L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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L. Frank Baum chose a daringly original setting for his fairy story

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

: a naturalistically portrayed poor farm on the dry, treeless prairie of Kansas, in the midwestern United States. He used the word

gray

nine times in his first few paragraphs: for the landscape, the house, and finally the people. The only exceptions to the gray hopelessness are a little girl, Dorothy, and her little black dog, Toto.

A cyclone, a common occurrence in Kansas, takes up their house, with them inside, and carries them to a beautiful new land. Dorothy is shocked to learn that the nice old lady she meets there is a witch, until the lady reassures her that she is a good witch. She suggests that Dorothy ask the Wonderful Wizard in the Emerald City to send her home. So Dorothy and Toto set

3655 words

Citation: Rogers, Katharine. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 02 October 2007; last revised 30 August 2018. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8209, accessed 19 March 2024.]

8209 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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