wizard of oz symbolism

wizard of oz symbolism

Silver Slippers: In the novel, Dorothy’s slippers are silver and not ruby. Silver is related to the monetary political issues of the time where farmers want to have the dollar’s value to have fixed ratios for both silver and gold. Another speculation is that the silver slippers are a representation of the power to vote.

Dorthy:

it is believed that Dorothy represents American values or people. She proves to be loyal, resourceful and determined. Another speculation was that she represents the U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt. Some people put more faith in this theory more than the other one due to similarnames (The-o-dore and Dor-o-thy).

Good Witch of the South and North. The Good Witch of the North represents northern workers, and the Good Witch of the South represents southern farmers. This provides a contrast between wicked industrialists from the west with the railroad moguls in the west.

Toto:a small dog that seems to go unnoticed, it is Toto who reveals what a fraud the Wizard is. It is thought that Toto also represents average Americans

Munchkins: The little people, the munchkins, are said to represent the common people or ordinary U.S. citizens. The Lollipop Guild is seen as representing child labor

Uncle Henry: Henry Cantwell Wallace was a well known farmer and editor for a leading farm magazine in the late 1800s. He was called Uncle Henry by most everyone

Tin Woodman: is a representation of industrial workers who often experienced being dehumanized. The Tin Man was immobile and rusted, which is something many factory workers felt when many businesses began to shut down due to a national depression. They felt helpless after they lost their jobs

OZ is the abbreviation for gold.

A hot political topic of the day where

people were rallying for gold and

silver ratios.

Emerald Palace and Emerald City: the Emerald Palace is believed to represent the White House and the Emerald City to represent Washington D.C.

The yellow brick road represents the gold standard, and the road leading up to power

Wicked Witch of the West and East: The Wicked Witch of the East represents eastern business and the Wicked Witch of the West represents the politician William McKinley who defeated Williams Jennings Bryant during the time of the free silver silver movement

The wizard of oz is not a "just for fun" movie. It does have meaning behind it. It also has a lot of symbolism. The symbolism behind it is political.

Flying Monkeys: in political cartoons flying monkeys are used for poking fun at politicians. Another speculation is they represent Native Americans. Dorothy and friends are told when they meet up with the monkeys that they were once a free people who happily lived in the forest where they flew from tree to tree eating fruit and nuts and doing whatever they pleased without having to call anyone master. This was years before Oz appeared from the clouds to rule over the land. This appears to relate well with the fate of Native Americans who had been forced from their land by Americans migrating from the east.

Wizard: it is thought that the Wizard of Oz represents Mark Hanna, who was the Republican party’s chairman, or perhaps president of the United States. In the book, the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Dorothy all saw the Wizard quite differently. This symbolizes the cynicism that exists in politics due to the fact that politicians tend to change face with different people.

Cowardly Lion: In the late 1800s William Jennings Bryan, a politician, was a supporter of the free silver movement. It is said that the Cowardly Lion represents Bryan, who was viewed as someone having a load roar, but no power or bite.

cyclone: it is thought that the tornado represents the free silver movement or political upheaval. During the time that the story was written, American farmers were suffering from the effects of federal deflation. Their debts were growing larger as they were getting less money for their crops and other goods. The farmers wanted the dollar value to have fixed ratios of both gold and silver. Some politicians supported this movement and others didn't.

Scarecrow: represents western farmers. He complained about not having a brain but wound up as the most adept problem solver among the four travelers.

Flying Monkeys: in political cartoons flying monkeys are used for poking fun at politicians. Another speculation is they represent Native Americans. Dorothy and friends are told when they meet up with the monkeys that they were once a free people who happily lived in the forest where they flew from tree to tree eating fruit and nuts and doing whatever they pleased without having to call anyone master. This was years before Oz appeared from the clouds to rule over the land. This appears to relate well with the fate of Native Americans who had been forced from their land by Americans migrating from the east