Land of Oz
Oz | |
---|---|
Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked Witch of the West | |
Population | 500,000[1] |
Anthem | "The Oz Spangled Banner" |
Language | English |
Currency | none |
The Land of Oz is a
Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the
Baum did not intend for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to have any sequels, but it achieved greater popularity than any of the other fairylands he created, including the land of Merryland in Baum's children's novel Dot and Tot in Merryland, written a year later. Due to Oz's worldwide success, Baum decided to return to it four years after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published. For the next two decades, he described and expanded upon the land in the Oz Books,[2] a series which introduced many fictional characters and creatures. Baum intended to end the series with the sixth Oz book The Emerald City of Oz (1910), in which Oz is forever sealed off and made invisible to the outside world, but this did not sit well with fans, and he quickly abandoned the idea, writing eight more successful Oz books, and even naming himself the "Royal Historian of Oz."[3]
In all, Baum wrote fourteen best-selling
Baum characterized Oz as a real place, unlike
A
Characteristics
Oz is, in the first book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, distinguished from Dorothy's native Kansas by not being civilized; this explains why Kansas does not have witches and wizards, while Oz does.[5] In the third book, Ozma of Oz, Oz is described as a "fairy country", new terminology that remained to explain its wonders.[6]
Geography
The Land of Oz
Oz is roughly rectangular in shape, and divided along the diagonals into four countries:
The regions have a color scheme: blue for Munchkins, yellow for Winkies, red for Quadlings, green for the Emerald City, and (in works after the first) purple for the Gillikins, which region was also not named in the first book.
Most of these regions are settled with prosperous and contented people. However, this naturally is lacking in scope for plot. Numerous pockets throughout the Land of Oz are cut off from the main culture, for geographic or cultural reasons. Many have never heard of Ozma, making it impossible for them to acknowledge her as their rightful queen. These regions are concentrated around the edges of the country, and constitute the main settings for books that are set entirely within Oz.[13] The Lost Princess of Oz, for instance, is set entirely in rough country in Winkie Country, between two settled areas.[14] In Glinda of Oz, Ozma speaks of her duty to discover all these stray corners of Oz.[15]
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a yellow brick road leads from the lands of the Munchkins to the Emerald City. Other such roads featured in other works: one from Gillikin Country in The Marvelous Land of Oz, and a second one from Munchkin Land in The Patchwork Girl of Oz.[16]
Oz is completely surrounded on all four sides by a desert which insulates the citizens of the Land of Oz from discovery and invasion. In the first two books, this is merely a natural desert, with only its extent making it dangerous to the traveler, but in The Road to Oz, it is said to turn anyone who touches it to sand.[17] Indeed, in The Marvelous Land of Oz, Mombi tries to escape through it and Glinda chases her over the sands. Still, it is the dividing land between the magic of Oz and the outside world, and the Winged Monkeys can not obey Dorothy's command to carry her home because it would take them outside the lands of Oz.[18] In Ozma of Oz, it has become a magical desert called the Deadly Desert with life-destroying sands and noxious fumes, a feature that remained constant through the rest of the series, although no actual destruction is depicted in the Oz books, unlike in the film Return to Oz.[19] The desert has nonetheless been breached numerous times, both by children from our world (mostly harmless), by the Wizard of Oz himself, and by more sinister characters, such as the Nome King, who attempted to conquer Oz. After such an attempt in The Emerald City of Oz, the book ends with Glinda creating a barrier of invisibility around the Land of Oz, for further protection.[20] This was, indeed, an earnest effort on Baum's part to end the series, but the insistence of readers meant the continuation of the series, and therefore the discovery of many ways for people to pass through this barrier as well as over the sands.[3] Despite this continual evasion, the barrier itself remained; nowhere in any Oz book did Baum hint that the inhabitants were even considering removing the magical barrier.[15]
West and East
The first known map of Oz was a glass slide used in Baum's Fairylogue and Radio-Play traveling show, showing the blue land of the Munchkins in the east and the yellow land of the Winkies in the west. These directions are confirmed by the text of all of Baum's Oz books, especially the first, in which the
Like traditional western maps, the Fairylogue and Radio-Play map showed the west on the left, and the east on the right. However, the first map of Oz to appear in an Oz book had those directions reversed, and the compass rose adjusted accordingly.[21] It is believed that this is a result of Baum copying the map from the wrong side of the glass slide, effectively getting a mirror image of his intended map. When he realized he was copying the slide backward, he reversed the compass rose to make the directions correct. However, an editor at Reilly and Lee reversed the compass rose, thinking he was fixing an error, and resulting in further confusion.[22][dead link] Most notably, this confused Ruth Plumly Thompson, who frequently reversed directions in her own Oz books as a result.
Another speculation stems from the original conception of Oz, which at first appeared to be situated in an American desert. If Baum thought of the country of the Munchkins as the nearest region to him, it would have been in the east while he lived in Chicago, but when he moved to California, it would have been in the west.[23]
Modern maps of Oz are almost universally drawn with the Winkies in the west and the Munchkins in the east, although west and east often appear reversed. Many Oz fans believe this is the correct orientation, perhaps as a result of Glinda's spell, which has the effect of confusing most standard compasses; perhaps resembling its similarity to the world Alice found
Location
Oz, like all of Baum's fantasy countries, was presented as existing as part of the real world, albeit protected from civilization by natural barriers.
