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People start their lives with open eyes and open hearts, but society corrupts them, turning them into shadows of what they once were. Children enter the world not judging anyone, and having no limitations; they believe anything is possible. As they grow and mature, they loose this valued quality in exchange for limitations, and settling into the status quo set by society. Children, at an early age, are fascinated with fairy tales, featuring princes and princesses living “happily ever after” and are instantly drawn to beauty and bright, colorful worlds, which in reality have been shaded by society. Authors began to grasp the imaginative quality we all once embodied, and channeled those thoughts and desires into fantasy novels, creating utopias and ideal societies for characters to experience. These fantasy novels address the American dream as well- living a successful, blissful life, and usually, finding love. Authors such as L. Frank Baum, J.M Barrie and J. K Rowling wrote these fantasy books to capture the desires and reams of Americans. Fantasy novels blossomed into an ideal method for authors to express the ideal society and American dreams of the era in which they were written.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L Frank Baum, a young girl, Dorothy Gale, is thrown into Munchkin County, a small city in the Land of Oz, when a cyclone comes ripping through Kansas, her hometown. She is immediately greeted by the munchkins, and Glenda, the good witch of the north, who informs her that she has killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy only wishes to return to her farm in Kansas, however, this is only possible if she travels to “Emerald City” to plead for help from the mighty Wizard of Oz. Along the way, she encounters various o...
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...so courage in themselves to speak up, and the Tin Woodman’s desire for a heart typifies Americas want for compassion from a leader and from each other. Another classic children’s book, Peter Pan and Wendy, commonly known as Peter Pan also presented a new, limitless world, where there was eternal youth and innocence, and good triumphed over evil. In addition to these early classics, the Harry Potter series, written by J. K Rowling, also created a magical world where good and innocence defeated evil and corruption. Harry Potter, an honest and clever young boy is idolized for his intelligence and power; Two commendable traits every leader should possess. Americans have been drawn to fantasy novels, similar to fairy tales all through history, and even today because they amuse their desires for innocence, the past, and the domination of good over evil- a greater world.
In 1939, Victor Fleming made a film version of L. Frank Baum’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” However, both the novel and the film focuses or touches on the same moral, it features the protagonist Dorothy who resides in Kansas the farm, along with her aunt Em and uncle Henry as well as her dog Toto. Both Baum’s novel and Fleming’s 1939 film adaptation the setting is in Kansas which is described as a small farm which Dorothy lives in which in Baum’s novel is picturized as gloomy, grey and dull. Throughout Fleming’s adaptation of Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” there are a number of differences which presents itself in a direct manner on screen as well as similarities. The variety of changes in the film’s adaptation tends to take away from the meaning of L. Frank Baum’s depiction in his novel to a certain level and extent.
Katelyn Matroni Professor Torrence English 102 February 12th, 2014. Meaning of Life According to Bruno Bettelheim, in Introduction: The Struggle for Meaning taken from The Uses of Enchantment, the use of fairy tales in a children’s life allows them to deal with their fears in a symbolic way. In order for a story to hold a child’s attention, it must “help him to develop his intellect and to clarify his emotions”(263). The use of fairy tales in Burn Your Maps, by Robyn Joy Leff, portrays the subtle but important influence of fairy tales on a child.
Lions and tigers and politics oh my? The Wonderful Wizard of OZ written by L. Frank Baum has become an American classic since 1900 with its simple good hearted storyline, but enough parallels have been found within the written text linking it to politics that suggests otherwise. Baum claims to have written the story solely for the pleasure of children and that he could never have imagined the impact it would have on the public. When the text was adapted to film nearly 40 years later, it became an instant block buster and captured the hearts of the movie going public. It remains an American favorite today thanks to its charismatic actors, dazzling colors, and unforgettable music. But The Wizard of Oz is not the simple tale it alludes to, under its façade of charm lies hidden themes and motifs filled with political symbolism referring to the Populist Party.
“The Wizard of Oz” is a beloved, classical movie among children and adults alike. The story is about a young Kansas girl who dreams of being picked up from her uncle’s farm in a storm; in the dream, she is carried away to a land different from anything she has ever seen. Along the way she meets new friends who all wish to ask something of the Great Wizard of Oz for themselves. Once they reach the great Emerald City, however, they find the city to be a fraud; the very thing each had been searching for was found within each of them. Historian Hugh Rockoff claims The Wizard of Oz contains numerous symbols of the political and social issues. His analysis is listed in the Journal of Political Economy. (Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, 1990, pp. 739-760).
Fairy tales are under attack in the United States from both right- and left-oriented pressure groups. (Ravitch, 62-96) From the left, the charges include sexism, stereotyping, distortion, and anti-humanism. (Ravitch, 84) From the right, the charges include immorality and objections to the portrayal of violence, death, and the supernatural. In addition, some critics claim that the tales terrify their children. (Ravitch, 76). In The Language Police, Diane Ravitch claims that both groups understand the importance of putting pressure on state textbook adoption committees, and that, as a result of such pressure, most major publishers are simply dropping the tales from the textbooks they sell to schools. (77-78) Thus parents who assume, or would prefer that, their children are reading traditional fairy tales in school may find themselves mistaken.
