COVE

When people say The Wizard of Oz (1900), they think of Judy Garland and her ruby red shoes, or Idina Menzel belting a high E6 in Wicked. But few have read the actual book, nor do they know all the characters and creatures. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum follows Dorothy Gale, a young girl living in Kansas with her Aunt 'Em and Uncle Henry. She is suddenly swept away by a tornado with her dog, Toto, to the magical land of Oz. Her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her, and freeing the Munchkins, who have been oppressed by the witch. Dorothy wishes to return home, and a good witch, Glinda, tells her to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City and seek help from the Wizard of Oz. Along the way, Dorothy befriends three companions: the Scarecrow, who desires a brain; the Tin Woodsman, who wants a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage. Together, they face various challenges, including the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants to stop them from reaching the Wizard. On their adventure, they learn about themselves, and Dorothy's compassion for others leads the way. Eventually, Dorothy and her friends learn that the Wizard is a fraud, and they must rely on their own inner qualities to achieve their goals. They have to exhibit brains, heart, and courage to figure out how to destroy the Wicked Witch once and for all and send Dorothy home. Dorothy's ruby slippers have the power to take her home all along, and after defeating the Wicked Witch, she uses them to return to Kansas. The story ends with Dorothy realizing that after all that adventure, "there's no place like home." Akin to Carroll's Alice, Baum thus conveys some moral messages, a residue of the didactic tradition, while primarily entertaining his young readers. This COVE case will explore the gender roles of having a girl as the main character, the connections between Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and how the book has become lost to modern media.

Portrait of L. Frank Baum, circa 1890-1900, Getty Images. Lyman Frank Baum was born on May 15th, 1856 in Chittenango, New York. In his childhood, he was comfortable financially being the son of a barrel and oil supply factory owner. Despite being named after his grandfather, he preferred to go by his middle name, Frank, instead of Lyman because he didn't like that name.  When he was 12, he joined military school before leaving two years later due to health issues. After this, he turned his focus to writing children's literature, gaining inspiration from his four sons whom he had with Matilda Joslyn Gage. He found that he had a knack for writing children's rhymes, and the first collection he published was called Mother Goose in Prose, illustrated by Maxfield Parish and published in 1897. After that, he followed with the collection Father Goose, His Book, published in 1899. It became one of the most popular collections of the time and was illustrated by W.W. Denslow, who ended up illustrating The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In 1900, The Wonderful WIzard of Oz hit the shelves and quickly became a large success. Two years later, he turned his bestselling book into a stage musical, which also ended up being successful. In 1910, he ended up moving with his family to Hollywood, California, to continue to work on the books. He wrote many other books under different pseudonyms, which weren't as successful, but still loved, nonetheless. He ended up writing multiple sequels to The Wonderful WIzard of Oz, the last one before his death being Gilda of Oz, published in 1920. In 1918, Baum underwent gall bladder surgery, which left him bedridden until his death on May 6th, 1919. Overall, Baum was a talented writer, and his love for children shows through all of his works.

 W.W. Denslow, "You Ought to be Ashamed of Yourself," The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), by L. Frank Baum.  This image depicts Dorothy and her friends talking to the Cowardly Lion. After he runs after Toto, Dorothy smacks him on the nose to deter him. She lectures him, and he starts to cry and explain that he's a coward, and that's why he is picking on those who are weaker than him, and Dorothy pities him. After this, the Cowardly Lion joins the party and comes with the group to go ask the Wizard for courage so that he could be the king of the forest. The way that W.W. Denslow depicts the Cowardly Lion is quite friendly with lots of lines to show the wrinkles on his face. Dorothy, although considerably shorter, is the stronger character in this picture. It is clear that she has authority, even if the lion is "The king of the forest." The other two companions, the Tinman and The Scarecrow, are both sitting down after being scared and almost attacked by the lion. It is clear that even if Dorothy is a little girl, she has more courage and independence compared to the supposed adult characters.

W. W. Denslow, "Dorothy Did not Know What to Say to this, for all the People Seemed to Think her a Witch, and She Knew Very Well She Was only an Ordinary Little Girl Who Had Come by the Chance of a Cyclone into a Strange Land," The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), by L. Frank Baum. In this quote and image, Dorothy has just begun her journey along the yellow brick road after being thrust into this new world by a cyclone. She is very confused, but she adjusts rather quickly to the zany world of Oz. After being in this world, she is regarded as a "good witch," while she insists that she is not a witch at all. Nevertheless, she is kind to all and is full of love for everyone, even if she finds them a bit strange. W.W. Denslow illustrates Dorothy's face as very surprised and a bit perplexed, because she didn't really have time to internalize what was going on. She has just plopped into Oz in a house, is probably dizzy from the cyclone, and now a bunch of little people are crowning her! So I think the way Denslow depicts her in this scene is very charming. The Munchkins all have a cheery disposition and welcome the strange little girl with open arms. One of my favorite things that Denslow does is that he draws characters or items outside of the box, almost like they're sitting on the frame!

Helen Green, "Alice and Dorothy," Fan Art, ArtWow, n.d.  In this image, artist Helen Green says she is "Imagining my two favourite childhood fictional characters deep in chat and sharing crazy stories." Green is not alone. Many critics claim that Dorothy is an American Alice. Alice, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, is also a young girl thrown into a world that doesn't make sense to her, and the characters within Wonderland treat her as an equal. Although Alice's journey is a little less pleasant than Dorothy's, the two girls and their novels have many similarities. Both books are about exploration, identity, and coming back home. Because they are both young girls, Dorothy and Alice are allowed to express vunerability and kindness, but also bravery as well. One of the differences between the two girls is age; Dorothy is more mature, where Alice is fiesty and asks lots of questions. In the end, both wish to return home and be with their family again. Some could argue that this is because of gender roles, as women and girls at that time were expected to be at home. But when looking at the two heroines side by side, I think that they are brave girls, thrust into an unusual situation and making the best of it. They both perservere, never giving up on wanting to see their family again, even if it means putting themselves in danger. 

https://frankbeddor.com/alice-dorothy-similarities-of-wonderland-oz/?srs...

Film still from The Wizard of Oz (1939), directed by Victor Fleming. Although there have been so many adaptations of the novel over the years, none can compare to the original movie. The Wizard of Oz, produced by MGM studios, came to the theaters in 1939. It was one of the first movies to use technicolor, and that was revolutionary for the time. This image shows, from left to right, The Tin Man (Jack Haley), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), Dorothy (Judy Garland), the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), and the Doorman (Frank Morgan). The movie loosely follows the plot of the book, but the biggest difference is Dorothy's shoes, switched from silver to ruby to make a better contrast with filming in technicolor. Each character from Oz has a real world counterpart, and some play a big part in the story while some do not. The movie introduced Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton), who also plays the Wicked Witch of the West; she terrorizes the Gale family, trying to take Toto to be put down because he bites her. There also is Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan), who is a traveling and a very fake fortune teller, who portrays the Wizard. The process of filming this movie was tumultuous and very dangerous for all the actors involved. The movie cut out much of the original text, because then the movie would end up being too long. The movie didn't do amazingly in theaters, but in 1956 it aired on television and became an immediate hit. The childlike whimsy yet maturity from some parts of the film made it lovable to all ages. It has memorable musical numbers, bright colors, and of course, Judy Garland. The movie got more iconic with time, leaving the original book behind as it became almost independent from it besides the storyline. Now when people think of The Wizard of Oz, they remember ruby slippers, and a young Judy Garland laying against a haystack and singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, whereas the book and the silver slippers got pushed out of the spotlight.