In
Later maps, such as that drawn by
An argument against the South Pacific is that the seasons in Oz are shown as the same seasons in the United States at the same time. In addition, in
Inspiration
Baum's creation of the Emerald City may have been inspired by the White City of the
Schematically, Oz is much like the United States, with the Emerald City taking the place of Chicago: to the East, mixed forest and farmland; to the West, treeless plains and fields of wheat; to the South, warmth and lush growth, and red earth.[29]
Ruth Plumly Thompson took a different direction with her Oz books, introducing European elements such as the title character of
Per the Littlefield Thesis the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an allegory on the Election of 1896.[30] Under this thesis, the diagonal design of the land of Oz in the engravings for the Oz books is meant to symbolize Willaim Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold.
Witches and wizards
At the time of
During the first scene in Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Good Witch of the North (Locasta or Tattypoo) explains to Dorothy that Oz still has witches and wizards, not being civilized, and goes on to explain that witches and wizards can be both good and evil, unlike the evil witches that Dorothy had been told of.[31] That book contained only the four witches (besides the humbug wizard), but despite Ozma's prohibition on magic, many more magicians feature in later works.
Baum tended to capitalize the word "Witch" when referring to the Witches of the North, South, East, or West but did not do so when referring to witches in general. For example, in the aforementioned first scene of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Locasta (or Tattypoo) thanks Dorothy for killing the "Wicked Witch of the East", and introduces herself as "the Witch of the North", with the word "Witch" capitalized in both cases. However, when she goes on to tell Dorothy that "I [the Witch of the North] am a good witch, and the people love me", the word "witch" is not capitalized.
White is the traditional color of witches in Oz. The Good Witch of the North wears a pointed white hat and a white gown decorated with stars, while Glinda, the Good Witch of the South (called a "sorceress" in later books), wears a pure white dress. Dorothy is taken for a witch not only because she had killed the Wicked Witch of the East, but because her dress is blue and white checked.[32]
Ozma, once on the throne, prohibits the use of magic by anyone other than Glinda the Good, the Wizard of Oz, and herself – as, earlier, the Good Witch of the North had prohibited magic by any other witch in her domains.[33] The illicit use of magic is a frequent feature of villains in later works in the series, appearing in The Scarecrow of Oz, Rinkitink in Oz, The Lost Princess of Oz, The Tin Woodman of Oz, and The Magic of Oz.[34]
Animals
There are different kinds of animals living in Oz. According to Baum, all animals in Oz have the ability to speak because it is a "fairy" kingdom. When asked by his readers why Dorothy's dog Toto did not speak, Baum insisted that he had the ability to, but did not choose to speak. Toto finally does so in Tik-Tok of Oz.
Among the many animals in Oz are:
- A-B-Sea Serpent – A 200-foot-long (61 m) sea serpent that is composed of alphabet blocks.
- Chiss – An evil porcupine spirit that can launch his quills.
- Comfortable Camel – A bactrian camel from outside of the Land of Oz who found his way into the country along with the Doubtful Dromedary and they joined Dorothy Gale's party to find the Scarecrow. He almost always feels comfortable during his eventful journey.
- Cowardly Lion – The Cowardly Lion is one of Dorothy Gale's friends.
- Crab – A crab ended up in an argument with a Zebra to determine if the world had more water, or more land
- Doubtful Dromedary – A dromedary from outside of the Land of Oz who along with the Comfortable Camel found their way into the country and they joined Dorothy Gale's party to find the Scarecrow. He doubts nearly everything that anyone says.
- Dragons – Dragons are the toughest creatures in the Land of Oz and its neighboring countries. The ones in Gillikin Country live underground and are allowed to come out once every 100 years in search of food.
- Field Mice – The Tin Man once saved the Queen of the Field Mice from a wildcat. Her kind later help Dorothy and her friends get out of a deadly poppy field. The mice also reappear in the Marvelous Land of Oz to help the Scarecrow on his quest to reclaim his throne from General Jinjur, by hiding inside his clothes and jumping out to scare Jinjur and her guards.
- Foolish Owl – The Foolish Owl lives in Munchkin Country. She and the Wise Donkey are public advisers.
- Giant Purple Spiders – A race of spiders in Gillikin Country that catch travelers in their webs and make them their servants.
- Powder of Life.
- Gump – Gumps are common creatures in the Land of Oz. They are elk-like creatures with wide-spreading antlers, caprine whiskers, and a turned-up nose.
- Hippocampus – A race of half-horse half-fish aquatic creatures that live in Lake Orizon within Munchkin Country. The lake monster Quiberon once ate them into extinction. After Quiberon was turned to stone by the Wizard of Oz, he used his magic to reconstitute the bones of the Hippocampuses, causing their species to live once more.
- Hip-po-gy-raf – A Hip-po-gy-raf lives in Munchkin Country west of Mount Munch. It appears to be a combination of a hippopotamus and a giraffe.
- Hungry Tiger– The Hungry Tiger is the Cowardly Lion's best friend.
- Jackdaws – A bunch of Jackdaws live in Quadling Country.
- Kabumpo – The elegant elephant of Pumperdink.
- Kalidahs – The Kalidahs have the head and back legs of a tiger and the arms, torso, and feet of a bear. Their claws are known to rip a lion in half.
- Kangaroo – A mittens-wearing kangaroo lives near the village of Fuddlecumjig.
- Lonesome Duck – The Lonesome Duck is the only duck in the Land of Oz.
- Orks – Orks are unusual flying animals that have the blended characteristics of a common ostrich and a parrot.
- Rak – A terrible beast with a horrible appetite and a bad disposition. It is said to be bigger than 100 men and can eat any living thing.
- Rattlesnake – A rattlesnake serves as a companion of the A-B-Sea Serpent.
