his emphasis upon individuality and the concept of rugged individualism, which reacts against the subversion of the individual will within an impersonal industrial corporation and the loss of independence and distinctness affecting betroth earners in the United States Baum populates the Land of Oz with a plethora of distinct and unique characters and has a number of these characters (as well as his narrators) praise individualism and eccentricity. (Karp 103) Wizard of Oz Page -3- Though Baum intended to entertain readers and spark their imaginations, this democrat articulation emerged, itself, as a political imperative the book itself inciting the individual contemplation of personal integrity , specialization and destiny. Frank Baums goal was to please children, and the characters are both endearing and enduring.Though this narrative tale faced controversy, Frank Baum rived long enough to see it pass, and as it did the books popularity increased. (Livingston, and Kurkjian) Similarly, Baums utopia found allegiance to the seemingly inappropriate impulses of the Gilded Age, wherein economic surplus and wealth are celebrated in tandem with individual druthers and self-actualization. The story of an archetypal American girl in silver shoes on a highway paved with golden bricks in a country named for the abbreviation for ounce would have rung loudly for an audience in the 1890s caught up in the financial question. (Ziaukas) On the yellow brick road, the creatures Dorothy finds and associates with Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man, distributively in search of a part of themselves represent American elements, the farmer, the worker, the loquacious politician, and the archetypal Americanness that is Dorothy, seems to have a sense that something is missing, that she or he lacks the ability to fulfill his or her destinies the farmer feels stupid and the worker put down the roar of the politician rings hollow. (Ziaukas) By instilling the traditional elements of fairy-tales with tremendous social, economic, and political resonance, Baum attained a fresh idiom aimed directly at those young minds searching for the measure of the individuality in American society, forming a passionate and creative anthem of individuality and selfhood while maintaining an allegiance to a progressive social order.Works CitedCashdan, Sheldon. The Witch Must Die The Hidden Meaning of Fairy Tales. New York Basic Books, 1999. Karp, Andrew. Utopian Tension in L. Frank Baums Oz. Utopian Studies (1998) 103. Livingston, Nancy, and Catherine Kurkjian. Timeless and Treasured Books. The Reading Teacher 57. 1 (2003) 96+. Ziaukas, Tim. Baums Wizard of Oz as Gilded Age Public Relations. Pub lic Relations Quarterly 43. 3 (1998) 7+.