Review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Author: L. Frank Baum Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers Published in: 2010 I. Summary Sweeping away from Kansas City and her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, Dorothy Gale found herself awake in The Land of Oz with her dog, Toto. Different from her town, everything in the land was a total colorful scene. She met the Witch of the North, and the munchkins that inhabitant there. They thanked her because her house accidentally killed the Wicked Witch of East by landing on top of the witch. Dorothy got silver shoes that the Wicked Witch used to wear. She asked the Witch the way back to Kansas, and she told her that the Wizard of Oz might help her so long that she could make it to Emerald City, which the way was pleasant, yet dark and miserable. She started the journey by following the yellow brick road. On the way, she and Toto met Scarecrow hanging on the pole and set him free. The Scarecrow joined the journey because Oz might get him a brain. Then, they found the Tin Woodman and saved him. He went along with them so that Oz could get him a heart. While continuing the journey, the Cowardly Lion appeared suddenly. The Lion desired courage and walked with them hoping the Wizard of Oz grant their wishes. They wandered into the strange lands and have themselves in the Poppy Field which scent made Dorothy, Toto, and the Lion fall asleep. Tin Man and Scarecrow had to leave the Lion behind and carried Dorothy until she could get enough of fresh breeze to wake up. They encountered Mouse Queen that later had been rescued by Tin Man. In return, she saved the Lion. They arrived at Emerald City and met Oz individually. Oz asked them to kill the Wicked Witch of West in order to grant their wishes. They went looking for her and fought with wolves, crows, and bees. When Wicked Witch of West tried to steal her silver shoes, Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her that melted her away. She freed the Winkies that later helped her to save her friends. The Winged Monkeys took Dorothy and her friends to

Emerald City where the King also explained why they must grant whoever had the Magic Cap three wishes. In Emerald City, they discovered the Wizard of Oz was a humbug. The Wizard, however, made them think that they had received what they wanted, brain, heart, and courage. Days after, a hot air balloon was ready to take Dorothy home, but it sailed before she got in. The next morning, they were about to visit Glinda, the Witch of the South, to help her go back to Kansas City. On the way, they encountered forest guarded by moving trees and came to China Wall. Dorothy met a small China Princess, and she helped her and her friends through a danger, dark forest until they arrived at Glindas castle. After saying good bye to Tin Man, Lion, and Scarecrow, Dorothy clicked the silver shoes together three times as Glinda asked her to. At last, Dorothy was in Kansas City and saw Aunt Em. She realized how glad she was to be home. II. About The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel is one of the famous novels in the world that people make the adaptation movies about it. Baum has managed to make his goal in making such a modern fairy tale for children come true. This book leads us to improve our imagination which as if we watch Dorothy Gales adventure, such an interesting thing to do. Not only children sail through the adventure, but they can also discover the hidden messages of Baums story. Among them are that we need to fight for what we want and do not give up easily, no matter how hard the obstacles are. We also have to give a hand to those who need help, learn the royalty of friendship, and do not look a person from just one perspective because they may have a good heart within them. The most of all, we need to believe in ourselves so that we can be whatever we believe, like if we believe we have courage, we will have courage in us. It can happen as long as we believe. Though this book give good lessons to children, there are also negative sides of the book. There is a scene where the Tin Man covers his friends and fights with wolves. Tin Man cuts their heads off. Baum may wants to give impression that the Tin Man character is a hero that protects and saves his friends. His act sounds heroic, but this scene instead

shows an act of violence. My personal opinion says that Baum should not tell the details of the fighting scene of Tin Man and the wolves because it may damage childrens mind. Some children maybe have understood which part of the story that is good for them, but others maybe have not got it yet. For this scene, I think children should be under supervision of their parents. III. Conclusion After bringing the positive and negative sides up together, it has made me clear that L. Frank Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel shows more positive things than the negative ones that children can learn from the book. Having read this book myself, I can see why children love the story. As mentioned before, Baum combines the sense of good writing with the imagination to the story, supported by the main character that constructs the story. Furthermore, the way the story ends makes it clear. Clear here means that most people feel the way Dorothy Gale feels, which is we do not want to be anywhere but home sweet home with our family. With the great success of having The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel bought in many copies, it is just one more reason of why I think this book is highly recommended. People like it, both children and adults. Reading it means that we get multiple advantages, which are the moral lessons, the improvement of imagination, and the good story with amusing and entertaining parts in it.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1990)

Author: L. Frank Baum

A Review By: Adilasjah (040351007) Department of English, Faculty of Letter November 19, 2013

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