- Squirrel King – The King of the Squirrels that live in Winkie Country.
- Stork – A stork once helped Dorothy and her companions rescue Scarecrow.
- Unicorns – A group of unicorns that live at Unicorners within Munchkin Country.
- Winged Monkeys – Monkeys with bird wings. They obey the owner of the Golden Cap that summons them three times.
- Land of Mowho often advised the King of Mo. He now lives in Munchkin Country with the Foolish Owl.
- Zebra – A Zebra ended up in an argument with a Crab to determine if there was either more water in the world or more land.
Other races
There is a multitude of other races living in the land of Oz, many of which only appear once. Among the known races are:
- The Bun People of Bunbury – The Bun People are made of baked goods like breads, buns, cakes, and muffins of all varieties.
- The Bunnies of Bunnybury – A race of civilized rabbits.
- The China People – A race of beings that are made of china (porcelain) that live in Quadling Country.
- The Cuttenclips – A race of living paper dolls that live in Quadling Country.
- The Dicks – The topsy-turvy inhabitants of Dicksy Land.
- The Equinots – A race of centaurs.
- The Flatheads – A race of flat-headed humans who carry their brains in cans.
- The Flutterbudgets – A race of people who entertain foolish fears and spend time worrying over nothing.
- The Fuddles – A race of anthropomorphic jigsaw puzzles that live in Fuddlecumjig.
- The Hammerheads – An armless race with extensible necks and hard heads.
- The Hoopers – A race of 10 ft. tall humanoids that live in the Purple Forest of Gillikin Country and can roll into hoops by grabbing their toes with their hands.
- The Hoppers – A race of one-legged people that live inside a mountain in Quadling Country.
- The Horners – A race of strange one-horned people that live inside a mountain in Quadling Country.
- The Hyups – A subspecies of Munchkins that live on Mount Munch.
- The Loons – A race of living balloon people that live in Loonville.
- The Magical Mimics – A race of evil shape-shifting creatures that are a type of Erb that live on Mount Illuso.
- The Middlings - A race of large mud creatures with dry grass hair that live beneath the surface of Munchkin Country.
- The Rigmaroles – A race of people that make long deliberate speeches which make use of many words.
- The Scares – A race of grotesque beings that reside in Scare City within Quadling Country.
- The Scooters – A race of people that live on the waters of the Gillikin River. They have long boat-like feet and have sails growing from their wrists to their ribs.
- The Skeezers – A race of anatomically normal humans who are often in conflicts with the Flatheads.
- The Sticks-in-the-Muds – A tribe of mud-covered people on stilts that live in Marsh Land within Winkie Country.
- The Thists – A race of creatures that has diamond-shaped heads and heart-shaped bodies that live in Thi.
- The Tottenhots – A race of small mischievous people who live on the borders of Quadling Country and Winkie Country.
- The Utensians – A race of living utensils that live in Utensia in Quadling Country.
- The Yips – A small community of people that resemble the Hyups.
Outside of them are many other strange races who are often found living in the wilderness of Oz. Despite the overlordship of Ozma, many of the communities live autonomously. Oz has great tolerance for eccentricity and oddness.[35]
Many characters in Oz are animated objects. Such figures as the Glass Cat, the Scarecrow, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Sawhorse, and others are common.[7] Entire regions are the homes of such animated beings. The Dainty China Country is entirely filled with creatures made of china, who would freeze into figurines if removed. The China Princess lives in fear of breaking because she would never be as pretty again, even if repaired.[36]
Many other characters are highly individual, even unique members of a species. Many such people from the outer worlds find refuge in Oz, which is highly tolerant of eccentricity.[37]
History
Prehistory
The history of Oz before The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (often called the prehistory of Oz as it takes place before Baum's "histories") is often the subject of dispute, as Baum himself gave conflicting accounts. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the title character recounts that he was a ventriloquist and a circus balloonist from
In The Marvelous Land of Oz the prehistory was changed slightly. Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, reveals that the Wizard usurped the previous king of Oz Pastoria and hid away his daughter Ozma. This was Baum's reaction to the popular 1903 Broadway extravaganza Baum adapted from his book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which the Wizard took the role of the main antagonist and the Wicked Witch of the West was left out.[39]
The Wizard, however, had been more popular with his readers than he thought. In Ozma of Oz, he omitted any mention of the Wizard's having usurped the throne of Ozma's father,[40] but the largest changes occurred in the next book.
In the preface to Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Baum remarks that the Wizard had turned out to be a popular character with the children who had read the first book and so he brought the Wizard back. During it, the Wizard relates yet another account of his history in Oz, telling Ozma that his birth name was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs, which, being a very long and cumbersome name, and as his other initials spelled out "PINHEAD," he preferred to leave just as O.Z. The balloon part of his story was unchanged, except for the detail added by Ozma, that the people probably saw his initials on his balloon and took them as a message that he was to be their king. She relates that the country was already named Oz (a word which in their language means "great and good") and that it was typical for the rulers to have names that are variations of Oz (King Pastoria being a notable exception to this rule).
Ozma elaborates further, saying that there were once four Wicked Witches in Oz, who leagued together to depose the King, but the Wicked Witches of the North and South were defeated by Good Witches before the Wizard arrived in Oz. According to this version, the King at the time was Ozma's grandfather. This version of prehistory restores the Wizard's reputation,[38] but adds the awkwardness of both Ozma and her father having been born in captivity.
