The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapters 1-6
Re-read time! A few topics I'll be noting on this reading:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Aunt Em came to live in the Kansas prairies, in the farmhouse, when she was young, pretty and already married to Henry.
Dorothy came to live with her uncle and aunt after being orphaned.
First brushes with death: Dorothy is worried about being "dashed to pieces" during the travel by cyclone. During the journey, Toto falls through the open trap door to the cellar but is kept aloft just below the opening by the wind.
Dorothy and Toto spend so much time in the cyclone that they manage to calm down and it becomes a reasonable idea to take a nap.
"The cyclone had set the house down, very gently--for a cyclone."
"Dorothy [...] was a well-grown child for her age" but no age is given. However, she is consistently referred to as a "little girl".
Munchkins, Good Witch of the North are as tall as Dorothy.
The good Witch of the North (hereafter referred to as "GWN") automatically assumes Dorothy is a "noble Sorceress".
The GWN tells Dorothy that the house killing someone is the same as Dorothy herself killing someone. Uh, no.
The wicked Witch of the East (hereafter referred to as WWE) held all the Munchkins in bondage for "many years" before Dorothy's house fell.
The GWN is a friend of the Munchkins but is less powerful than the WWE or she would have set them free herself.
The Munchkins have access to a "swift messenger", so swift that the GWN arrives moments after Dorothy's house lands.
The GWN is adamant that there are (were) only four witches in the Land of Oz, two good, two wicked.
Aunt Em told Dorothy that all the witches died years and years ago. This is seemingly verified as true by the GWN, when she says that so-called "civilized countries" no longer have witches, wizards, sorceresses or magicians. Oz is not civilized and therefore still has those magical people, because it is cut off from all the rest of the world. The implication is that the rest of the world is our Earth.
Oz is referred to as "the Great Wizard". The existence of other Wizards is neither confirmed nor denied. Oz is declared as "more powerful than all the rest of us together".
The WEE is so old that upon death, she dries up into dust in minutes.
The GWN immediately bestows the silver shoes upon Dorothy, with the knowledge that the shoes possess an unknown charm.
The first mention of the desert surrounding Oz says that "none could live to cross it". The initial assumption made by the Ozian characters is that Dorothy will simply have to live with them.
The Munchkins are apparently so universally kind-hearted that Dorothy crying sends them into tears as well.
Dorothy's house came down not far from the eastern edge of Oz.
First instance of magic: the GWN can turn her pointed hat into a slate by balancing it on her nose and counting to three. When she summons the slate, it says "Let Dorothy go to the City of Emeralds". This message clearly comes from somewhere outside the Witch and implies that there is some supernatural force governing Dorothy's journey. Dorothy's trip to the Emerald City turns out to be the best thing that could happen to Oz.
It is unknown whether the Wizard Oz is a man (but surely they must know he is male, or they wouldn't know whether to call him a witch or a wizard).
The GWN kisses Dorothy on the forehead with the reasoning that no one will dare injure anyone who has been kissed by her. That's right, Dorothy gets a form of plot armour in the second chapter. It is considered safe to send this young child on a long cross-country trip with only this protection from physical abuse.
The GWN can teleport by whirling on her left heel three times.
Dorothy can pretty much communicate with Toto without him speaking.
Dorothy dons the silver shoes only because her old shoes are too worn for a long journey. They fit "as if they had been made for her"; a possible magical quality of the shoes that they fit anyone?
However old she is, Dorothy is capable as all get-out. She feeds herself, is concerned with cleanliness and even thinks to lock the door of the abandoned farmhouse, taking the key with her.
Boq the Munchkin is convinced Dorothy is a great, friendly sorceress, since she wears the WWE's silver shoes and dresses in a blue and white frock (apparently, only witches and sorceresses wear white, and blue is the Munchkin colour). Basically, Dorothy is instantly famous and her attire stands out.
None of the Munchkins have ever seen a dog before, and Toto is a curious creature to them.
In a several-mile radius around the site where Dorothy's house fell, the Munchkin Country is very pleasant and well-farmed.
