On the surface, The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum is seen as a children’s story conveying the message that there is “no place like home.” Dorothy represents an innocent child dreaming of a better, magical place than where she lives now, but as the story develops, this children’s story representing much more than a child finding her way back home. The larger, hidden meaning behind this story is one that depicts the political allegory for American politics at the beginning of the 20th century. Each character represents different social class struggles ultimately showing the corruption in politics and leaders. Because of this representation, Frank Baum’s intended audience is all people unhappy with the corruption within the government system as well as politicians themselves.
In many scenes of the book and film, “wild” is used to describe animals and beasts. One scene in particular regarding this type of wildness occurs at the beginning of chapter 6 titled: The Cowardly Lion. Along the yellow brick road, birds flew “for birds love the open country where there is plenty of sunshine” but every now and then “there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees.” It was said that this type of wildness “made the little girl’s heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them.” This type of wildness is described animalistically as these “wild” beasts install fear and uncertainty within Dorothy and her companions. These emotions are commonly associated with pathos as fear is an emotion many people can relate to. The different representation between the freedom the birds felt compared to the hidden, wild beasts infers a type of evilness and mystery.
Audrey Wines
I really loved your deeper analysis of the historical context and symbolism of the story. It tied back into the argument you made about who the target audience was really well. I also used the passage about the wild beast and the use of pathos behind it! You did a great job!