In The Tin Woodman of Oz Baum writes how Oz came to be a fairyland:
- Oz was not always a fairyland, I am told. Once it was much like other lands, except it was shut in by a dreadful desert of sandy wastes that lay all around it, thus preventing its people from all contact with the rest of the world. Seeing this isolation, the fairy band of Queen Lurline, passing over Oz while on a journey, enchanted the country and so made it a Fairyland. And Queen Lurline left one of her fairies to rule this enchanted Land of Oz, and then passed on and forgot all about it.
Thenceforward, no one in Oz would ever age, get sick, or die. After becoming a fairyland, Oz harbored many Witches, Magicians, and Sorcerers until the time when Ozma made magic illegal without a permit. In yet another inconsistency, it is implied that Ozma was the fairy left behind by Queen Lurline to rule the country, contradicting the story where she was Pastoria's daughter. This is later confirmed in Glinda of Oz:
- "If you are really Princess Ozma of Oz," the Flathead said, "you are one of that band of fairies who, under Queen Lurline, made all Oz a Fairyland. I have heard that Lurline left one of her own fairies to rule Oz, and gave the fairy the name of Ozma."
While this explains why no one dies or ages, and nevertheless there are people of different ages in Oz, it is completely inconsistent with the earlier versions of the prehistory.[41]
Maguire, author of
In Jack Snow's The Magical Mimics in Oz, the prehistory story is retold. This version relates that Ozma was given to the king of Oz as an adoptive daughter, for he was old and had no children.
In the Magic Land stories of
History through the first six books
Eventually, Dorothy Gale and her whole house are blown into Oz from Kansas by a tornado. When the house lands, it crushes the Wicked Witch of the East, ruler of the Munchkins. In an attempt to get back to her home, she journeys to the Emerald City. Along the way, she meets the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow, all of whom accompany her. Once there, they become the first people to gain an audience with the Wizard since he went into seclusion, although he disguises himself because Dorothy now has the Wicked Witch of the East's magic silver shoes, and he is afraid of her. The Wizard sends Dorothy and her party to destroy the Wicked Witch of the West and in exchange promises to grant her request to be sent home. Surprisingly, Dorothy "destroys" the Witch by throwing a pail of water on her, causing her to melt. Defeated, the Wizard reveals to the group that he is in fact not a real wizard and has no magical powers, but he promises to grant Dorothy's wish and take her home himself in his balloon. He leaves the Scarecrow in his place to rule Oz.
Finally, it is discovered that the wizard had given the daughter of the last king of Oz, Princess Ozma, to the old witch Mombi to have her hidden away. Mombi had turned Ozma into a boy named Tip, whom she raised. When all of this is revealed Tip is turned back into Ozma and takes her rightful place as the benevolent ruler of all of Oz. Ozma successfully wards off several attempts by various armies to overthrow her. To prevent any upheaval of her rule over Oz, she outlaws the practice of all magic in Oz except by herself, the returned and reformed wizard, and by Glinda, and she has Glinda make all of Oz invisible to outsiders. Ozma remains the ruler of Oz for the entire series.
Economy and politics
Some political analysts have claimed that Oz is a thinly disguised socialist utopia, though some Baum scholars disagree.[42] Advocates of this theory support it using this quotation from The Emerald City of Oz:
- There were no poor people in the land of Oz because there was no such thing as money, and all property of every sort belonged to the Ruler. Each person was given freely by his neighbors whatever he required for his use, which is as much as anyone may reasonably desire. Every one worked half the time and played half the time, and the people enjoyed the work as much as they did the play because it is good to be occupied and to have something to do. There were no cruel overseers set to watch them, and no one to rebuke them or to find fault with them. So each one was proud to do all he could for his friends and neighbors and was glad when they would accept the things he produced.
This is a revision of the original society: in the first two books, the people of Oz lived in a money-based economy.[5] For instance, the people of the Emerald City use "green pennies" as coinage.[43] Money was not abolished in the course of the series, but excised from the conception of Oz.[44] Indeed, in The Magic of Oz, a character from Oz gets into trouble when he goes to Ev because he was unaware of the concept of money.[45] This decision to remove money from Oz may reflect Baum's own financial difficulties in the times when he was writing these books.[43]
Since Oz is ruled by a monarch, benevolent though she may be, Oz is closer in nature to an absolute monarchy than a communist or Marxist state.[46] When she was first introduced, Ozma was the monarch specifically of the Emerald City, but in the description of Ozma of Oz, Oz is presented as a federal state, rather like the German Empire, in monarchies rather than republics: having an overall ruler in Ozma, and individual kings and queens of smaller portions.[47]
The society grew steadily more utopian, in that its peace and prosperity were organized, but from the first book, it was a stupendously wealthy country, in contrast to Kansas's crop failures, droughts, and mortgages—just as it also is colorful to contrast with Kansas's gray.[48] On the other hand, despite the presence of the Emerald City, Oz is an agrarian country, similar to Kansas; the story has been interpreted as a populist parable, and certainly contains many populist themes.[49]
In The Wonder City of Oz, Princess Ozma (called "Queen Ozma" in this book) is seen running for election ("ozlection") to her office as a ruler against Jenny Jump, a half-fairy newcomer from New Jersey. However, this book was not written by Baum, but by John R. Neill, Baum's second successor. Further, the concept of the "ozlection" was not in Neill's manuscript for the book but was added by an editor at Reilly and Lee, the publisher.
At times the rulers of Oz's territories have grander titles than would normally be customary, but this is done mostly for the satisfaction of the incumbents. The ruler of the Winkie Country is the Emperor, the Tin Woodman. The ruler of the Quadling Country is Glinda the Good. The Munchkin Country is ruled by a king, later identified as Cheeriobed, who is revealed to be married to the Good Witch of the North, who, a spell broken, abdicates leadership of the Gillikin Country to Joe King and Queen Hyacinth of Up Town.[50]
The Royal Flag of Oz is based on the map of the Land of Oz; the four colors represent the four countries, and the green star represents the Emerald City.
