You’re off to see the wizard…..

You’re off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
You’ll find he is a Whiz of a Wiz is ever a Wiz there was
If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was the Wizard of Oz is one because
Because, because, because, because, because
Because of the wonderful things he does
You’re off to see the wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!

This is the first text that pops up in my mind if when I decided to read “the wizard of Oz”
We have all seen the movie with Judy Garland in it playing Dorothy. The story, written by Frank L Baum, is about a girl named Dorothy.
Dorothy is living in boring Kansas when a cyclone picks her up and puts her in the land of Oz. In this land she meets a bond of friends which help her in her search for the wizard of Oz who is the only one who can send her back to Kansas again.

I did like the story as a whole. A young girl who travels from a boring grey Kansas to a magical world filled with colors, called Oz. She meets friends who seem to have their own reason to go see the powerful wizard of Oz. The Scarecrow without any brains, the Tin man without a heart and the lion with no courage. These are all characters who make a journey to discover themselves.
They have some adventures in which they have to defeat various foes to discover they already have the power they seek.

What i didn’t like was the continuously repeating their actions all over. It were always the same steps: someone gets into trouble, they same him and they are off again to see the wizard. They also continuously keep repeating their main goals, go see the wizard. About halfway of the book a was tired of hearing that and I have to admit that i thought “Come on.. go see that wizard already!!!”
After discussing it in class we were also not sure what happened to the wizard (who turned out to be a normal person without any powers).

I wouldn’t recommend this book to younger people. I think although the overall story is nice it is not modern enough to have a meaning for nowadays children.

The other stories this week were peter pan, the secret garden and alice in wonderland
All the main characters were women that were lost, and when succeeded in finding their way home and their return, they would appreciate it more.
According to Edwards (2013, p.22), “a great children’s novel leaves the reader stronger, wiser, and better able to cope with whatever real-world challenges he may face”.

young adults learn from this book that they all have specific talents and they learn to use them. They also learn there is no place like home.

Related articles

• The real meaning of the Wizard of Oz (libertariandad.wordpress.com)

 

Bibliography

Edwards, S. (2013). Complete reader 2013. 21-22. Utrecht: Hogeschool van Utrecht.