Symbolism In Frank L. Baum's The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz

Frank L. Baum begins The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in Kansas, a land devoid of color and life, to show Dorothy’s dismal world. Her Aunt Em, who had once been a beautiful woman, has become as colorless as the gray and dried vegetation on her farm. When Dorothy is caught in a cyclone, she is transported to a colorful and lively world, but she desperately tries to return to the colorless farm. Inherently Dorothy knows that home is where one’s loved ones live not some beautiful illusion. However, on her journey home Dorothy becomes enticed by the illusion of the prosperous Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy, along with the friends who join her, willingly follow the Great and Terrible Wizard rather than looking within themselves to find their

In the land of the Wicked Witch of the West, the inhabitants are referred to as “yellow Winkies,” and these people, who are “not a brave people,” are afraid to fight the witch and become enslaved. Like the Winkies, the Cowardly Lion believes he is not courageous. He has developed the strategy of roaring to scare his enemies like the Kalidahs, but the Lion runs away when he is challenged. For example, when the Lion meets the great Wizard of the Emerald City, he is prepared to scare the Wizard into complying with his desires; however, the Wizard appears as a Ball of Fire, singeing the Lion’s whiskers, causing the Lion to run away in fear. Yet, when the Lion’s friends are in danger, he demonstrates courage. As the Woodman, the Scarecrow, Dorothy, Toto and the Lion are traveling to the Emerald City, they encounter “a very wide ditch” that is “very deep” and has “many big, jagged rocks at the bottom.” With great risk to himself, the Lion offers to jump across the divide with his companions on his back to bring them to safety. The Lion’s golden mane and cowardly demeanor make him appear yellow, but inwardly he is not. He can not see that he is truly

The main characters follow a brick road made of yellow, a sort of guiding light, to find the Wizard so that he may provide them with what they desire most. However, the road is not a beacon, just as the Emerald City is not truly green. Both are illusions. In order to enter the city the main characters are required to wear green spectacles that are locked onto their heads. The Guardian of the Gate explains that if Dorothy and her friends do “not wear spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind” them. He further explains that “even those who live in the City must wear spectacles night and day.” This edict was enacted by Oz “when the City was first built.” What the characters do not realize is that by being forced to wear green glasses, Oz controls how they perceive the world. Dorothy and her friends are as enslaved by Oz as much as the Munchkins and Winkies have been held in bondage by the witches. Oz is more deceptive because he deceives everyone into wanting to wear the glasses in order to be “dazzled by the brilliancy of the wonderful City.” The color green symbolizes the concept of success and vitality. In the Emerald City “everyone seem[s] happy and contented and prosperous.” Baum uses the verb “seems” to suggest that this may be a false notion. When Dorothy leaves the Emerald City and removes her green glasses she notices the silk dress is “no longer green, but pure