“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” - children's book Toto are joined by the Scarecrow, who wishes he had brains; the Tin Woodman, who longs for a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage.
The Tin Man wants a heart because he wants to be able to feel and experience emotions like a human being. He also wants to be able to love and care for others, which are important qualities that he believes will make him a better person.
It's here Dorothy and her friends are suddenly armed to the teeth: The Tin Man holds a giant pipe wrench and his signature ax; the Lion has a huge net and bug spray; and the Scarecrow carries a walking stick and silver six-shooter.
The Wizard of Oz | 75th Anniversary "Dorothy Meets The Scarecrow" | Warner Bros. Entertainment
What does the Scarecrow symbolize in the Wizard of Oz?
Since Dorothy is the main character, we can see that the American population was the main focus. The Scarecrow represents the farmers in America. In the story, the Scarecrow is in need of a brain, which shows that he might not be the brightest one on the journey.
The Scarecrow asks Dorothy to help him down from the pole, where he finds his life dull. Once down, he decides to accompany Dorothy to the Emerald City so he can ask the Great Oz for a brain. While the Scarecrow doesn't mind being stuffed, he doesn't want to be considered a fool.
"The Wizard of Oz" is often interpreted as an allegory with characters representing various qualities or elements. Dorothy symbolizes innocence and the everyman, the Scarecrow represents intelligence, the Tin Man embodies compassion, and the Cowardly Lion symbolizes courage.
Dorothy is afraid of the dark. She is also afraid of the Wicked Witch of the West, flying monkeys, and the lion, who all inhabit her beloved Land of Oz.
Personal Symbolism – The Cowardly Lion represents the inner child or self. The courage seeking Cowardly Lion is the character that most closely represents Baum in the book.
Dorothy would represent the goodness and innocence of human kind. Other putative allegorical devices of the book include the Wicked Witch of the West as a figure for the actual American West; if this is true, then the Winged Monkeys could represent another western danger: Native Americans.
Why didn't the China Princess want to go with Dorothy?
Dorothy wants to take a princess home for Aunt Em, but the princess says she would be very unhappy. She would have to stand completely still, whereas in her own country she can move about as she likes.
“Why do you want water?” he asked. “To wash my face clean after the dust of the road, and to drink, so the dry bread will not stick in my throat.” They left the cottage and walked through the trees until they found a little spring of clear water, where Dorothy drank and bathed and ate her breakfast.
Because everybody knows that this is the moral of The Wizard of Oz. “There's no place like home” neatly sums up the moral of the story, even people who say that “home” refers to people.
After receiving a "brain," the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz famously says the following: “The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side!”
This statement is proven to be correct later in the book, when the sight of the shining mark left by the kiss prevents Dorothy from being harmed by the Winged monkeys or the Wicked Witch of the West. The sight of this mark is also one of the factors which convinces the Wizard to admit Dorothy to his presence.
"I think I'll miss you most of all," Dorothy whispered in the Scarecrow's ear. We shared her sentiment. The Cowardly Lion was funny, the Tin Woodman was dear, but the Scarecrow had soul. Oz wouldn't have been the same without him.
She actively seeks revenge against Dorothy for killing her sister, even though it was "accidental". However, as soon as the Witch is reminded of the ruby slippers, all interest in her sister's death vanishes and all she cares about is obtaining her slippers, which will enable her to conquer Oz.
Winged Monkeys. According to some writers, the Winged Monkeys of Oz represent Native Americans in the West in the late 1800s. Baum himself had clear attitudes toward American Indians and some of his earlier writings about Indians are very similar to his descriptions of the Winged Monkeys found in Oz.
The Tin Woodman has a romantic interest in Dorothy and follows all her orders without noticing that she doesn't care about him or his feelings for her.
But in both cases, Dorothy is instantly hailed as a conquering heroine, just as the Wizard was when he touched down in Oz. The message is that people will march behind any authority figure who makes a splash, however undeserving they may be.
The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion each have a “missing” characteristic that motivates them to travel with Dorothy to the Wizard of Oz- the Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Woodman wishes for a heart, and the Cowardly Lion yearns for courage.
But his true feelings for Elphaba surface and he helps her to escape, ending up captured by the Wizard's guards, and tortured. A spell Elphaba casts to try to save him instead — spoiler alert! — transforms him into the scarecrow.