Defense
Oz is mostly a peaceful land and the idea of subversion is largely unknown to its people. Most military positions are only formal. This has caused many problems, such as in The Marvelous Land of Oz when the Emerald City (which was only guarded by an elderly doorman and one soldier who was the entire Army of Oz at the time) was easily conquered by the Army of Revolt led by General Jinjur. This army was in turn overwhelmed by another army of girls led by Glinda.
Security of Oz is mostly maintained by magic such as Glinda's spell making Oz completely invisible. Oz also has a natural barrier in the form of a desert that surrounds the land: anyone who touches the desert turns to sand. The Nome King has tried to conquer Oz on several occasions. A nominal army once existed, but it had an extremely large officers/privates ratio; other than its commander the Tin Woodman and one private, the portion of it seen in Ozma of Oz was composed entirely of cowardly officers. At the end of the book, it was said that there are three privates all in all, and it is unknown how many—if any—officers were left at home during Ozma's travel to Ev. The private seen in the book named Omby Amby, is later promoted to Captain-General.
In the book The Emerald City of Oz, there are 2 towns called Rigmarole Town and Flutterbudgets that are the defensive settlements of Oz.
In the movie Return to Oz, the mechanical man Tik-Tok is the entire Royal Army of Oz.
Attempts by outsiders to conquer the Land of Oz are frequent, particularly in the Oz books by Ruth Plumly Thompson. But these attempts are always successfully thwarted in the end, usually by Ozma or by forces sympathetic to her.
Characters
Recurring characters in the classic Oz series include:
- Dorothy Gale – A heroic little orphan girl from Kansas. In later Oz books, she eventually moves to Oz permanently after visiting the land several times and having several adventures there. Dorothy ultimately becomes best friends with Princess Ozma who proclaims her an official princess of Oz.
- Toto – Dorothy's little black dog whom she loves dearly. Toto is a sidekick companion, loyally following his mistress Dorothy on most of her adventures. It is revealed in "Tik-Tok of Oz" that even though Toto is not a fairy dog, he can still talk in Oz, he just chooses not to.
- Wizardarrived. She is established upon the throne as the true heir shortly after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz takes place.
- Uncle Henry– Dorothy's uncle who is a Kansas farmer and the husband of Aunt Em. He ultimately moves to Oz with Dorothy and Aunt Em when the bank forecloses on his farm.
- Aunt Em – Dorothy's aunt, and the wife of uncle Henry. She ultimately moves to Oz with Dorothy and uncle Henry.
- The Gillikin Country after she overthrew Mombi, the Wicked Witch of the North. She was also the first witch Dorothy encountered upon her first arrival in Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- The Munchkin Country. He is also a good friend of Dorothy. At the end of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz he became the King of Oz and ruled its imperial capital called the Emerald Cityafter the Wizard left. However, he gladly relinquished the title when Ozma was found.
- The Winkie Country after the Wicked Witch of the Westwas destroyed by Dorothy in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- The Hungry Tiger; together they rule Oz's Animal Kingdom and are the royal chariot pullers for Princess Ozma.
- The Wizard (Oscar Diggs) – The former ruler of Oz and the Emerald City before the Scarecrow and Princess Ozma. A skilled circus entertainer and ventriloquist from Omaha, Nebraska, he used his magic tricks to create illusions that made it appear as if he had real powers. Once a humbug, he is now a real wizard after being trained by both Ozma and Glinda, who successfully taught him how to perform honest magic.
- classic MGM musical movie of 1939portrays her as the Good Witch of the North).
- Guardian of the Gates– The friendly gatekeeper responsible for adorning the visitors who wish to enter Oz's capital with the green-tinted spectacles. He is described as being a very jolly and short man who wears fancy green clothing and has green-tinted skin.
- Soldier with the Green Whiskers – The Captain-General of the Royal Army of Oz who guards the main entrance of the royal palace in the Emerald City. His real name is Omby Amby Wantowin Battles. He is a very tall man who has a very long green beard.
- Jellia Jamb – The young maid who works in the Emerald City's royal palace. She is also known as the "pretty green girl", with pretty green eyes and pretty green hair. Jellia becomes Ozma and Dorothy's favorite servant out of the city's staff administration.
- Jack Pumpkinhead – An enchanted man made out of wooden branches with a carved jack-o-lantern pumpkin for a head. Jack was brought to life with the magic "Powder of Life" potion.
- The Sawhorse – An animated sawhorse who becomes a steed of sorts for Princess Ozma and her friends. He was brought to life with the "Powder of Life".
- H. M. Woggle-Bug, T.E. – An intelligent insect who was magnified into a human-sized bug.
- Jinjur – A former General of the all-female Army of Revolt.
- Billina – A yellow hen and good friend of Dorothy. Upon arriving in Oz, Billina becomes Queen of the chickens.
- Tik-Tok – A mechanical and super-intelligent clockwork robot (one of the first robots in literature).
- The Hungry Tiger– The Cowardly Lion's closest companion besides the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman.
- The Shaggy Man – A homeless but friendly man from "the real world". He ends up living in Oz permanently.
- Button-Bright – A lost little boy of only four- or five-years-old. He is from a wealthy family in Philadelphia but has many adventures in Oz and its neighboring kingdoms.
