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Symbolism in the wonderful wizard of oz
Symbolism in the wonderful wizard of oz
Symbolism in the wonderful wizard of oz
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The wonderful wizard of Oz is about Dorothy who is a girl from Kansas. A tornado comes to her house and takes her house with her in it to the mythical land of Oz.Dorothy wakes up to see that she is in an unfamiliar place. She meets a witch that tells her that she needs to go to the great wizard Oz who,lives in the Emerald city if she wants to get home. On her way to the city she meets three new companions to accompany her on her journey. After talking to the great Oz, she is told that if she wants to get home that she needs to kill the wicked witch of the west, then Oz will make her go home. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum uses color to relate to the reader the importance of certain items.
The novel starts off in Kansas which is described to be very grey. This is to show the dullness of Kansas. The description of grey is used to make life in Kansas seem very boring and drab compared to life in the land of Oz. This contrast makes Kansas look very terrible to live in when the reader hears the way that Oz is described as. The importance of this color is to show that home is where the family is. Dorothy wants to go home even though Oz is a much more exciting and beautiful place to live. The color grey shows the reader that being with your family truly makes you happy
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The color of the road is important because it is very valuable to Dorothy like gold is very valuable. Baum used this similarity to the the importance of the road. Without the road, Dorothy would not have been able to make it to the city. Dorothy would not have been able to get home to Kansas without the yellow brick road. Dorothy also met all three of her friends while on the yellow brick road. This also shows why the yellow brick road is
The narrative begins with Dorothy, who lives on a farm in a black and white setting presuming the absence of vitality and the insufficiency of a place that was in poverty at the time. However, when Dorothy is picked up by a twister and wakes up in the Land of Oz, she finds herself in a completely opposite environment full of life, beauty, and color filled with new found opportunities. On her quest to Emerald City, Dorothy is presented with a few characters who are The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, and The Scarecrow who all feel like they need something more to complete them and they all seek out the “all powerful” wizard to obtain the things they want. The items they yearn for were a brain, a heart, and courage. Three things that we learn to utilize with experiences we go through. The characters eventually realize that they have always had what they have been longing for after the many obstacles they came through on their journey. In the end, Dorothy says, “If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't
To conclude, The Wizard of Oz is a lively story. L. Frank Baum was a success in bringing this story to life through the use of color. The many descriptions of the gray Kansas, yellow brick road, and Emerald City aid the readers to imagine the tale through a very unique way. Color overall is a huge contribute to the way readers feel and think. Color plays the role of imagination and creativity in this piece of
During 1939, The Wizard of Oz made its debut in the United States. Based off the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, the movie displays the mystical adventure of a young girl, Dorothy Gale. Beginning in Kansas on Dorothy’s aunt and uncle’s farm, the film focuses around Dorothy and her monotonous life. Shortly into the movie, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are swept away by a twister and dropped off in the magical Land of Oz. Here she meets the Good Witch of the North, Glinda. She advises Dorothy to follow the Yellow Brick Road and find the Wizard, who can grant Dorothy her wish of returning to Kansas. Along her path to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz lives, she encounters the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Each
Frank L. Baum uses many colors through the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the colors he uses symbolize many different thinks and people may interpret differently. The color white represents good witches and wizards. White symbolizes the purity and good nature of the good witches. The color black represents the bad witches. Black represents darkness and evil. In this story the good side always wins, this could be shown by the witches clothing. In darkness or blackness even the smallest white or light will shine through the darkness. These are just a few of the many colors used to symbolize different things in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The allegory behind of Dorothy and her background relates perfectly to the political issues that took place in real life during the time the book was written. Dorothy, the main character of the story, represents the common good hearted citizen; she is essentially who every American strives to be. Dorothy embodies positive characteristics and is viewed as the girl next door. She lives in Kansas where everything from the landscape to the lifestyle is portrayed as being lifeless and lackluster during the beginning of the book. The unfavorable depiction of Kansas relates to the condition is was in during the late1880’s when it was plagued by sweltering droughts, harsh winters, and invasions of insects leaving it a wasteland. The angry people of Kansas combated the politicians who did not care for the predicament they were in, this is when the Populist Party arose to become the people’s party and fight for their rights. Populism spread like a wildfire throughout the Midwest and the south. Kansas was chosen as the
In the novel, play, and the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” had multiple opinions that explained the arguement on whether or not Frank Baum meant to use "The Wizard of Oz" story as a parable on the Populist movement. Ever since it was first publicated in 1900, Lyman Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been very popular to all age groups, providing the basis for a profitable musical comedy, three movies, and a number of plays on broadway. It is an orginal creation, curiously warm and touching, although no one really knows why, despite its acceptance by generations of readers, Baum's story has been given neither critical acclaim, nor critical examinations. An interested scholar, such as Martin Gardiner, looked upon The Wizard of Oz as the first sequel in a series of Oz stories, and probably base their appreciation of Baum's talent on all of his works.