The people are all wary or scared of the Wizard.
The Scarecrow's face consists of paint, but he can wink and smile, among other facial movements. His mouth is noted as not being a hole in his face, so his facial movements must be something like a cartoon animation.
The Scarecrow cannot feel it when people do things like stick a pin in him. It's unclear how he accomplishes movement properly without a sense of touch. However, he begins carrying Dorothy's basket around, since he won't get tired.
The Scarecrow wants brains because 1) he doesn't want to be called a fool and 2) he wants to know things. Oh my god, this text is almost pre-disabled, isn't it?
Then again, he immediately understands English when his ears are painted, but it takes him a bit to figure out that a mouth is for talking.
The animals can all talk, by the way, but Toto doesn't say a word.
The only thing the Scarecrow fears, rather sensibly, is a lighted match.
The text says that the Scarecrow repeatedly walks right into potholes because he has no brains.
The yellow brick road stops being well-maintained as the party moves away from occupied country. There are also fewer farms and fewer fruit trees.
Dorothy considers the "there is no place like home" message to be a universal human sentiment.
When Dorothy tells the Scarecrow that she needs water, he begins his schtick of feeling sorry for the poor people of flesh and blood who constantly require food, water and sleep.
The Tin Woodman was rusted in the forest for a year because he forgot his oil can in his cottage one day. He has Dorothy carry the oil can in her basket after he joins the party.
The Tin Woodman has neither brains nor a heart after having each one of his body parts replaced with tin after they were cut off by a spell cast by the WWE. The old woman who requested the spell was the master of the Munchkin girl who was engaged to the Tin Woodman. He fell in love with the girl because she was beautiful.
Death: Both of the Tin Woodman's parents died, presumably of natural causes. However, having each of his four limbs amputated, then his head cut off, and then being cut in two, had no permanent effects on the Tin Woodman other than having to replace the cut-off part with tin. (But then the WWE can die over a year later from the blunt-force trauma of being crushed by a house.)
Money: The Munchkin girl wanted the Tin Woodman to raise enough money to build a house for them, but he's a wood-chopper, so he was just going to build another house.
The Tin Woodman's father visited the Emerald City when the Woodman was a boy. We don't know the Tin Woodman's age and the conversion to tin has made him basically immortal, but let's say the Wizard has been around for at least 15 years.
In this series, the heart really is the center of emotion--at least for Ozians.
Toto is the only party member who is any position of danger when the Cowardly Lion attacks them.
The Cowardly Lion is astonished that Dorothy's companions are made of straw and tin, but he doesn't consider it out of the ordinary that such things could exist. He also doesn't know what a dog is.
The Cowardly Lion has figured out that he can get out of any frightening situation just by roaring really loudly.
The Scarecrow is the one who insinuates that the Lion is "wrong" for being afraid. The Tin Woodman, for his part, sympathetically suggests that the Lion has heart disease (so that exists in Oz).
The Lion is desperate for courage to feed his own self-esteem although he knows that the other animals in the forest are more cowardly than he.
To recap, since the party has assembled: the Scarecrow and Lion have self-esteem issues foisted on them by societal expectations. The Tin Woodman thinks he needs a heart to love his old flame properly. Dorothy finds this Land of Oz really weird and wants to return to Kansas.
The friendships are forged: the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman become BFFs, as do Toto and the Cowardly Lion. Yes, I do have Oz brOTPs.
The Tin Woodman accidentally kills a beetle by stepping on it. Then he cries and rusts his jaw. Although he frantically signs at the others, only the Scarecrow understands that he needs his oil can. Through some twisted reasoning, the Tin Woodman believes that he must take more care than the others not to harm other living beings, since he has no heart and therefore no moral compass. Yeah, I don't see the logic here, either. Anyway, it's worth noting that the beetle is not necessarily sentient. I believe the rules for which creatures in Oz are sentient and which are not come up in a later book. When they do, I'll go back over the previous books and try to analyze the implications.
