The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapters 1-4
Chapters 1-4
The book opens with our protagonist, Dorothy, describing her family and her surroundings. Dorothy lives surrounded by the flat and grey landscape of the Kansas Prairies. She is an orphan that lives with her adoptive parents, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Aunt Em is described as having been a lot more lively before moving to their small cabin, but now she is all grey like her surroundings. Aunt Em is surprised by Dorothy’s ability to laugh, while Uncle Henry is described as being someone who never truly smiles. All of them live in a wooden cabin of one room, and the source of all of Dorothy’s joy is her little black dog, Toto. One day when Dorothy and her uncle are looking out over the flatlands, uncle Henry announces that a cyclone is imminent and rushes to care for his livestock while Aunt Em yells for Dorothy to follow her into the small hole built under the cabin to shelter from cyclones. Aunty Em descends the trapdoor while Dorothy rushes to catch hold of her dog. Just as Dorothy retrieves Toto and is halfway back to where the trapdoor lies, the house is jerked up as the cyclone hits the cabin and lifts it clean up into its centre. Dorothy and Toto remain inside the house, the house moves gently and Dorothy remains seated but Toto runs around and falls out of the open trap door into empty air, but the pressure keeps him afloat and Dorothy can catch hold of one of his ears to pull him back in. She closes the trap door and is soon able to fall asleep.
Dorothy wakes up with a jerk as her house is set down by the cyclone and she encounters a truly breathtaking sight, no longer are her surroundings a dull grey and lifeless. She is in a land full of colour with exotic birds. As Dorothy stands looking at her surroundings she notices a group of people approaching, they are all as tall as Dorothy but look much older. The old lady that accompanies the strange people is dressed all in white and introduces them as the Munchkins and herself as the Good Witch of the North. The Munchkins had been enslaved by the Wicked Witch of the East and were now free because Dorothy had killed the witch. To her complete horror, Dorothy finds that her house had landed on the Wicked Witch of the East whose two toes and feet are sticking out from under the house.
The Munchkins and the Witch of the North are very thankful to Dorothy for killing the Witch of the East because she had been a powerful witch and even the Witch of the North could not have killed her. Dorothy wants their help to return to her home in Kansas but they tell her about the desert that surrounds the land of Oz and that they know of no way to leave. The witch tells Dorothy about the powerful Wizard of Oz. She tells Dorothy about the Emerald City and how the road with the yellow bricks leads to it. The witch kisses Dorothy on her brow to protect her from harm. The witch also gives Dorothy the silver shoes that belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East.
Once Dorothy is left alone she makes preparations for her travel, carries a basket of food, replaces her old worn shoes with the new silver shoes that fit her perfectly, and a new gingham dress of white and blue. She enjoys walking down the yellow paved road, and as she passes through the picturesque land, the Munchkins come out of their houses to bow to her, and she finally stops at a large Munchkin house where there is a lot of dancing and celebrating. The owner of the house is the richest Munchkin in the land, Boq, and he treats Dorothy with a great amount of respect. Dorothy spends the night under the hospitality of the Munchkins and leaves the next day. When she has walked for a long time, she notices a stuffed scarecrow hanging on a pole. The Scarecrow winks at her, and when Dorothy approaches the Scarecrow he requests her to take him down. When Dorothy tells the scarecrow that she is going to the Emerald City to seek the help of Oz, the Scarecrow surprises her by being unaware of both the city and the Wizard of Oz. He explains how being stuffed with straw means a lack of brains, and he expresses the desire of travelling with Dorothy to Oz so that he could get some brains.
They stop once by the side of a brook where the Scarecrow inquires about Kansas, and Dorothy describes the grey and dreary plains of Kansas, he is surprised that she would want to return to such a place but Dorothy replies that there is no place like home. When Dorothy asks the Scarecrow for a story he explains how he was made only but the day before yesterday by a farmer and another Munchkin, which was why he knew very little of the world. He describes how the farmer first drew his ears, then his eyes and then his nose and face. The crows he was charged with scaring away were only initially scared of him but one of the old wise crows discovered that he was only stuffed with straw and not a real man. It was this crow that explained to the Scarecrow the importance of brains. They continue on their way and soon come upon a forest at nightfall and stop at a cottage for the night.
Analysis
Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is truly a classical children's story that has been adapted in several forms since it was first published. The most popular adaptation continues to be the 1939 movie, the Wizard of Oz. It may be surprising to note that the movie differs from the book in several different and important points, the most important of which is that the movie depicts Dorothy's adventure into the land of Oz as some sort of hallucination while Dorothy actually travels to Oz in the book.
The beginning of the first chapter has the word grey mentioned close to 6 times when describing the surroundings of Kansas, and we realise that the dull colour is an essential element of Dorothy’s perception of her home. Frank Baum was also among the first storytellers to depict a witch with a positive character, and this serves as one of the first instances in which the author conveys his indifference to established religious conventions. Dorothy by her very entrance into the realm of Oz causes an imbalance of power, as the death of the wicked witch tilts the power towards the side of the good witches.
The white and blue coloured dress that Dorothy carries to Oz and dons when she sets out for her journey ends up carrying an interesting political message for the Munchkins. This could be viewed as an indication that Dorothy has come to Oz to fulfil her destiny. The Scarecrow fits into the archetypal role of the wise fool, who according to his own words lacks a brain, and yet he makes wise remarks that even the reader can recognise as being intelligent. It is also interesting to note that the Scarecrow is described as having a 'husky' voice, Frank Baum had a love for puns, and there are several such amusing examples of puns throughout the book.
