The Wizard of Oz is an interesting novel because it’s usually considered a children’s story due to the funky characters and magic, even though some believe the story actually alludes to further hidden meanings that only mature adults can comprehend. The communicator of this piece would be the author, Frank Baum, because he is using third-person point of view to narrate this story. The audience to which this book is marketed towards would be children because of the whimsical characters, however, this piece speaks to mature adults on a deeper level through its hidden metaphors and symbolism.
A passage in this novel that contains the word “wild” would be the second paragraph in chapter 6. Here, the author is describing Dorothy’s and her friends’ journey through the woods as they walk along the yellow brick road. They hear sounds of various animals and the narrator notes, “But now and then there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees. These sounds made the little girl’s heart beat fast, for she did not know what made them; but Toto knew, and he walked close to Dorothy’s side, and did not even bark in return.” In the context of this sentence, the word “wild” is describing animals that reside in the woods as untamed and ferocious. The rhetorical appeal of ethos is used when Dorothy’s small dog, Toto, is given credibility in knowing that the wild growls they heard belong to larger, more dangerous animals. The rhetorical appeal of logos is also used when Toto relies on reasoning and decides to not mess with the unknown beasts by barking back at them. Finally, the rhetorical appeal of pathos is also seen in this passage when Dorothy’s feelings are clearly portrayed as her heart starts to beat super fast because she is afraid of the wild animals.
Katsiaryna Aliashkevich
I like how talk about ethos in relation to the story. I way to improve could be by adding a short summary of the book. It could also tell the readers what metaphors or symbolism the story gives adult readers. I like how you chose to talk about the dog Toto due to how they could be argued to be wild by being an animal.
-Stephanie Wilhite