- Eureka – Dorothy's pink and purple kitten.
- The Patchwork Girl (a.k.a. "Scraps") – A life-size living doll made entirely of a colorful patchwork quilt. She was brought to life with the magic "Powder of Life" potion by a young Munchkin boy named Ojo. Scraps also becomes the love interest of the Scarecrow.
- Ojo– A young boy of Munchkin descent.
- Betsy Bobbin – A girl a year older than Dorothy from Oklahoma who comes to Oz with a talking mule named Hank after being shipwrecked.
- Polychrome – A colorful and ethereal sky fairy and the youngest daughter of the Rainbow.
- Trot– A girl who comes to Oz by accident and who is a year younger than Dorothy.
- Cap'n Bill – An ex-sailor with a wooden leg who visits Oz and is friends with Trot.
- Kabumpo – The Elegant Elephant of Pumperdink.
- Jenny Jump – A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey who became a half-fairy.
- Pastoria – The former mortal King of Oz who ruled long before the Wizard came and is the deceased father of Princess Ozma.
- Mombi – The former Wicked Witch of the North. Mombi once ruled the northern quadrant of Oz until the Good Witch Locasta Tattypoo overthrew her. She also was partially responsible for the mysterious disappearance of Princess Ozma.
- The Nome King – The main villain and antagonist in the Oz books. He is Oz's most threatening enemy who resides in the neighboring Nome Kingdom separated from Oz by the Deadly Desert. The Nome King is always trying to conquer Oz or thinking of ways to overthrow it throughout most of the entire series.
Other media
The 1939 MGM film's Oz
The Land of Oz as portrayed in the
There are many other small differences between the books and the movie. For example, when Dorothy arrives in
It is also worthy of note that the Dorothy of the books is only a little girl who is no older than twelve-years-old. However, she is mature and very resourceful, only crying when faced with ultimate despair, whereas the older Dorothy of the movie (portrayed as a twelve-year-old by sixteen-year-old Judy Garland) spends several portions of the film crying and being told by others what to do, however, her fear was overshadowed by the Cowardly Lion's. This is more consistent with Thompson's portrayal of Dorothy—Baum is known for his strong and independent female characters.[51]
The Wizard of Oz does not resort to anywhere near as much trickery in the movie as in the book. In the book he entertains each member of Dorothy's party on a different day, and takes a different form for each; appearing as a giant green head, a beautiful fairy, a great beast, and a levitating ball of fire. In the movie, he takes only one of these forms—that of the giant green head.
The nature of the Emerald City is changed in the film. In the book, the city is not actually all green, but everyone is forced to wear green-tinted spectacles (ostensibly to protect their eyes from the glory and splendor of the luxurious city), thus making everything appear green. In the film, the city is actually green. The architecture of the Emerald City in the movie uses a much more contemporary Art Deco style than Baum could have imagined. In the book, a giant green wall studded in glittering emeralds surrounds the entire city, whereas in the movie there is only a gate opening.
The movie replaces the charmed
Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz
In his
Maguire's presentation of Oz's geography is also tinged with politics. A large political prison, Southstairs, exists in caverns below the Emerald City. Gillikin, home of Shiz University, has more industrial development than other parts of Oz. Munchkinland is Oz's breadbasket and at one point declares its independence from the rule of the Emerald City. Quadling Country is largely marshland, inhabited by the artistic and sexually free Quadlings. The Vinkus (Maguire's name for Winkie Country) is largely open grassland, populated by semi-nomadic tribes with brown skin.
The musical
In both the book and musical, several characters from the traditional Oz stories are present with different names. Glinda was called Galinda but changed her name. The Wicked Witch of the West is called
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's Magic Land
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov was a Russian author best known for his translation of The Wizard of Oz into Russian, and for writing his own original sequels, which were based only loosely on Baum's. Volkov's books have been translated into many other languages, and are better known than Baum's in some countries. The books, while still aimed at children, feature many mature political and ethical elements. They have been retranslated into English by Peter L. Blystone and partially by March Laumer, who used elements of them in his own books.
March Laumer's Oz
Laumer also made several controversial changes to Oz. He married off several of the major characters, often to unlikely prospects. For example, the intelligent and mature sorceress Glinda was married to Button-Bright, who had been a small and dim-witted child throughout Baum's books. He also aged Dorothy to a teenager to make her a romantic prospect for several characters, made Ozma a
Laumer's books do not portray one consistent version of Oz. Because most of his books were collaborations, he often included elements of other author's visions of Oz which may have been inconsistent with his own. For example, while he explicitly made Dorothy sixteen in A Fairy Queen in Oz, he had her physically eight in Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Oz; and while he portrayed Volkov's Oz as a parallel universe in Farewell to Oz he also showed Volkov's characters living in Baum's Oz in many of his other books, such as Aunt Em and Uncle Henry in Oz. Despite these discrepancies, many of his books are consistent with each other, and characters introduced in some often appear in others.[54]
Philip José Farmer's Oz
Farmer portrays the land of Oz as a science fiction author, attempting to explain scientifically many of the "magical" elements of Baum's story.
Robert A. Heinlein's Oz
The main characters of
The Oz portrayed in the book is very close to Baum's Oz, although Heinlein does make an attempt to explain some things from the standpoint of a science fiction author. He explains that Oz is on a retrograde planet, where the direction of rotation relative to the poles is reversed, resulting in the sun seeming to rise in what would normally be the west.
Heinlein also explains that the population remains steady in Oz despite the lack of death because it is impossible for children to be born in Oz. When the population does increase through immigration, Glinda just extends the borders an inch or two in each direction, which makes more than enough space for all additional people.
