How The Wizard Of Oz Relates To History
If you look deeper into everyday things, you may find that some characters or objects in a story represent real-life people or scenarios. When I was a young child, I watched the “The Wizard of Oz,” all the time; but when we watched it together in my U.S. History Class, I realized that the meaning is much deeper than it seems. Many of the characters and significant places or things in the movie can represent people, places, things and ideas from American history. There are many ways to connect “The Wizard of Oz,” to history.
In “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy is a simple girl who gets caught up in a huge scenario involving wizards, flying monkeys, and many other strange creatures. I believe that she represents African Americans and their struggle for freedom. From the beginning of her journey in the Land of Oz; which could be seen as American is this case, Dorothy faces disapproval from the Witch of the West. She, like African Americans, also faces much more hardship before she is accepted. She must follow a path that she has been told will lead her to freedom. This may represent the Underground Railroad that African American slaves followed to freedom. After traveling for what seems like forever on the yellow brick road, Dorothy finally reaches the one that she hopes will finally be able to send her home, the Wizard of Oz. This is similar to when President Lincoln officially abolished slavery on December 18, 1865 and all African American slaves could finally be free, like Dorothy would be free of Oz and the Wicked Witch. In the movie, nevertheless, the Wizard of Oz still requires one more task to be completed. This shows the racism and segregation that still took place even after slavery was ended. The task that Dorothy had to complete to gain the ability to get home seemed almost impossible at first; to retrieve the broom stick from the Wicked Witch. Considering the group she was with; a cowardly lion, a heartless tin man and a brainless scarecrow, didn’t seem like
In “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy is a simple girl who gets caught up in a huge scenario involving wizards, flying monkeys, and many other strange creatures. I believe that she represents African Americans and their struggle for freedom. From the beginning of her journey in the Land of Oz; which could be seen as American is this case, Dorothy faces disapproval from the Witch of the West. She, like African Americans, also faces much more hardship before she is accepted. She must follow a path that she has been told will lead her to freedom. This may represent the Underground Railroad that African American slaves followed to freedom. After traveling for what seems like forever on the yellow brick road, Dorothy finally reaches the one that she hopes will finally be able to send her home, the Wizard of Oz. This is similar to when President Lincoln officially abolished slavery on December 18, 1865 and all African American slaves could finally be free, like Dorothy would be free of Oz and the Wicked Witch. In the movie, nevertheless, the Wizard of Oz still requires one more task to be completed. This shows the racism and segregation that still took place even after slavery was ended. The task that Dorothy had to complete to gain the ability to get home seemed almost impossible at first; to retrieve the broom stick from the Wicked Witch. Considering the group she was with; a cowardly lion, a heartless tin man and a brainless scarecrow, didn’t seem like