Wild Things Project

The communicator of The Wizard of Oz is Frank Baum, the author, and Dorothy, the protagonist. I believe the text truly speaks to adults, because if you analyze it deep enough, the characters and themes have a much deeper level than what is seen on the surface. Children aren’t able to pick up on this, but adults are able to process and analyze the deeper meaning within the story. 

Quote from chapter 18: “The road is straight to the South,” he answered, “but it is said to be full of dangers to travelers. There are wild beasts in the woods.” 

Dorothy is with her newly found friends, such as the Scarecrow and the Woodman, and they are looking for a way to cross the desert to go South. The soldier tells them that know one knows, except for the Witch of the South. The soldier tells them that they will have to follow the road “straight to the South” to find her. The soldier has ethos, or credibility because he has been living there for a long time, and he knows of the castle. There is pathos by giving fear to the audience in the line, “it is said to be full of dangers to travelers.” Finally, there is a sense of logos in the term “wild beasts.” The animals that dwell on the road to the south are considered both wild and beasts. Both of these terms, especially wild, can appeal to the audience logically, as they understand the dangers that Dorothy will face can be very uncontrollable and unexpected.

-Major Wheless

The Wizard of Oz is an interesting story because it blurs the line between the genres of children’s novels and adult/young adult novels. At face value, the story appears to be meant for children, with its whimsical characters and life lessons that appear to be fairly simple at first, but some may argue that it is meant for young adults, and that the lessons behind it may be deeper than they first appear. I think the communicator of this novel, Frank Baum, meant to blur this line and allow for a story to be written that could be meant for all ages. The audience of this novel is, I think, mostly children and young adults, although I think there are messages within the story that older adults could enjoy as well. 

Towards the end of the novel, Baum uses the word wild in the passage, “I shall go with Dorothy,” declared the Lion, “for I am tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again. I am really a wild beast, you know. Besides, Dorothy will need someone to protect her” (Baum, ch 18). In this passage, the Lion, after having felt insecure and considering himself a cowardly lion, finally accepts and embraces himself by labeling himself a “wild beast.” The Lion’s use of this word “wild” in describing himself has a positive connotation. He is embracing himself as a lion and allowing himself to feel “wild” instead of cowardly and tame. This positive connotation of the word “wild” is one of the fewer instances of the word being used in a very positive light, since in previous instances, the word was often used to describe the scary creatures that meant to hurt Dorothy.

Anna Ranslem

The Wizard of Oz was published by Frank Baum in the 1900s. Baum is the primary communicator, and the main characters facilitate bringing the story to life. Baum uses Dorothy, the Tin-man, the Lion, and the Scarecrow to enact the main messages of the story. Though there are deeper messages, I would still argue that this piece is a targeted towards children because of the many appeals the communicators make. Baum makes many allegories to historical events and some darker issues on politics. However, he breaks down these events in a way that even children could understand by using appeals to emotion through a captivating and magical fantasy land. The younger audience may not understand these ideas completely in the way they are connected to real life events, but they are able to understand the broad ideas the communicator is conveying. I feel as though if the author wanted to appeal to a specifically adult audience, he would not have made such whimsical characters and used fairytale-like aspects in the plot. This novel’s target audience is still marketed towards children, but the deeper messages could lend to a potentially older audience.

A notable passage that contains the use of the word “wild” is in the description of the King of Beasts in Chapter 21. Dorothy noted the “growling of many wild animals” and how the array of tigers, elephants, bears, wolves, and foxes frightened her. In this context, “wild” meant the untamed wilderness and wildlife in the forest. As the chapter progressed, the characters realized the animal was in fact a wild monster, and was described as, “the most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk.” This gives the connotation that this animal was wild because of the many absurd combinations of terrifying features it had. In this context, “wild” meant crazy and unusual. The author uses pathos to instill fear of this frightening beast among the audience.

elina chen

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 20^th 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

The novel The Wizard of Oz was written by L. Frank Baum and was published in 1900. Baum is the communicator of the story, and he attempted to communicate a social commentary in the form of a children’s story. The main demographic of the novel’s audience is children, however, the novel contains messages directed towards an older audience. I consider this book a children’s story because it reads like a fairy tale. Dorothy takes the role of the hero who defeats evil with the help of her companions, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. Glinda, the Good Witch, is similar to the fairy godmother from Cinderella. The Wicked Witch of the West and her minions are prime examples of fairy tale villains. However, the role of the wizard is a character I have trouble placing. The role and symbolism behind the Wizard’s character are why I think it would be incorrect to say that Baum did not consider an adult audience. Ultimately, I think there are aspects of this novel that are directed towards children and adult audiences. 