Throughout the course of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum implements the use of colors in order to give the readers a sense of urgency whether it symbolizes the danger of the situation which Dorothy and her group are facing or it simply represents the different people in the land of Oz, as they are all very different. Color also plays an important part in both the setting and tone of the story. From the very beginning L. Frank Baum uses colors to highlight the sharp contrast between the land of Oz and Kansas he does so by describing Kansas as a dull, and life less gray place as opposed to the vibrant and colorful Oz, not only did he highlight physical changes but by describing these two very different places the author also manages
The yellow wallpaper referenced in the title of the story holds significant symbolic meaning relating to the oppression of the narrator and the progression of her psychological deterioration. Early on, the narrator expresses her disdain for the yellow paper covering the walls of her temporary bedroom, referring to it as “that horrid paper,” and declaring it the worst wallpaper she had ever seen in her life (Gilman 77, 79). The frequently mentioned pattern of the wallpaper, which is particularly exasperating to the narrator, symbolizes the societal patterns of gender-related restrictions. “It is […] pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit
In Chapter 7 of the Backpack Literature book, the literary elements that focuses on in “The Yellow Wallpaper” is symbols. In the literature world, symbols are basically different kind of things like objects, people, or places that have a meaning behind it to get readers to understand what the story or book is trying to explain. This short story caught my attention the most because being a psychology major reading stories about someone that is has a mental disorder or searching for help for their disorder is interesting because I have to know all the different types of mental disorders out there and willing to help patients overcome it. It also has a thriller-feel to the story that makes the story more intriguing. In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the main situations that were important to me was the difference between the narrator and he husband, the mansion, and the
1. The Yellow Wallpaper: The wallpaper is, as the title suggests, the chief symbol in this story. What does it symbolize, and how does it work as a symbol? What details about the wallpaper seem significant? How does the narrator 's attitude toward and vision of the wallpaper change, and what is the significance of those changes?
The first major connection in The Wizard of Oz was the Scarecrow. The scarecrow was used to symbolize the farmers and their struggles in America in the 18th century (Foner, Eric 636-640). The scarecrow made of straw was vulnerable with no brain. The scarecrow had little control over the circumstances he was facing just as the farmers did in the 18th century. The western farmers had issues with overproduction and when prices fell farmers suffered ended up losing their farms (Foner, Eric
After the witch’s threats, the Scarecrow and Tin Man vow to stay with Dorothy. This is when Dorothy feels a familiarity with the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. They are not afraid of the wicket witch. They continue to walk, with the sound of the forest in the back ground, but Dorothy is afraid of meeting wild animals in the forest. Suddenly a lion appears, noisy and acting ferocious; he wants to fight them all. Initially, they are afraid, but Dorothy hits the lion and chastises him; the lion begins to cry and thinks his nose is bleeding. Dorothy calls him a big coward, he agrees and says he even scare himself. They suggest the Wizard of Oz could give the lion courage. He calls himself a dandelion. They head to the wizard to get a heart, a home, a brain, and coverage. The wicked witch of the west is behind the scene making a poison and puts it in the beautiful land scape of miles and mile of flowers. This is an area Dorothy must cross to get to the emerald city. Dorothy and company can now see The Emerald City in the distance. They began to walk across the colorful flowers towards the Emerald City and they can again see the yellow brick road. Dorothy suddenly becomes dizzy and sleepy, her and mentors and allies offers to pull her alone, but Dorothy and Toto and the lion falls asleep. The Tin Man and Scarecrow wants to carry Dorothy when realizing that
...oney to sustain themselves. Many of them felt trapped, as if behind the hideous yellow wallpaper. They were expected to have a domestic life, oppression was present in and out of the house. The color yellow is prominent in the story, it is a lively color that is often used to symbolize life and energy. The use of the lively yellow color contrasts the feelings of the narrator. The narrator realizes that herself as the woman becoming a freed woman from the oppression of the yellow wallpaper, which represents the Victorian society. At the end of the short story, when the wife refuses to leave and the husband faints she symbolically steps over his body to freedom. Imagery present in “The Yellow Wallpaper” shows the narrators slow spiral into madness. The imagery along with the oppression and isolation felt by the narrator lead to lunacy which eventually set her free.
Red ruby slippers. Green emerald city. Yellow brick road. These are just of the few iconic colors that bring to life The Wizard of Oz film. But before color even gets introduced, we see Dorothy in a monotone world of black and white with a sepia toned film. Set in the middle of Kansas, the viewer gets a sense of boredom and bareness. It seems as if the only people in that whole state are Dorothy, her immediate family and the farmhands! However, after her house gets lifted up and redeposited, she opens the door to a world of Technicolor. Your eyes are shocked as the screen is filled with various bright colors. The colors of Munchkin Land symbolize a vibrant, surreal, dreamlike adventure. It creates moods of happiness and security for the viewer as we are transported back to a world we know; color. In his article Color and Storytelling in Films, Robert Mills says, “Kansas is described as grey and lifeless whilst
The Wizard of Oz is a fiction story written by L. Frank Baum. The story has two main settings. The first setting is, Dorothy’s home, the Kansas prairies. The prairies are described as dry and gray. The second setting is the land of Oz. Oz is opposed from Kansas, it is colorful, bright, and full of joy. The Wizard of Oz has a grate theme or message behind the story. The message is that we all have good qualities in us, but it is up to us to use them.