The Wizard of Oz as an allegory
When Frank Baum wrote the American classic, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in 1900, it was a popular book for young people to read. Later, in 1939, the story was immortalized as a film, shot partly in black and white and in color, starring Judy Garland as a young farm girl in Kansas who hits her head in a tornado and dreams she has landed in a mythical world of munchkins. , witches, a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion who travel to meet Oz, a powerful wizard. However, according to a recent MSN article, “Why Pennies and Other Money Trivia Still Exists” by Andrew Lisa, there is “overwhelming scholarly evidence” that the story is an allegory for the American economic situation at the turn of the 20th century. XIX, known as “populism”.
In the 1890s, populism referred to the populist movement that grew out of financial insecurity suffered by the average American, primarily farmers earning little income, due to crop failures, falling prices, and genuine fear of favor. financial. In other words, the populists wanted economic power for ordinary people who earned a small amount from their jobs. They wanted money to be based on the “gold standard” so they could exchange their currency for gold.
The context of the populist movement would probably never have been connected as a “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” parable until author and historian Henry M. Littlefield published an article in 1964 in the “American Quarterly”, in which he clearly explained the characters. symbolic meaning in the populist movement. Dorothy is the main character who represents the average American who walks the “yellow brick road”, which means the gold standard to get to the Emerald City: the dollar to find the “Wizard”.
Dorothy meets some friends along the way, who have needs that only the Wizard can provide. For example, the Scarecrow represents the average American farmer who claims to need a brain. The brain is a metaphor for education from universities. The Tinman is the industrial worker who builds steel items. He needs a heart since the manufacturing industry operates with dehumanized and uncaring workers. The Cowardly Lion that is the politician, Williams Jennings Bryan, who according to the populists, was afraid to compete against President William McKinley, who is the Wizard. McKinley is America’s top politician who appears wise and benevolent, but is actually an evil con man who doesn’t know what he’s doing. However, the Wizard gives the Lion courage.
Other Wizard of Oz characters include the Wicked Witch, who is the monetary system, killed by Dorothy, the average American who had the power to kill the witch if she only believed in herself. In the book, Dorothy wears silver slippers, instead of the “ruby slippers” from the film. The silver slippers represent the “anti-inflation” free silver movement, in which silver was used to mint coins, which were circulated among the American people.
Looking at the “Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as a symbol or allegory of the early Popular Movement, it’s easy to see that the story is really about money. and politics