In chapter six of the novel, the word “wild” is addressed in the context of describing creatures that live in the realm of nature. Chapter six begins by describing Dorothy and her companions in the forest where they are separated from the rest of civilization, and there they meet the Cowardly Lion. The lion is introduced as a “wild” creature, and later on, in the chapter, “wild” beasts are mentioned. The word “wild” is rhetorically used to appeal to the reader’s pathos. In the chapter, Dorothy states, “..for you will help to keep away the other wild beasts.” The mention of “wild” animals living in the forest is meant to be terrifying because they exhibit uncontrollableness. This usage of “wild” exemplifies an appeal to pathos because Baum wanted to invoke the feeling of fear to emphasize the unknown of nature and the creatures that dwell in it.

-Anna Allen

The Wizard of Oz, was written by Frank Baum who serves as the story’s communicator. Through the characters and setting of the novel, Baum inputs his own beliefs about our own world. While Baum states that the book was written for children, there is deeper meaning in his words that appeals to adults. The Wizard of Oz uses a magical adventure in a fantasy world with a colorful cast of characters to appeal to younger audiences, but the topics covered can be seen as allegory of the early 1900s in the leadup to the Great Depression. The Good Witches of the North and South are representations of the common folk laborers. On the other hand, the Wicked Witches of the East and West represent corporate greed, politics, and mistreatment of workers. In addition, the Wizard of Oz himself represents the illusion of a powerful leader in politics, likely referring to the presidents at the time. The story at a surface level is likely to still appeal to kids though, with the supporting characters of the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion & the adventurer they go on with Dorothy.

One instance of the use of “wild” in the text is found in Chapter XXI, The Lion Becomes the King of Beasts. Dorothy’s group is walking through the notably rough country, noting that it “seemed wilder than ever”. This instance of the word uses it to describe the unruly nature of the terrain they are traversing, mentioning the muddy holes and tall, rank grass. Another instance is when the group refers to the animals of the forest as wild. Wild is used here to describe how the animals are native to nature or “the wilds”. This use of wild, being out in nature, is often paired with being uncivilized which is subverted later in the chapter. A pathos appeal is used to make the audience wary of the growing of the wild animals, appealing to their emotions to worry about the characters safety, only to instead explain that the animals are holding a “civilized” meeting.

– Kenny Ly

The communicator of the Wizard of Oz is Frank Baum. Its primary audience is children, but it has been enjoyed by people of all ages since its release. However, I see the Wizard of Oz primarily as a children’s story because of the themes and characters involved. The story follows the perspective of Dorothy, an innocent young girl who many children can relate to. Many of the characters in the story appeal to children due to their fantastical nature, such as a cowardly lion and a scarecrow with no brains.

Baum uses the word “wild” to describe the “wild crows” that were summoned by the Wicked Witch of the West to kill Dorothy and her companions. In this instance, “wild” means undomesticated or living in an untamed state of nature. This definition is coupled with a negative connotation in this passage, as the crows were minions of the Wicked Witch and attempted to tear apart the protagonists. Baum describes how the wild crows “flew in one great flock” towards Dorothy’s group, and how Dorothy grew “afraid” upon seeing them. Dorothy’s reaction reinforces how the wild nature of the crows is seen as frightening in this context. Crows that were more tamed might not act as savagely to Dorothy and her friends as wild crows. This scene also takes place in the West, which Baum describes as wild without explicitly using the word. Baum talks about how the ground in the West was “rougher and hillier” as well as “untilled.” This imagery fits within the definition of “wild” as existing without human care.

