Wizard of Oz Political Allegory
Janell Marshall
December 29, 2013
Lewis- APUSH
“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”, repeated Dorothy. A young girl trying to go back home to Kansas after a cyclone lands her and her dog, Toto, in the Land of Oz. There Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the TinMan, and the Cowardly Lion who are all in need of something that is considered important to them; a brain, a heart, and courage. Along the way, they have to travel to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz, directed by the Good Witch of the North, especially for Dorothy to get back home. However, Dorothy and the gang run into problems with the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants Dorothy’s ruby slippers (which was originally the Wicked Witch of the East shoes). In America, in the late 1890’s, the Populist Movement was in full throttle. Populism is “government of, for, and by the people”. The Populist Party was a political party, which was a collection of various social groups against monopolies and the rich. In these social groups, included poor white farmers from the South; wheat farmers in the Mid-Western states such as Kansas, Nebraska; African- Americans; and Northern factory workers. These oppressed groups naturally didn’t agree with banks, railroads and the rich. The Populist Movement relates to the Wizard of Oz because it portrays the people of these places as fools because some actually do listen to these presidents who really don’t have the American people best interest at heart. Also, the events that occurred during the Populist Movement involving farmers, their hardships, oppressed workers, and politics mirrored Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. Therefore, this shows how the Wizard of Oz proves to be a political parable.
In the text, Dorothy is a young girl who is always laughing and playing with her dog, Toto. She lives in the dry, Great Plains of Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who is a farmer. They live in a rundown
December 29, 2013
Lewis- APUSH
“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”, repeated Dorothy. A young girl trying to go back home to Kansas after a cyclone lands her and her dog, Toto, in the Land of Oz. There Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the TinMan, and the Cowardly Lion who are all in need of something that is considered important to them; a brain, a heart, and courage. Along the way, they have to travel to Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz, directed by the Good Witch of the North, especially for Dorothy to get back home. However, Dorothy and the gang run into problems with the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants Dorothy’s ruby slippers (which was originally the Wicked Witch of the East shoes). In America, in the late 1890’s, the Populist Movement was in full throttle. Populism is “government of, for, and by the people”. The Populist Party was a political party, which was a collection of various social groups against monopolies and the rich. In these social groups, included poor white farmers from the South; wheat farmers in the Mid-Western states such as Kansas, Nebraska; African- Americans; and Northern factory workers. These oppressed groups naturally didn’t agree with banks, railroads and the rich. The Populist Movement relates to the Wizard of Oz because it portrays the people of these places as fools because some actually do listen to these presidents who really don’t have the American people best interest at heart. Also, the events that occurred during the Populist Movement involving farmers, their hardships, oppressed workers, and politics mirrored Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion. Therefore, this shows how the Wizard of Oz proves to be a political parable.
In the text, Dorothy is a young girl who is always laughing and playing with her dog, Toto. She lives in the dry, Great Plains of Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who is a farmer. They live in a rundown