This is hardly the moral of the story, but it does indicate how L. Frank Baum chose to portray the triumph of good over evil in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum stated that his book “aspires to being a modern fairy tale, in which the wonderment and joy are retained and the heartaches and nightmares are left out.” You may be apprehensive about the flying monkeys, but you know that good, and not evil, will prevail.
Making the fantasy believable, the images indelible (the 1939 movie helped a lot here,) and the characters icons, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has become a template for any three characters lacking intelligence, compassion and courage wherever we encounter them in life or fiction. And the wizard? Powerless fraud, trickster, manipulator behind the scenes… this is another familiar cultural concept.
For WestportREADS 2008, we are planning a month of entertaining and informative events for the whole family in March. To get ready, read the original 1900 edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. You may purchase a copy at the Library store or borrow it. You will notice the bright yellow cover in the Library paperback racks or on the top of the New book shelves.
This is a story to be relished by the imaginative young and by the nostalgic not-so-young, as well as by those who enjoy digging for metaphor and symbolism.
Stay tuned. This one should be a lot of fun!