-Avinash K

In the Wizard of Oz, the communicator is author Frank Baum himself. As a writer well known for his children’s stories, Baum would be expected to write to an audience of American children for the main purpose of entertainment. Even though one intended audience group is children, there could also be a broader audience of adults who can “take in” the messages communicated throughout the novel and make connections to the context of the novel being written (ie. industrialization, the American populist movement, etc.). Since the novel may be perceived either at a surface-level or deeply, the audience consists of both children and adults.

In chapter 6 of the novel, the word “wild” is used to describe an “animal hidden among the trees” when Dorothy, Toto, the Tin Woodman, and Scarecrow are making their way through the woods. In this use of the polysemous word, “wild” is used to describe animals that live in the natural world without human interference. Furthermore, Baum paints this “wildness” to be something unknown, dangerous, and fear-invoking. By describing the lack of birds and sunlight in this part of the woods, the author paints the scene to be dark and lifeless. Additionally, Baum includes the sensory imagery of “the little girl’s heart beat[ing] fast” to describe how Dorothy reacts to the presence of wild animals in the woods. In doing so, Baum evokes a sense of fear and suspense in the audience as these wild animals cannot be seen, yet they are heard. In his novel, Baum adds an element of fright and suspense to the formal definition of “wild” in order to introduce a vital character in the story- the “Cowardly Lion”. By using something “wild” to scare the protagonist of the story, the author expresses the importance of courage within a person to overcome this fear.

Vivian Nguyen

The Wizard of Oz is told by the author, Frank Baum’s. The story is about a young girl named Dorothy, who is lost far away from her home in Kansas. Dorothy lands in a strange place during a tornado where she meets a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion. This story is considered a “children’s book”, because of Dorothy journey, but the story and events say otherwise.  Although the Wizard of Oz is filled with magic and magical creatures, the context can go deeper. There are some controversial topics concerning the Wizard of Oz and witches. The Wizard of Oz shows the untruthiness behind politicians and how they don’t do anything behind the scenes. As for the witches, it portrays the idea that there is such a thing as a “good” witch. However, children don’t interpret things this way and is attracted by the magical land. To add, many “wild” things happen in the story that children love to witness. There are talking animals, magic, the scenario is colorful, and there is friendship shown. The lion and other companions of Dorothy creates a mystical and extraordinary story that entertains kids.

One part that contains the word “wild” is in chapter 18, where the lion states, ““for I am tired of your city and long for the woods and the country again. I am really a wild beast, you know. Besides, Dorothy will need someone to protect her.” “Wild” is used here to describe the lions need for nature and to not be domesticated. He has grown tired of the city and its restriction on behaviors and wishes to be himself without any expectations. This “wildness” in him will provide safety and protection for Dorothy. This use of pathos appeals to children by providing them a sense of security for Dorothy. It gives them hope and joy that the lion will come along and protect her.

-Jaileen Gutierrez

The communicator of the Wizard of Oz is L. Frank Baum (the author) and is written in the perspective of the main character Dorothy. In the introduction, Baum reveals that he wrote this story as a fairy tale for children. I see it as a children’s story because it explores a “fantasy” world which Dorothy falls into after getting caught inside of a tornado. In this fantasy world, Dorothy bumps into Lion, Tin Woodman, and Scare Crow which all teach her valuable lessons. Finally, Dorothy meets a wicked witch which causes her to want to go home. All of these fantasy characters are used to appeal to children, as they would be entertaining for younger children to read about. 

The first mention of wildness in this book is when Dorothy is walking through the woods with Tin Woodman and “there came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees.” The growl frightens Dorothy and Tin Woodman, however they later find out that the growl came from Lion. The author mainly uses pathos to instill fear in the readers, as the Lion lets out a “terrible roar” when coming out of the forest. Even Toto is frightened by the Lion as he “had an enemy to face” and starts running “barking toward the Lion.” The author builds up fear in both the characters and the readers leading up to the reveal of the Lion. Ironically, however, the Lion is the one that is scared of them and only wants to learn how to not be a coward . In this passage, the word wild means untamed and ferocious as the Lion is thought to be an untamed and ferocious animal from the forest. However, the audience later finds out in the story that the Lion is kindhearted and not as wild as he is first presented to be. 

Kristine Chin