L. Sprague de Camp's Oz
L. Sprague de Camp, like Heinlein, brings his own characters to Oz in his book Sir Harold and the Gnome King, part of the collaborative Harold Shea series. Unlike Heinlein, he does not attempt to explain Oz as science fiction, though he does deviate from the original corpus. He follows Thompson's Oz books, thus using her spelling of "Gnome" and her final fate of the character, but he postulates an incident that has removed the Ozites' immortality, with the result that both Ozma and Dorothy have aged and married by the time his story takes place.
Tad Williams' Otherland Oz
In the Otherland series, by Tad Williams, a virtual reality version of Oz exists, wherein real-world antagonists play sadistic versions of the roles of the Tin Man, The Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, in a twisted, martial, and post-apocalyptic version of Oz, populated both by characters from the novels, and a large quantity of male and female humans who go by the names "Henry" and "Em" respectively. The humans, computer-generated characters based on the lost minds of children drawn into the Otherland program, look forward to a messianic prophecy foretelling the coming of "The Dorothy", where a child would be born among them.
The Outer Zone (Tin Man)
2007
Emerald City Confidential
The 2009 point-and-click adventure video game Emerald City Confidential reinvents Oz in a film noir style, with Dorothy Gale as a femme fatale, the Lion as a corrupt lawyer, and some other changes.[57]
Once Upon a Time
The Land of Oz appears in the TV series Once Upon a Time and is the focus of the episodes "It's Not Easy Being Green", "Kansas", "Heart of Gold", "Our Decay", "Ruby Slippers", and "Where Bluebirds Fly". It was also seen briefly in the episodes "Sisters" and "Chosen".
OZ: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting
In 2022, Andrew Kolb released OZ: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting, designed for use with
Magic of Oz
Being a fantasy series Oz is rich in magic. In particular, there are many magic items that play an important role in the series.
Silver Shoes/Ruby Slippers
When Dorothy leaves Oz after having several adventures there and befriending many of Oz's natives, she is magically carried over the
The silver shoes and ruby slippers are also used in several other versions including Wicked by
In 1985's Return to Oz, the ruby slippers have been recovered from their place in the Deadly Desert by the Nome King.
A little-known adaptation of the original story made for British television in the mid-90s starring Denise van Outen explained that they had belonged to a visitor from over the rainbow who came to Oz before Dorothy and they were obtained by the Witch when the visitor wished herself home and they fell off her feet on the return trip.
Powder of Life
The Powder of Life is a magic substance from the book series, which first appears in The Marvelous Land of Oz.
It is a magical powder that brings inanimate objects to life. The
In
- Raise the left hand, little finger pointing upward, and say: "Weaugh!"
- Raise the right hand, thumb pointing upward, and say: "Teaugh!"
- Raise both hands, with all the fingers and thumbs spread out, and say: "Peaugh!"
In The Road to Oz, Dr. Pipt's sister Dyna activated the Powder of Life with a simple wish that brought the rug of her late blue bear pet to life.
In The Patchwork Girl of Oz it brings the title character to life, also the glass cat and a phonograph.
Mombi's shaker also contained three "wishing pills" fabricated by Dr. Nikidik.
The Powder has been used by Volkov in his series. There, it is produced from a certain plant of such viability that the smallest piece can grow into a plant within a day, on any surface except for solid metal. However, if it is sun-dried on such a surface, it turns into the Powder of Life. No incantation is required to make the powder work. The second book of the series is centered around a man who animates an army of wooden soldiers with the Powder and uses them for conquering the Magic Land.
In Return to Oz, the magic words to bring the inanimate object to life were "WEAUGH, TEAUGH, PEAUGH".
Magic Belt
The Magic Belt is first introduced in Ozma of Oz. The belt belonged to the Nome King, but Dorothy Gale stole it and defeated him. When she leaves Oz, she gives it to Ozma for safekeeping.
In most Oz books, the Magic Belt grants its wearer the ability to transform anyone into any form, and the ability to transport anyone anywhere, and also makes its wearer impervious to harm. In some books, it also grants limited wishes.
In Ozma of Oz, its power is limited: its magic cannot affect objects which are made of wood.
In the non-canonical The Oz Kids animated series, the Magic Belt belonged to Dot.
Magic Picture
In Ozma's boudoir hangs a picture in a radium frame. This picture usually appears to be of pleasant countryside, but when anyone wishes for the picture to show a particular person or place, the scene will display what is wished for. Sometimes the onlooker is able to hear sounds from the scene within the Magic Picture and sometimes an additional device is necessary to transmit sound.
A similar device is present in Volkov's series. There, it is given as a present to the Scarecrow by the
Great Book of Records
Glinda's 'Great Book of Records is introduced in Chapter 29 of The Emerald City of Oz: " 'It is a record of everything that happens,' replied the Sorceress. 'As soon as an event takes place, anywhere in the world, it is immediately found printed in my Magic Book. So when I read its pages I am well informed.' " The Book proves useful in The Scarecrow of Oz and Glinda of Oz; and it recurs in many of the stories of Baum's successors and imitators. For instance, in The Number of the Beast, the Book is shown to cover more than simply Oz. It provided information concerning the "Black Hats" attempting to murder the four protagonists which enabled Glinda to devise a set of magical glasses requested by Hilda Burroughs that enable her to spot a Black Hat no matter how disguised. It is one of the prime magic devices of Oz; villains steal it when they can (as in The Lost Princess of Oz or in Handy Mandy in Oz). Since it covers the planet and not merely Oz, the Book's entries are compressed and sometimes cryptic, and difficult to decipher (as in Paradox in Oz or Queen Ann in Oz).