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Lyman Frank Baum, more commonly known as Frank Baum, was an American author generally known for his astonishing novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ”. However, Baum wrote many other intriguing pieces, including playwrights, journals, and children’s books. Baum was born and raised in Chittenango, New York and had a particularly comfortable upbringing due to his father owning a barrel factory. Frank Baum never earned a high school diploma; he instead spent a majority of his early adulthood pursuing his interests in writing and acting. It was not until 1899 that Baum made his first major appearance with “Father Goose-His Book”. The following year, Baum found himself in the limelight with a captivating novel titled “The Wonderful Wizard of OZ”. Baum’s
Ethan cai Dr.Friedman Us history Oct 06 Wizard of Oz:difference between the book and movie The Wizard of Oz was a story happened in the girl Dorothy’s dream. The girl Dorothy lived with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in a farm in Kansas. One day, after a strong cyclone, Dorothy found that she was at a very special place where she had never been before. The crazy cyclone brought Dorothy and her little dog Toto to a place named Munchkins.
When the word “fairytale” is mentioned, nearly everyone thinks of light-hearted stories with friendly characters and happy endings. However, these are not the ideas that classic fairytales originally sparked. In fact, numerous modern Disney movies were based off stories that were not so sugar coated. In the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm were responsible for multiple of these popular children’s tales. The Disney remakes of classic fairytales such as Cinderella, Tangled, and Snow White exclude the dark, twisted themes that are significant in the Brothers Grimm fairytales, because society tendencies continue to evolve toward sheltering and overprotecting young children.
“Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” In case you haven’t seen the film already, the plot to The Wizard of Oz (Oz) is profoundly complex and requires critical inquiry to unravel its intricacies. Dorothy, a forlorn Kansas farmgirl, daydreams of a fanciful fantasia where her dog, Toto, doesn’t have to suffer the nuisance of a nasty spinster witch of a neighbor. So, she plans to run away – far, far away. I know, a little weighty, but stick with me.
Fairy tales portray wonderful, elaborate, and colorful worlds as well as chilling, frightening, dark worlds in which ugly beasts are transformed into princes and evil persons are turned to stones and good persons back to flesh (Guroian). Fairytales have long been a part of our world and have taken several forms ranging from simple bedtime stories to intricate plays, musicals, and movies. However, these seemingly simple stories are about much more than pixie dust and poisoned apples. One could compare fairytales to the new Chef Boyardee; Chef Boyardee hides vegetables in its ravioli while fairytales hide society’s morals and many life lessons in these outwardly simple children stories. Because of this fairytales have long been instruments used to instruct children on the morals of their culture. They use stories to teach children that the rude and cruel do not succeed in life in the long run. They teach children that they should strive to be kind, caring, and giving like the longsuffering protagonists of the fairytale stories. Also, they teach that good does ultimately defeat evil. Fairy tales are not just simple bedtime stories; they have long been introducing cultural moral values into young children.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children’s novel that was published in 1900 and written by L. Frank Baum and because of its great success, it lead to the creation of the Oz series of thirteen additional books. Over the years, thousands of adaptations have been made of Baum’s novel. The most successful adaptation is The Wizard of Oz (1939) directed by Victor Fleming and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The film and the novel are both very similar, however there are many differences pertaining to the characters, plot and the series of events throughout the film.
The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling has been one of the most popular series to ever hit the bookshelves.The books aren’t focused on magic. J.K. Rowling just uses the idea of magical elements to make the series entertaining to read, yet still teach valuable life lessons along the way. These lessons can easily be applied and related to the daily lives of the readers. The Harry Potter series teaches readers the dangers of desire, the acceptance of others, the importance of teamwork and community and many others. The moral wisdom embedded in the Harry Potter books outweighs conservatives’ claims that wizardry is evil and that these books will result in evil children.
The Wizard of Oz was directed by Victor Fleming and was released in 1939. The movie is about Dorothy Gale, a young girl living on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Dorothy gets into some trouble with her neighbor, Miss Gulch, but everyone else on the farm is too busy to pay attention to her. Miss Gulch arrives with the sheriff to take away Dorothy’s dog Toto, because he bit her leg. Toto escapes the sheriff and Dorothy decides to run away with Toto. She meets a fortune teller who makes her, falsely, believe that Aunt Em is ill. So she runs home straight away, but as she gets there a tornado starts coming up. Not being able to get into the cellar, she is knocked out by flying debris and awakens to the house being carried away by the twister. The house lands in the World of Oz in Munchkin Land. Dorothy is greeted by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and the Munchkins. Dorothy is treated like a heroine because she killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda transfers the witch’s ruby slippers to Dorothy’s feet, and the Wicked Witch of the West swears revenge on her. Dorothy is told to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and talk to the Wizard of Oz to get her back home. On the way, she befriends the brainless Scarecrow, the heartless Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion. They get into some trouble, along the way, but they get to the Wizard. He said that he wouldn’t help unless they return with the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. After a lot of danger and the kidnapping of Dorothy, her new friends save her and Dorothy kills the evil witch. The witch’s guards rejoice and give Dorothy the broom. Back in the Emerald City the Wizard still will not grant the groups wishes and Toto exposes the Wizard to be ...
The construction of children’s literature was a gradual process. For a long period of time children’s books were frowned upon. The stories were said to be vulgar and frightening. Adults censored children’s ears to stories of daily life, tales with improbable endings were not to be heard. It was not until the mid 1800s that stories of fairies and princesses began to be recognized. Although children’s literature was accepted, the books were not available for all children. With limited access to education, few public libraries, and the books’ costs, these texts were only available to the middle and high- class. As public education and libraries grew so did the accessibility of books and their popularity. They no longer were considered offensive, but rather cherished and loved by many children. Children’s literature became orthodox and a revolution began, changing literature as it was known.