The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Chapters 9-11
Chapters 9-11
As the Tin Woodman and the scarecrow are waiting for Dorothy to awaken, the Tin Woodman hears a commotion and turns to find a big yellow cat with glowing red eyes chasing a small field mouse. When the cat passes near where they are standing, he swings his axe and strikes down the beast. To his astonishment, the little mouse that he rescued turns out to be the queen of all the mice and soon they are joined by several small mice who are very grateful for the Tin woodman's assistance of their queen. They wish to repay the debt, and the scarecrow has an idea to use the help of the mice to rescue the lion. Once the lion is secure, the mice depart and the queen informs Dorothy that they would gladly help them again if required.
The clothes, the farms, and the fences are all coloured a green colour as they return to the yellow road. They decide to stop at a farm to spend the night for food and a bed, their host is reluctant at first to allow a lion into her house but gives in at Dorothy's explanation and request. Their host's husband explains that Oz doesn't quite meet anyone and since he is a being of great power, they are not truly aware of what he looks like. The next day, they come upon a bright green wall with a big door set with emeralds. Dorothy rings a bell, and a small Munchkin sized man comes out to enquire about their business in emerald city. He is taken aback at their request, as no one has asked to see the wizard in a very long time. But he tells them that he must escort them to the palace where Oz lives, however, they must put on glasses before they enter. The glasses are meant to protect the viewer from the brilliance of the city, and so the glasses are locked into place for everyone in the city night and day.
Dorothy and her companions are amazed at the beauty and splendour of the Emerald City. The guardian takes them to the palace where they learn that Oz has agreed to see them, but each one must meet him alone, and only one of them may see him on any given day. They are all given rooms to stay within the palace, the rooms are luxurious and comfortable.
The next day Dorothy is led to a meeting with Oz, before she is allowed inside the room, the soldier leading her explains that Oz turns most petitioners away. He had at first refused to see Dorothy and her companions but had then agreed to see them after hearing of her shoes and the mark on her forehead.
The next day Dorothy is led to a meeting with Oz, before she is allowed inside the room, the soldier leading her explains that Oz turns most petitioners away. He had at first refused to see Dorothy and her companions but had then agreed to see them after hearing of her shoes and the mark on her forehead.
In the throne room, Oz appears as a giant head floating above a throne of emerald marble. Dorothy then requests his assistance to return to Kansas. Oz explains that in his country everything must be earned, and so he would only help Dorothy if she killed the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy is horrified at the request and explains that she has no power to do so. Oz is adamant and so Dorothy leaves the throne room dejected and sorrowful she explains to her companions the impossible conditions. Over the following days, Oz sees each member of the party in a different form, to the Scarecrow he appears as a beautiful lady with wings, to the Tin Woodman he appears as a huge and terrible beast, and to the Cowardly Lion, he appears as a big and hot ball of fire. To them all he repeats some form of the same condition, kill the Wicked Witch of the West and in return, he shall grant each of them their wish. Dorothy and her companions have no idea about how to kill the witch, but since they have no other means of getting their wishes granted, they set out.
Analysis
Baum has been criticised for not being the most careful of writers, and these chapters serve as a perfect example of his inattention to detail. It is later learned that the queen of the mice had given Dorothy a whistle that she had always kept on her neck. However, throughout the interaction with the queen, there is no mention of any such whistle. Moreover, later on, we learn that the Emerald City only appears to be green because of the green spectacles, but Dorothy and her friends begin to notice a green glow in the sky before they put on the glasses and are still far from the city.
The killing of the wild cat by the Tin Woodman also contradicts Baum's introduction, in which he had mentioned his desire to distance his fairy tale from any horrific incidents that were so common in European stories. However, an argument can be made about the significance of the event in the context of conditions prevalent in America when this was being written. Wolves, wild cats, and other such predators were a legitimate danger to American farmers, and thus the killing of these animals may have been more comforting rather than horrific for the children during that time.
The rescue of the Cowardly Lion at the hands of the mice, seems to be a reference to Aesop's fable, the lion and the mouse. Like that tale, the Cowardly Lion is rescued by the mice because of a favour that was owed by the mice.
