Self-Contradiction In L. Frank Baum's The Wizard Of Oz
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1.Introduction
The Wizard of Oz is a novel written by L.Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W.Denslow. The story chronicles the adventures of a young girl named Dorothy Gale in the Land of Oz, after being swept away from her Kansas farm home in a tornado. She encounters and befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion to find the wizard of Oz for different purposes together. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American popular culture and has been widely translated. Baum explores the theme of self-contradiction in The Wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion all lack self-confidence. The Scarecrow believes that he has no brains, though he comes up with clever solutions to several problems…show more content… That is the reason for a hero's return in this story. For instance, when the Scarecrow asked her to talk about her hometown, she told him all about Kansas, and how gray everything was there. The Scarecrow listened carefully and said" I can't understand why you should wish to leave this beautiful country and go back to the dry, gray place you call Kansas."" That is because you have no brains." answered the girl," No matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful. There is no place like home." This words, which contains the phrase "There is no place like home", exemplifies Dorothy's state of mind, a major theme of the text, and the simple, rural values that Baum espoused. It might seem strange that Dorothy wants to return to the bleak and lifeless Kansas prairie - especially in light of the wonders of Oz - but she does indeed understand that this fairyland is not her home and she has obligations to her aunt and uncle. She is not swayed by the land of Oz to the extent that she wants to reside there; she understands her roots and her identity lie back in Kansas. The quote also represents a major theme, which is that people have an allegiance to their homeland and should strive to do right by it. This is one of Baum's personal values. As an American, and one who so profited by his…show more content… Believing he is the only man capable of solving their problems, Dorothy Gale and her friends travel to the Emerald City to meet him. Oz is very reluctant to meet them, but eventually each is granted an audience, one by one. On each of these occasions, the Wizard appears in a different form, once as a giant head, once as a beautiful fairy, once as a ball of fire, and once as a horrible monster. When, at last, he grants an audience to all of them at once, he seems to be invisible- nothing but a disembodied voice. Eventually, it is revealed that Oz is actually none of these things, but rather a kind, ordinary man from Omaha, Nebraska, who has been using a lot of elaborate magic tricks and props to make himself seem" great and powerful." Working as a magician for a circus, he wrote OZ( the initials of his first and middle name) on the side of his balloon for promotional purposes. One day his balloon sailed into the Land of Oz, and he found himself worshiped as a great sorcerer. As Oz had no leadership at the time, he became Supreme Ruler of the kingdom, and did his best to sustain the myth. He leaves Oz at the end of the novel, again in a hot air balloon. So the fake hero returned. After the Wizard's departure, the Scarecrow is briefly enthroned. From the book, we can find Oz is very tricky. He often called himself as- the great and terrible Oz, but he is actually a little old man which used his