Cowardly Lion

There are many allegorical similarities between L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz and the Populist Movement of the 1890’s, almost too many to believe they are accidental. However, writers tell stories about what they know, no matter how farfetched these stories may seem. Baum’s real world inspirations surrounded him everyday, and it is not unreasonable to argue these inspirations influenced Baum’s writing on a subconscious level. Depending on what mindset you read the book in, these connections…

back home. Dorothy had to experience the journey to realize that she did not have any reason to leave home at all because she held all the answers that she needed all along. The same situation occurs with her friends the scarecrow, tin man, and cowardly lion. Each character believes that they are missing something, and their mutual loss makes their friendship grow. They are all searching for something that they had the power to change throughout the whole journey, but sometimes people have to go…

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, is a film adaptation of the beloved book by C.S Lewis. While reading a book, one is forced to make up an entire world in their heads. The way the world is shaped, the way it sounds, the way it moves, the laws it has, the…

The film adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz was one of the most important movies of its time, capturing the eyes of the young and old with bright color and lively songs. But behind the bright green lights of Oz, were real people put in real danger. Between an unsafe set, dangerous makeup, and generally unpleasant and unenjoyable conditions, filming The Wizard of Oz was anything but magical bubbles and sparkling ruby slippers for the Hollywood stars of Oz. On the set of The Wizard of…

Which Path to Choose In this photograph of The Wizard of Oz the main focus is Emerald City glowing in the background and the two ways to choose between to get there the safest. The illuminating green castle shows the importance of taking the right path. This image resembles many situations in life where we need to be certain on which path we choose to lead us in the right direction. The magnificent Emerald City is the destination trying to be reached by the perplexed characters deciding whether…

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a modern fairy tale novel written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900. It’s the best-selling children’s story of the 1900 Christmas season. The book had an impact on American culture through the adaptations, popular culture, and readers’ reactions to the book. Ultimately, the book changed the country because of its powerful influence on American popular culture. In fact, the book was adapted into two films and a play. The first film…

It 's been said, you should never judge a book by its cover. Although, in the case of Frank Baum 's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, you shouldn 't judge a book by it 's target audience. In the introduction, Baum stated that his book was “...written solely to pleasure children of today”. (Baum 1900) This statement is the core of Quentin Taylor 's argument in his article, Money and Politics in the Land of Oz. In his article Taylor concludes, that when it comes to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, there is…

Georgia Lindstedt The Great Depression A time where countries were bombed, when suicide was a daily thing, and a time where Jews were killed and shunned in Europe; it was a time known as The Great Depression. The Great Depression was a gruesome decade for families, countries, and nations. Franklin. D. Roosevelt once said, “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” That’s exactly what happened to America. We…

In a society where many people pride themselves on their honesty, condemning deceit as abhorrent and lies as cowardly, only a small percent glorify the ability to convincingly mislead others. While hiding behind lies is not the optimal approach, when used with a modicum of discretion, it can be the key to survival. In the widely read fictional story, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s use of artifice was the support she needed to keep both herself and her daughter, Pearl, alive. While Hester…

Black Tuesday signified the first catastrophic event in a series to come initiating the Great Depression which latest from 1929 to 1939, marking the deepest and longest economic downturn the Western world has ever seen. Not only did this spark several fundamental government programs that still exist today, but it signified a shift in literature and augmented its growth. Prior to the Great Depression, novels telling of adventure, free spirits, and politics were popular amongst communities. This…