- The rules of Oz; how magic works; the nomenclature; how death and injury works for different parties
- How, when and why the rules change
- Characterization
- Chronology and just how old all these "little" boys and girls are
- A little bit of geography
- How getting to Oz from the outside world works
- Is the upper political echelon of Oz really as noble as we are led to believe?
- A lot of the protagonists are assholes (and I love them anyway)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Aunt Em came to live in the Kansas prairies, in the farmhouse, when she was young, pretty and already married to Henry.
Dorothy came to live with her uncle and aunt after being orphaned.
First brushes with death: Dorothy is worried about being "dashed to pieces" during the travel by cyclone. During the journey, Toto falls through the open trap door to the cellar but is kept aloft just below the opening by the wind.
Dorothy and Toto spend so much time in the cyclone that they manage to calm down and it becomes a reasonable idea to take a nap.
"The cyclone had set the house down, very gently--for a cyclone."
"Dorothy [...] was a well-grown child for her age" but no age is given. However, she is consistently referred to as a "little girl".
Munchkins, Good Witch of the North are as tall as Dorothy.
The good Witch of the North (hereafter referred to as "GWN") automatically assumes Dorothy is a "noble Sorceress".
The GWN tells Dorothy that the house killing someone is the same as Dorothy herself killing someone. Uh, no.
The wicked Witch of the East (hereafter referred to as WWE) held all the Munchkins in bondage for "many years" before Dorothy's house fell.
The GWN is a friend of the Munchkins but is less powerful than the WWE or she would have set them free herself.
The Munchkins have access to a "swift messenger", so swift that the GWN arrives moments after Dorothy's house lands.
The GWN is adamant that there are (were) only four witches in the Land of Oz, two good, two wicked.
Aunt Em told Dorothy that all the witches died years and years ago. This is seemingly verified as true by the GWN, when she says that so-called "civilized countries" no longer have witches, wizards, sorceresses or magicians. Oz is not civilized and therefore still has those magical people, because it is cut off from all the rest of the world. The implication is that the rest of the world is our Earth.
Oz is referred to as "the Great Wizard". The existence of other Wizards is neither confirmed nor denied. Oz is declared as "more powerful than all the rest of us together".
The WEE is so old that upon death, she dries up into dust in minutes.
The GWN immediately bestows the silver shoes upon Dorothy, with the knowledge that the shoes possess an unknown charm.
The first mention of the desert surrounding Oz says that "none could live to cross it". The initial assumption made by the Ozian characters is that Dorothy will simply have to live with them.
The Munchkins are apparently so universally kind-hearted that Dorothy crying sends them into tears as well.
Dorothy's house came down not far from the eastern edge of Oz.
First instance of magic: the GWN can turn her pointed hat into a slate by balancing it on her nose and counting to three. When she summons the slate, it says "Let Dorothy go to the City of Emeralds". This message clearly comes from somewhere outside the Witch and implies that there is some supernatural force governing Dorothy's journey. Dorothy's trip to the Emerald City turns out to be the best thing that could happen to Oz.
It is unknown whether the Wizard Oz is a man (but surely they must know he is male, or they wouldn't know whether to call him a witch or a wizard).
The GWN kisses Dorothy on the forehead with the reasoning that no one will dare injure anyone who has been kissed by her. That's right, Dorothy gets a form of plot armour in the second chapter. It is considered safe to send this young child on a long cross-country trip with only this protection from physical abuse.
The GWN can teleport by whirling on her left heel three times.
Dorothy can pretty much communicate with Toto without him speaking.
Dorothy dons the silver shoes only because her old shoes are too worn for a long journey. They fit "as if they had been made for her"; a possible magical quality of the shoes that they fit anyone?
However old she is, Dorothy is capable as all get-out. She feeds herself, is concerned with cleanliness and even thinks to lock the door of the abandoned farmhouse, taking the key with her.
Boq the Munchkin is convinced Dorothy is a great, friendly sorceress, since she wears the WWE's silver shoes and dresses in a blue and white frock (apparently, only witches and sorceresses wear white, and blue is the Munchkin colour). Basically, Dorothy is instantly famous and her attire stands out.
None of the Munchkins have ever seen a dog before, and Toto is a curious creature to them.
