Twoo Analysis

INTRODUCTION

The following book report is about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum. This is a story about a little girl named Dorothy who gets caught in a cyclone along with her dog Toto, and they are transported to the unknown Land of Oz where she meets amazing friends in her way to meet the Wizard of Oz, who is said to help her find a way to get back home.
The intention of this report is to analyze the following aspects:

• Symbolism and Imagery
• Irony
• Tone and Mood
• Point of View

Analysis of the Book

The Wizard of Oz by Lyman Frank Baum

SYMBOLISM
 The road of yellow bricks = it represents destiny, hope, a path. The road that will guide Dorothy and her friends to the city of Emeralds and get help from the Great Wizard of Oz.
 Toto the dog = little Toto represents friendship, loyalty, company. Dorothy's best friend, the one who makes her laugh and shares wonderful adventures with her.
 The mark upon Dorothy's forehead = the kiss that the Good Witch of the North gives to Dorothy means protection from danger. No one and nothing can hurt her.
 Big scarlet poppies= these flowers represent danger; the poisonous scent of the flowers is so powerful that people falls asleep.
 Silver shoes = the shoes that belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East mean power, magic. They have the power to transport people.
 The Emerald city = the city represents power, beauty and the ideal place.
 The Wizard of Oz = the wizard represents power, magic, help for Dorothy and her friends.
 Axe = more than a tool it represents aid, without it the Tin woodman would not have been able to overcome many situations.
 Dorothy = the girl herself represents courage, determination, innocence, faith.
 Cowardly Lion = he represents courage.
 Tin Woodman = he represents a hard-working person.
 The Scarecrow = to the crows he represents the presence of someone.
 Wolves, The great yellow Wildcat & the Kalidahs: all these creatures represent danger to Dorothy and her friends. They are also obstacles that they find as they go through their journey.
 The cyclone = it represents adversity, a big change to Dorothy’s destiny.
 Glinda, The Good Witch = she represents kindness, and aid to Dorothy as she helps the girl to return to Kansas.
 The Wicked Witch of the West = she represents evilness, the way she treats Dorothy and how she manage to steal the silver shoes are proof of it.


IMAGERY
The following phrases found in the story are examples of descriptive language that appeals to the reader’s sense:

 "Quick, Dorothy!" she screamed. "Run for the cellar!"

 “It was very dark, and the wind howled horribly around her…”

 “Toto did not like it. He ran about the room, now here, now there, barking loudly…”

 “When Dorothy was left alone she began to feel hungry. So she went to the cupboard and cut herself some bread, which she spread with butter.”

 “There were neat fences at the sides of the road, painted a dainty blue color, and beyond them were fields of grain and vegetables in abundance.”

 “When she had finished her meal, and was about to go back to the road of yellow brick, she as startled to hear a deep groan near by….” “Just then another groan reached their ears, and the sound seemed to come from behind them.”

 “The road was still paved with yellow brick, but these were much covered by dried branches and dead leaves from the trees, and the walking was not at all good.”

 There were few birds in this part of the forest, for birds love the open country where there is plenty of sunshine.”

 “Just as he spoke there came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great Lion bounded into the road.”

 “Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast had opened.”

 “They are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers," replied the Lion, "and with claws so long and sharp that they could tear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto.”
 “…the Scarecrow found on the riverbank a tree full of fine fruit. This pleased Dorothy, who had eaten nothing but nuts all day, and she made a hearty meal of the ripe fruit.”

IRONY

 The fact that the Wicked Witch of the East got accidentally killed by Dorothy and she (the Witch) was not able to save her own life or predict it.

 That the Wicked Witch of the West, being a witch, is not able to destroy Dorothy and her friends when she sees them coming to the Yellow Castle. She is not as powerful as a wicked witch is supposed to be.

 The Cowardly Lion: he is a Lion, who’s supposed to be the King of Beasts, however he is nothing but a coward.

 Dorothy travels through the Land of Oz to meet the Wizard of Oz who will help her get back to Kansas, but at the end she realizes that the wizard is an ordinary man and that she always had the power to get back home by her own by using the silver shoes.

 The “cowardly” Lion who calls himself a coward turns out to be very courageous and during the journey he protects his friends from evil creatures and adversity.

 The Scarecrow who is supposed not to have brains turns out to be very intelligent and comes up with great ideas to help his friends during their journey.

 The Tin Woodman who is supposed not to have a heart, is constantly showing his feelings though tears which proves that deep inside he can love.

TONE AND MOOD

The narrator makes the readers like the main characters and engages them to the story from beginning to end. The story is told in a cheerful and nice way. Sometimes it’s frightening.

POINT OF VIEW

The Wizard of Oz is told in Third Person Omniscient (second-hand account). The narrator lets us know what all characters feel, think and do during their journey through the Land of Oz, and he knows more about each one of the characters so we not only know about Dorothy who is the main character, but also about the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and Toto. The narrator is not a character of the story.