The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Country lass Dorothy Gale lives a rather simple life in Kansas with her pup Toto. She has been taken in by her Uncle Henry and Auntie Em and treated as their own. One thing of importance highlighted in the household is preparedness for tornadoes. The house is equipped with a basement bunker for such an event. When the dreaded tornado finally comes about, Dorothy does not make it underground in time and is blown away along with the house. Later on she is surprised to find out that the house has landed safely in an unknown land, specifically on a Munchkin called the Wicked Witch of the East who is killed instantly by the crash. Confused as to where she is and how to go back to Kansas, she is blessed by the Good Witch of the North and accompanied by a tin man, a scarecrow, and a cowardly lion on the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where they believe the Wonderful Wizard of Oz could grant their wishes.

As simple as a story for kids could be, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz fits neatly among the classics of English literature when it comes to making up fantastical child-friendly stories to shut your kids up. The problem with this is that they will just come up with more difficult questions once they get invested in the world you have created from scratch from your imagination. Baum’s masterpiece is no different. You will find a lot of concepts to be outrageous with many subplots unexplained, not that that is the point. These stories are usually the kind you tell on a boring weekend until it is codified to stand the test of time.

I haven’t really read this book until now but what I find weird is how I know much of the plot and the characters. Perhaps it is the 1930’s film adaptation that is to blame for this? Somehow we all have a memory of a wicked green witch buried deep in our subconscious along with a giddy young girl with ruby red slippers who subjects her to an impromptu ice(less) bucket challenge. And then she dies. Tragic. Maybe Toto bit her and she contracted rabies? What else could explain such fatal hydrophobia? If anything, it is a testament to the power of this story that has managed to worm its way into collective consciousness through pop culture references for a century now.

But of course, to us musical theater junkies, it’s Wicked the musical that just brought that subconscious memory back to fore for most of us, a musical based on a novel in which the author tried to explain away (almost) everything that dear old Frank didn’t bother to elaborate on. That novel is another thing altogether and suffice it to say that you and your kids can enjoy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with or without it as a follow-up. As a standalone piece of literature, this novel has been as popular even 124 years after its publication. I dare say it needs no revision for it to maintain that fame.

But what social relevance can we actually derive from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? The wizard is not really a wizard. He has no powers. Just like Dorothy, he hails from a flyover state (Nebraska) and accidentally ends up in Oz aboard a hot air balloon. He then uses his strangeness to enchant the idiots who live there and is wise enough to make his presence scarce as to create an air of mystery around his persona, resulting in an unquestioned cult-like following. If you think this kind of storyline is passé, you must be living under a rock unawares as to how this brand of blind fanaticism is more or less the status quo in a lot of countries in today’s world.

That is the political undertone, which a child will not really be able to pick up, nor should they. As far as storytelling styles are concerned, this is your classic fish-out-of-water story where a hero/ine is joined by a gang of allies, most of them weird or not getting along, on a mythical journey of self-discovery. Themes highlighted in the end include friendship and teamwork, perseverance, and faith. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ticks all of these boxes, which is probably why it hasn’t really lost its appeal to children and adults alike all this time.