Paula Fernández P1
September 25, 2012
Wizard of Oz Analysis
What are the symbolic roles of Dorothy´s three companions? Might they be
symbols of Dorothy´s own personality? When, and how, do you see Dorothy
become loved? ...become wise? ...become courageous? How do Dorothy´s
experiences with love, wisdom and courage help make The Wizard of Oz a
popular movie for viewers all ages?
In the movie Dorothy is accompanied by the scarecrow, the tin man, and the
cowardly lion. Each of them wants something from the wizard. The three
characters are just like the workers in the farm back in Kansas. Dorothy relates
the characters to them because earlier before the tornado came each of them
told her she needed to become brave, smart, and loved. The three characters
wanting those three thinks reflect Dorothy´s desire to earn those three things. In
Kansas Dorothy runs away because she believes that the people don´t care
enough for her and don´t love her. She also falls into a pigpen and gets scared.
Then Dorothy is asked where her brain is. All of these things explain why she
believes she is lacking intelligence a heart and courage.
Dorothy stumbles into the Land of Oz scared, lonely, and more than a little bit
confused. Being constantly bothered by a which, having trees talk and throw
apples at you, a lion jump at you from behind the trees, and the wizard of Oz yell
at you and demand you kill a witch give Dorothy plenty of reasons to be scarred.
Slowly Dorothy faces each fear and realizes that some things aren´t as scary as
they seem. She slowly starts gaining confidence until at last when she discovers
the wizard behind the curtain she is no longer afraid of anything because she has
defeated most of your reasons to feel scared. Dorothy wakes up with her house
in the middle of a new land full of people she doesn´t know. She is told to follow
the yellow road and does this but she doesn´t have a friend in the entire world.
As she walks she meets the scarecrow that instantly becomes fond of her, then
the tin man you becomes really grateful for having been oiled again, and lastly
the cowardly lion that admires her braveness. When she is about to leave Oz she
figures out that everyone around her will miss her a lot because she has made
him or her happier. She finds that she has always been loved but she just didn´t
know it. The last thing that Dorothy learns from Oz is that she can be really
bright. At the beginning she feels bit stupid not knowing that scarecrows or trees
could talk and that there were good and bad witches. She gradually becomes
accustomed to the strange ways of the people of Oz and even becomes brighter
than a few. For instance she found a way to defeat the witch even do she had
feared her for a long time. She also realized how to get Oz to help them. She
passes a lot of different tests and challenges but when she leaves she knows of
her full capacity to reason and solve. When Dorothy wakes up from her dream
she finds that all of the things she learned she already had but just didn´t know
how to use.
This movie is for all ages because the lessons that Dorothy earns in Oz are things
that everyone can learn. Little kids might find it fascinating to learn of such
things. At the same time an adult or teenager watching the movie can be
remained of those values. Anyone can realize that they are underestimating
themselves. This movie helps people because since they can relate to the movie
they might enjoy it more. For example when Dorothy is at the witch´s castle and
Paula Fernández P1
September 25, 2012
her friends come to rescue her. Everyone has felt stuck in situations with people
like this and we know that it feel nice to know you have loyal friends and people
who are ready to help you and guide you on whatever you need. It is never too
early, or too late to find that you are smart, loved, and brave. Most people wish or
have these qualities. They also admire others who do. The three characters
admire Dorothy´s intelligence, braveness, and her ability to make people care for
her. The wizard of Oz is kind of a story on how you can earn a heart, a brain, and
courage if you do as Dorothy does.
How does Dorothy´s being female make The Wizard of Oz a different story?
Are there any parts of the story that seem unrealistic? Does Dorothy ever
do anything that is uncharacteristic of our expectations of a stereotypical
woman? How do you think this story would have changed if the main
character were a Kansas boy? Could the story have happened this way at
all?
Having Dorothy in the movie changes it a lot. Having Dorothy in the movie affects
it because people underestimate her. When the witch looks at her she only sees a
scared little girl who wants to go home. As she tries to defeat Dorothy and take
the shoes from her she makes plans that don´t work because Dorothy is much
more clever than she expected and has great friends that help her a lot. For
instance when the witch poisoned the flowers to make her sleep she didn´t
foresee the good witch helping her out my making it snow to stop the smells
from the flowers. Dorothy also changes the movie because even do she is braver
and bolder than most girls of the time she can still be scared and sentimental and
isn´t too proud to have others comfort and cheer her up. When she was in the
forest and started to become frightened she has the tin man and the scarecrow to
guide her forward and even do they are also scared she feels safer around them.
Then after showing that she can be afraid she shows her bravery and boldness
by hitting the lion even do it is a lot bigger and stronger than she is. Dorothy is
considerate and understanding and that is why she invited the lion, the tin man,
and the scarecrow to come along on her quest to get to Oz and after to kill the
witch.
Dorothy proves that she is not the helpless little girl that people sometimes
mistake her for. Throughout the entire movie Dorothy shows that she has
courage, a heart, and a brain. Dorothy also demonstrates that she is not the
typical girl. When she is walking down the yellow road she sees the scarecrow
and lets it down from his pole. This action as well as hitting the lion on the nose
when he tries to harm Toto is not what a typical young girl was, or is, expected to
do. There are also several parts in the movie in which she does things that aren’t
quite believable. For example I don´t think that at the beginning Dorothy is
daring enough to try to run away. Before she went to Oz she was a lot more timid
and hadn´t had any adventures what so ever.
I strongly believe that it is a good thing that the main character, Dorothy, is a girl.
I think that since Dorothy is a girl she can grow a lot in the movie. For example in
her trip to Oz she got more confidence, and realized that home is were she really
wanted to be no matter what. She also realized that she didn´t needed a heart, a
brain, or courage because she already had them and she only needed to use
them. If the main character was a boy he wouldn´t have been as considerate as
Paula Fernández P1
September 25, 2012
Dorothy and might have left the scarecrow in it´s pole and the tin man all rusted.
He might have also had more trouble with the witch because I think that she
would have tried bigger things than the poisoned flowers. In my opinion having a
boy instead of Dorothy might have been trickier because the boy would not care
about the shoes and if he did I don´t think that he would have worn sparkly red
shoes. Dorothy appealed to the wizard because he realized that they were the
same and that he also really longed to be home in Kansas and I think that a boy
might have a harder time passing that message on to the wizard. Another thing
that I believe that could have changed is that the boy wouldn´t have been that
sentimental and would not have tried running away and getting caught in the
tornado. I thought that the role of the main character being a girl fits in
wonderfully with the story because it gives the viewers a much more
dramatically change in the character and a chance to see the way she grows,
learns and evolves into a slightly different person.