Wizard Of Oz Analysis

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Movies, books and other media have been used over the years to convey complex ideas or opinions on a variety of subject matter. The movie the Wizard of Oz was released to the public on August 25, 1939. It tells the story of a young farm girl, Dorothy, and her dog Toto who were transported to the magical Land of Oz after a tornado picks up their house. In Oz Dorothy searches for the great and powerful wizard who can send her and Toto home. The movie the Wizard of Oz demonstrates a strong feeling of home throughout the whole film. Even though Dorothy was desperate to escape Kansas she knows that her aunt and uncles farm is where she belongs. In the movie Dorothy learns through her colorful adventures in Oz that happiness is relative term, and she has the power to make her life what she wants it to be. One of the most famous ideas from the Wizard Of Oz is that “ There is no place like home” in an article called There is no place like home right? …show more content…
by William Johnston he takes the idea even further by saying “there is no place like home even if we may not want to live there.” The movie the Wizard Of Oz is about a young girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto who live with her aunt and her uncle on a farm in Kansas. Dorothy is bored with her drab farm life and dreams of a far off place with golden roads and good witches. When a twister hits her home she and Toto fail to make it to the cellar and get stuck in the house as it is lifted into the air and transported to the magical Land of Oz. Oz is a wonderful place that Dorothy describes as A place with lovely patches of green sward all about, with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits. Banks of gorgeous flowers were on every hand, … A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies. (“The Wonderful Wizard…”) Dorothy is in awe by this magical place that poses such a stark contrast to Kansas. It has beautiful lush scenery that speaks to the yearning that she has deep down inside of her to escape to a new and exotic place. The Land of Oz represents everything that Dorothy thinks she wants, from magical creatures to the freedom to dream and paly in verdant fields filled with poppies. Dorothy is so disenchanted with her life and the things that she doesn’t have that she does not see everything that she does have. Frank L. Baum the author of the Wizard of Oz does a remarkable job showing Dorothy’s discontent in the songs “somewhere over the rainbow” (Wizard of Oz) and “Off to see the wizard” (Wizard of Oz). Youth it can fee like there isn’t a place in the world for them and this is conveyed in the beginning scenes on the farm. She feels misunderstood at home and that she longs for adventure. Symbolically, Dorothy, who dreams of lands beyond the rainbow… to soar beyond the ordinary and the mundane - and in her attempt to escape the boring, drab, and painful existence of home. (Paige, Linda Rohrer) One example would be when Mrs. Gulch is coming for Toto; Dorothy goes to the farm hands and her aunt and uncle trying to get help, but no one will listen to her. Since nobody could help her Mrs. Gulch takes Toto, which is very upsetting to Dorothy because she feels like her problems are not important enough to the adults for them to help her. This message is important in all time periods but in modern day more then ever because it is a very relatable message for youth everywhere. Everyone at some point or another will feel discontented with his or her home lives. Whether it is an unhappy teenager, a 50 year old having a mid-life crisis or an embittered old woman who realized she never lived. The feeling of discontent is natural to human nature but people

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