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THE WIZARD OF OZ | |||||||||||||||||
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The Wizard | |||||||||||||||||
| In Henry Littlefield's Populist allegory, the Wizard represents the president of the United States. [1] Viewed as a political allegory, The Wizard of Oz expresses cynicism about politicians. In the movie the Wizard appears to all of the characters in the same way but in L. Frank Baum's original story he appears differently to each of the characters. To Dorothy he appears as a giant head, to the Scarecrow he appears as a fairy, to the Tin Man he appears as a great beast, and to the Cowardly Lion he appears as a ball of fire. Like a politician, the wizard adopts a different appearance for each interest. That is, he attempts to be all things to all people. The president in office during the 1896 election was Grover Cleveland, who was known as the "Great Obstructionist". The Wizard cannot provide what Dorothy and her companions ask for, but he refuses to admit that. Instead he sends them on what he believes is a futile errand. According to Jack Weatherford, the Wizard represents "Marcus Hanna, the power behind the Republican Party and the McKinley administration, was the wizard controlling the mechanisms of the Emerald City." [2] | |||||||||||||||||
| Notes | ||
| 1. | Henry Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism," American Quarterly 16 (Spring, 1964), p. 50. The full text of this article is also online at www.amphigory.com/oz.htm. | |
| 2. | Jack Weatherford, The History of Money: From Sandstone to Cyberspace (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1998), p. 176, also at The Cross of Gold and the Wizard of Oz. | |
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