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Self-sufficiency
In the book The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum, he presents a legendary tale in an American setup of a young girl Dorothy Gale. The modern fairy tale book depicts Dorothy as a young girl living in Kansas, and a cyclone carries her together with her dog Toto to the magical land of Oz inhabited by tiny people called Munchkins. It is in this adventure in Oz that she makes a self-discovery of who she really is. Just like every other hero, Dorothy starts her life as a little ordinary girl, not knowing the potential she has and who she really is. Still, through the magical land’s adventures to Emerald city, she discovers herself and emerges a princess. This essay uses the story’s theme, the characters, iconography, and the plot plays an important role in her discovery.
The central theme of the story is self-sufficiency. Dorothy, the protagonist child, starts of as a young girl with a down-to-earth upbringing living with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in Kansas. A cyclone carries her, and she lands in Oz, and the house that carried her lands on the evil witch of the east setting the inhabitants, the Munchkins, free. The Good witch of the North sends her off to Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz would help her get back home to Kansas. On her way, she meets the Scarecrow who thinks he needs a brain, the Tin Woodman who laments for a heart, and the Lion who thinks he is cowardly. Ironically, they all set course for Emerald City, believing that the Wizard of Oz would give them what they lack, but they had already possessed them in a real sense. The difficulties they face show that Dorothy’s charmed silver shoes could take her back home, the Scarecrow was the most intelligent crew, the Tin Woodman was filled with compassion, and the lion was courageous and noble. Thus their adventure only makes them realize they lacked nothing, and for Dorothy, she was already a charming princess saving the land.
Moreover, the archetypical characters are iconographic and are well suited in the pursuit of self-awareness. As Dorothy is ignored by her busy family and friends, she feels lonely and worried about a neighbor who wanted to kill Toto. In the midst of this, she goes through a magical journey that helps understand her real self. The cyclone represents the turmoils she experiences in her journey and the neighbor who wanted to kill her dog symbolizes the evil witch. This evil is balanced by the good which where she understands that evil is balanced by doing good. Again as a princess in the make-up, her friends symbolizes attributes that she needed to develop. The Scarecrow represents intellect and wisdom, the Tin Woodman signifies having a heart and compassion as the lion symbolizes the courageous spirit. These are the qualities that she learns in her journey and embraces when she befriends each one of them, in the process.
Additionally, plot aids in developing herself and making her to identify her potential and who she is meant to be. Although Dorothy doesn’t become of age, she is the child protagonist, who is witty, unassuming, courageous and determined. When she finds herself in the foreign land of Oz, she wants to go back home and the only way is through fighting evil in the magical land. The plot of the story builds up a sequence of events that are full of adventures that without being determined and eager to find her way home, she would have given up. Her final fight with the witch of the West shows her attitude towards evil. She is guileless and outspoken as a young girl; she says “You are a wicked creature!” (Baum, 224). She the overcomes evil by washing away the witch with water and help save the life her friends. Her experiences make her assertive and builds her up to take the part of being a princess with the correct mindset and attitude, embracing love and doing good while denouncing evil. After saving the land of Oz, she learns the real power of her shoes and set off for home and save her uncle and auntie from debts and give them joy. Thus the development process in the plot transforms her into a wonderful princess.
In conclusion, the characters Dorothy meets and the adventure the plot outlines for them are the build-up stones, that she stops on to unleash her potential and become fully aware of who she really is, a princess. Through her adventure, she realizes the potential she harbors inside her and the bigger picture in the wrangle between good and evil and establishes her own path with the help of her friends.