Discussion Report, Group __________________ Reporter:__________________________

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1.  There are several "political" interpretations of the Wizard of Oz.  The older one, by Henry M. Littlefield, "described all sorts of hidden meanings and allusions to Gilded Age society in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: the wicked Witch of the East represented eastern industrialists and bankers who controlled the people (the Munchkins); the Scarecrow was the wise but naive western farmer; the Tin Woodman stood for the dehumanized industrial worker; the Cowardly Lion was William Jennings Bryan, Populist presidential candidate in 1896; the Yellow Brick Road, with all its dangers, was the gold standard; Dorothy's silver slippers (Judy Garland's were ruby red, but Baum originally made them silver) represented the Populists' solution to the nation's economic woes ("the free and unlimited coinage of silver"); Emerald City was Washington, D.C.; the Wizard, "a little bumbling old man, hiding behind a facade of paper mache and noise,... able to be everything to everybody," was any one of the Gilded Age presidents."  But this interpretation confuses Populists with other pro-silver thinkers, and assumes that Baum was a Democrat, which may not have been so by the time the book was written.  A different view is expressed by William R.  Leach, who found that the book "exalted the opulence and magic of the metropolis. The Emerald City, with its prosperous homes and luxurious stores, resembled nothing as much as it did the "White City" of Chicago's Columbian Exposition of 1893, which Baum had visited several times.  Furthermore, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz reflected Baum's belief in theosophy, a spiritualist/occultist quasi-religious movement that was popular in the late nineteenth century. Specifically, the book emphasized an aspect of theosophy that Norman Vincent Peale would later call "the power of positive thinking": theosophy led to "a new upbeat and positive psychology" that "opposed all kinds of negative thinking--especially fear, worry, and anxiety." It was through this positive thinking, and not through any magic of the Wizard, that Dorothy and her companions (as well as everyone else in Oz) got what they wanted. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an optimistic secular theraputic text," wrote Leach. "It helped make people feel at home in America's new industrial economy, and it helped them appreciate and enjoy, without guilt, the new consumer abundance and way of living produced by that economy." Leach concluded that "the book both reflected and helped create a new cultural consciousness--a new way of seeing and being in harmony with the new industrial order." (Internet article describing interpretations of Baum's story).  What do you think?

2. Baum says that he has written a "modernized fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartache and nightmares are left out."  Is that true?

3.1 and 3.2  The Hollywood movie changes many aspects of the book that do not necessarily affect its meaning (e.g., Dorothy's apparent age, the addition of songs and dances, the omission of certain episodes).  But it also makes changes that affect the plot and  theme: (1) It greatly expands the presentation of Kansas, adding characters parallel to the major figures in Dorothy encounters in Oz, and makes the whole story a dream. Discuss.  (2) It eliminates one good witch and gives the remaining good witch and the surviving bad witch the role of Dorothy's protector and opponent respectively, whereas in the book she and her friends must extricate themselves from their difficulties and are opposed by the Wicked Witch only when they are trying to eliminate her.  Likewise, they are helped by Glinda only when they go to see her.  Discuss.

4. 1 and 4.2. In a sense the book is a travelogue, a look at another world.  But it is also a quest: each of the four central figures is pursuing a goal. (1) How does Baum vary his "wonders" and how does he relate them to his quest structure?  Do the four central figures have the same responsibilities in each episode, or does each show strengths and weaknesses at various times?  Does time pass?  Does Dorothy's visit affect Oz?  (2) Most quests are for objects (including knowledge) or powers (including the "slaying" of evils) that the seekers donot yet have. Their  friends assist the heroes in pursuing their goals.  After the goal is achieved, the seeker returns home in triumph.  How does the quest of Dorothy and her friends resemble and differ from this?