The book is also featured in the fantasy series Once Upon a Time. Zelena reads the book ignoring Glinda's warning and turns green again because she felt betrayed as it was mentioned in the book that Dorothy would save Oz from a great evil (Zelena thought that evil was her but this was never revealed).
The Love Magnet
A rusty-looking horseshoe magnet that causes everyone to love its owner. It is closely associated with the Shaggy Man. In The Road to Oz, he finds that being loved by everyone can be inconvenient. In Tik-Tok of Oz he reveals that Ozma has modified its powers so that it only works when it is displayed and affects only the feelings of those who see it. It is an essential plot-element in The Shaggy Man of Oz. Ozma keeps it hanging over the gate into the Emerald City so that all who enter will come with love, although this does not always seem to happen.
Magic Fan
The Magic Fan is brought to Oz by Dorothy in The Royal Book of Oz. Several subsequent books mention it. It creates a powerful wind, capable of blowing away an invading army.
Fountain of Oblivion
A fountain in the Emerald City, erected by
Magic Dinner Bell
Created by the
Miscellaneous
Talking animals
In Oz, animals such as the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger can talk, and all native animals appear to be capable of speech.
The treatment of non-native animals was inconsistent. In the first book, the
An additional inconsistency is introduced with Tik-Tok of Oz: Hank the Mule cannot speak until reaching the Land of Oz, although he lands on the shore of Ev first, where Billina the chicken gained the ability to speak. This might be because Tik-Tok of Oz was originally a stage play version of Ozma of Oz; Dorothy was replaced by Betsy because he had sold the stage rights for Dorothy, and Billina was replaced by Hank because a mule could more convincingly be played by two people in a costume.
There is one small kingdom in Oz where animals are unable to talk: Corumbia.[60]
Origin of the name Oz
A legend of uncertain validity is that when relating bedtime stories (the earliest form of the Oz books) Baum was asked by his niece, Ramona Baxter Bowden, the name of the magical land. He glanced at a nearby filing cabinet, which had three drawers, labeled A–G, H–N, and O–Z. Thus he named the land Oz. This story was first told in 1903, but his wife always insisted that the part about the filing cabinet was not true.
A biblical connection is that in the Hebrew language "Oz" (עז) means might or strength.
Oz is a common vernacular contraction of
Legacy
In 2018, The Lost Art of Oz project was initiated to locate and catalog the surviving original artwork John R. Neill,
References
- ISBN 978-0-7583-0792-7.
The Emerald City is built all of beautiful marbles in which are set a profusion of emeralds .... It has nine thousand, six hundred and fifty-four buildings, in which lived fifty-seven thousand three hundred and eighteen people .... There were more than half a million people in the Land of Oz
- ISBN 0-380-86553-X.
- ^ a b Thurber, "The Wizard of Chittenango", p. 66.
- ISBN 0-517-50086-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-7006-0832-X.
- ^ Riley, p. 138.
- ^ ISBN 0-312-19869-8.
- ^ a b Riley, p. 53.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 92.
- ^ Riley, p. 105.
- ^ a b Riley, p. 106.
- ^ Riley, p. 155.
- ^ Riley, p. 177.
- ^ Riley, p. 209.
- ^ a b Riley, p. 223.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 107.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 106.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 293.
- ^ a b Riley, p. 139.
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, "Oz", p. 740.
- ^ Riley, p. 186.
- ^ Eric P. Gjovaag. "Wizard of Oz – Frequently Asked Questions – About the Land of Oz". Retrieved February 26, 2007.
- ^ Riley, p. 167.
- ^ Riley, p. 37.
- ^ Riley, p. 228.
- ^ Riley, pp. 186–7.
- ^ Robert R. Pattrick, "Oz Geography," The Baum Bugle, Vol. 3 No. 1 (May 1959) to Vol. 4 No. 1 (May 1960).
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 99.
- ^ a b c Riley, p. 57.
- JSTOR 2710826.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 102.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 115.
- ^ Riley, pp. 177–8.
- ISBN 0-415-92151-1.
- ^ Zipes, p. 165.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 311.
- ^ Riley, p. 154.
- ^ a b Riley, p. 146.
- ^ "Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz". Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ Riley, p. 140.
- ^ Riley, pp. 216–17.
- ^ Frequently Asked Questions Archived April 8, 2004, at the Wayback Machine The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Website.
- ^ a b The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 202.
- ^ Riley, p. 156.
- ^ Riley, p. 220.
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 75.
- ^ Riley, pp. 139–40.
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- ^ The Giant Horse of Oz.
- ^ Brooke Allen (November 17, 2002). "The Man Behind the Curtain". New York Times. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- ^ Eric P. Gjovaag. "Wizard of Oz – Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
- ^ "Deadly Desert of Oz". Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
- ^ "March Laumer Online". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved September 5, 2007.
- ^ "A Touch More Evil: Azkadellia's World", SciFi Pulse video (Atom Films mirror) – November 13, 2007 Archived June 7, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Brick by Brick: Bringing Tin Man to Life", SciFi Pulse video (YouTube mirror) – November 16, 2007
- ^ "Review of Emerald City Confidential", Adventure Gamers – February 23, 2009
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- ^ "Tik-Tok of Oz". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ^ The Yellow Knight of Oz
- ^ The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p. 103.
- ^ Baum, L. Frank (1908). Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. Chicago: Reilly & Britton. p. 196.
- ^ Riley, p. 125.
- ^ "About".