In a several-mile radius around the site where Dorothy's house fell, the Munchkin Country is very pleasant and well-farmed.
The people are all wary or scared of the Wizard.
The Scarecrow's face consists of paint, but he can wink and smile, among other facial movements. His mouth is noted as not being a hole in his face, so his facial movements must be something like a cartoon animation.
The Scarecrow cannot feel it when people do things like stick a pin in him. It's unclear how he accomplishes movement properly without a sense of touch. However, he begins carrying Dorothy's basket around, since he won't get tired.
The Scarecrow wants brains because 1) he doesn't want to be called a fool and 2) he wants to know things. Oh my god, this text is almost pre-disabled, isn't it?
Then again, he immediately understands English when his ears are painted, but it takes him a bit to figure out that a mouth is for talking.
The animals can all talk, by the way, but Toto doesn't say a word.
The only thing the Scarecrow fears, rather sensibly, is a lighted match.
The text says that the Scarecrow repeatedly walks right into potholes because he has no brains.
The yellow brick road stops being well-maintained as the party moves away from occupied country. There are also fewer farms and fewer fruit trees.
Dorothy considers the "there is no place like home" message to be a universal human sentiment.
When Dorothy tells the Scarecrow that she needs water, he begins his schtick of feeling sorry for the poor people of flesh and blood who constantly require food, water and sleep.
The Tin Woodman was rusted in the forest for a year because he forgot his oil can in his cottage one day. He has Dorothy carry the oil can in her basket after he joins the party.
The Tin Woodman has neither brains nor a heart after having each one of his body parts replaced with tin after they were cut off by a spell cast by the WWE. The old woman who requested the spell was the master of the Munchkin girl who was engaged to the Tin Woodman. He fell in love with the girl because she was beautiful.
Death: Both of the Tin Woodman's parents died, presumably of natural causes. However, having each of his four limbs amputated, then his head cut off, and then being cut in two, had no permanent effects on the Tin Woodman other than having to replace the cut-off part with tin. (But then the WWE can die over a year later from the blunt-force trauma of being crushed by a house.)
Money: The Munchkin girl wanted the Tin Woodman to raise enough money to build a house for them, but he's a wood-chopper, so he was just going to build another house.
The Tin Woodman's father visited the Emerald City when the Woodman was a boy. We don't know the Tin Woodman's age and the conversion to tin has made him basically immortal, but let's say the Wizard has been around for at least 15 years.
In this series, the heart really is the center of emotion--at least for Ozians.
Toto is the only party member who is any position of danger when the Cowardly Lion attacks them.
The Cowardly Lion is astonished that Dorothy's companions are made of straw and tin, but he doesn't consider it out of the ordinary that such things could exist. He also doesn't know what a dog is.
The Cowardly Lion has figured out that he can get out of any frightening situation just by roaring really loudly.
The Scarecrow is the one who insinuates that the Lion is "wrong" for being afraid. The Tin Woodman, for his part, sympathetically suggests that the Lion has heart disease (so that exists in Oz).
The Lion is desperate for courage to feed his own self-esteem although he knows that the other animals in the forest are more cowardly than he.
To recap, since the party has assembled: the Scarecrow and Lion have self-esteem issues foisted on them by societal expectations. The Tin Woodman thinks he needs a heart to love his old flame properly. Dorothy finds this Land of Oz really weird and wants to return to Kansas.
The friendships are forged: the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman become BFFs, as do Toto and the Cowardly Lion. Yes, I do have Oz brOTPs.
The Tin Woodman accidentally kills a beetle by stepping on it. Then he cries and rusts his jaw. Although he frantically signs at the others, only the Scarecrow understands that he needs his oil can. Through some twisted reasoning, the Tin Woodman believes that he must take more care than the others not to harm other living beings, since he has no heart and therefore no moral compass. Yeah, I don't see the logic here, either. Anyway, it's worth noting that the beetle is not necessarily sentient. I believe the rules for which creatures in Oz are sentient and which are not come up in a later book. When they do, I'll go back over the previous books and try to analyze the implications.