Natalie Lally

Miss Freyvogel

U.S. History

November, 6th 2017

The Wizard of Oz as an Allegory

How crazy is it that our childhood movie, The Wizard of Oz, has a much deeper meaning

connected to populism? Populism was a movement by farmers to increase their political power.

Farmers were facing overproduction, railroads, price, bank money, etc. Regulating railroads, the

income of taxes, and more money in circulation were in high demand for farmers. The Wizard of

Oz, was made on August 25, 1939. A few of the main characters in the Wizard of Oz include:

Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as the scarecrow, Jack Haley as the tin man, Margaret

Hamilton as the wicked witch, Frank Morgan as the wizard, and Billie Burke as Glinda. The

characters in The Wizard of Oz each have a hidden meaning of the 1890’s American politics,

including Dorothy as a representation of America, Scarecrow represents American farmers, and

the Cowardly Lion represents William Jennings Bryan. The movie includes a metaphor for the

political events of America from the 1890’s. The Wizard of Oz could be considered as an

allegory for populism.

Dorothy can be considered a representation of all Americans or “every man.” She

represents the values and the people in America. Dorothy does this by being very loyal, hard

working, and resourceful. She adapts very well to hard situations, for example, when the tornado

hit and she got taken away, she had no idea where she was or who the people were, but she

stayed strong and worked through all of the obstacles. Dorothy also tries to help everyone

accomplish their goals, such as the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow. Her
character and her problem of trying to get home is the main plot of the movie. “There is no place

like home”, she repeats over and over as the thought of returning home (Wonderful Wizard of

Oz). This shows what the main points of populism was: the concerns of the American people.

Because Dorothy is the main character, it can be interpreted that the American population was

the main focus.

The Scarecrow represents American Famers in the movie, The Wizard of Oz. In the

movie, the Scarecrow is in need of a brain, which portrays him to be not so bright. During the

1890s, farmers in a way were helpless and their conditions became very hard to work and live in.

The Scarecrow is also helpless because he has no brain, therefore, he does not know what to do.

Although he had no brain, he solved many problems and he valued the thought of having a brain;

“Brains are the only thing worth having in this world, no matter whether one is a crow or a man”

(Wonderful Wizard of Oz). He knew he was lacking brains and strived to attain it from the

Wizard. On the other hand, he takes pride in being a scarecrow and feels unaccomplished when

he is not able to scare away the crows. When Dorothy takes the Scarecrow with her on her

journey to Oz, it portrays an image of the American population at that time. The Scarecrow and

American Farmers both depicted helplessness.

Another main character in the movie was The Cowardly Lion. He represents William

Jennings Bryan because they both had similar weaknesses. When the Cowardly Lion first meets

Dorothy, he hits the Tin Man but does not make a dent in his metal body. This hints at how

William Jennings Bryan was unable to get the votes of the industrial workers. He was unable to

make a “dent” in votes, just like the Lion could not dent the tin man. Throughout the Cowardly

Lion’s journey, he fought to protect his friends even if it did not benefit him, “All right, I'll go in

there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I'll tear them apart. I
may not come out alive, but I'm going in there” (Wonderful Wizard of Oz). Similarly, William

Jennings Bryan stuck to positions he believed were in best interests of the people, although it did

not benefit him. The Cowardly Lion shows how William Jennings Bryan was unsuccessful in

votes and was selfless to the people.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a great representation of life in the 1890s. Throughout

the movie, the audience can engage in the characters and how they act to find deeper meanings

behind all of them. This helps us interpret the true meaning of things like farmers, Americans,

working class, populists, nature, etc. Each character has a specific role to play to reveal the

hidden message behind them. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion each play a big

part in the movie by representing three important things. Their characters help us understand

how Americans were in the 1890’s, how farmers were, and it portrayed William Jennings Bryan.

The Wizard of Oz includes modern fairy tales as a metaphor for the political, economic, and

social events of America from the 1890s, this displays how the movie is an allegory for

populism.

Citation:

“Wonderful Wizard of Oz: the Making of a Movie Classic.” Turner Entertainment Co., 1990.