Post on 03-Jan-2016
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Is The Wizard of Oz a musical fantasy or a “parable on Populism”?
UNMASKING THE WIZARD OF OZ
L. Frank BaumThe Author of The Wizard of Oz
In favor of many Populist movements
Political views may have influenced writing
Helped produce a musical which was the premise for the
1939 MGM musical
What is Populism?
Populists in late nineteenth century
America wanted to help the common people
They advocated measures that would help
farmers and laborers
They supported the free coinage of silver and “bimetallism”
The Populist metaphors can be found in…
•Settings
•Key Objects
•Characters
KANSAS IN THE LATE 1800s
Farmer discontent and Populist politics were
concentrated in Kansas
Suffering from a drought—many farmers
going through hard times
Farmers wanted the free coinage of silver to
help them out of debt
•Dorothy wants out— “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
•“Uncle Henry” was a famous editor of a farmer’s alliance newspaper
Silver is measured in ouncesBright and colorful “Oz”= ounce
THE EMERALD CITY
•Main political city of Oz
•Symbolizes the national capital, as well as paper money (farmer’s supported the “greenbacks” system of paper money)
CYCLONE
•Some pamphlets compared the depression of the 1890s
to a cyclone
•Also, could be the political turmoil caused by the debt of the farmers
Dorothy’s house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East (what might farmer’s have thought was
“wicked” about the East?)
The Ruby Slippers
•Originally silver in Baum’s book, changed to ruby because of color technology
•Symbolize the power of the silver movement
The Yellow Brick Road
Represents balance between silver and gold movements
Journey on road is dangerous—gold standard might not be wise
DOROTHY
•Represents “common people”
•From a Kansas farm (why Kansas?)
•Does not see the power of slippers
at first
THE SCARECROW
Represents farmers
Farmers thought to be ignorant—looking for a brain
Shows common sense throughout the story—has always had a brain
Shows belief that farmers were not as ignorant as wealthy people thought
THE TIN MAN
•Industrial workers
•Wants a heart—dehumanized
•Physically strong, hollow inside
•Stuck when the found him—workers
felt trapped in an economic rut
THE COWARDLY LION
•Represents William Jennings Bryan—Populist leader
•Looking for courage—Bryan thought to be a coward by some
•…but he possessed courage all along
Glinda the Good Witch
•Glinda in the book was the Good Witch from the South
•Why the South?
WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST
•Personification of harsh natural forces of west, such as the drought
•Dorothy’s main adversary—present throughout entire story
•Poppy field (major obsession with China and their opium problems distracted many Americans from farmer’s plight)
•“Once free” flying monkeys, moved from their forest…who might these represent?
She is killed by water, just like a drought
THE WIZARD
•Represents political leadership during the depression
•Everyone saw the Wizard in a different light (was he good? Bad? Did he really have any power?)
•Toto (the average person) revealed who the Wizard REALLY was…