What Historians and Critics Say...
L. Frank Baum acknowledged that he was owed the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen for the inspiration to write his story. He wanted his own fairy tale to be more enchanting and less frightening. Scholars believe The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was also inspired by the 1893 Chicago World's Fair; influences can be seen in Baum's depiction of the Emerald City. Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (1865) is touted as a major influence as well. Baum found the plot somewhat complicated but liked the central character of Alice and the plentiful illustrations, which he felt were key to successful children's literature. He did not believe that children's literature should be weighed down with didacticism and morality lessons.
Literary Style and Devices
Straightforward Text: Inspired by classic fairy tales, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is written in a straightforward, plain way that is easy for children to read and understand.
Bright Colors: Baum uses a lot of description, emphasizing bright colors and exuberant descriptions in order to generate mental images.
Repetition: Baum uses repetition powerfully. Goals, important details, and other aspects of the story are repeated, as are plot points—there are several smaller quests nested inside the main one of Dorothy getting home, for example.
Compartmentalized Chapters: Baum makes it easy to keep things straight by focusing each chapter on a single main event, with a clear end-point when the chapter finishes. This style makes it easier to easy to read the story in several sittings, as a parent might to a child.
Interpretations of The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is frequently interpreted as more than just a children’s story. Complex political, social, and historical theories have been credited to it.
Populism: One of the most famous theories involves the populist movement that collapsed in the late 19th century, linked to the debate over monetary policy. According to this theory, Dorothy represents the American people as innocent and easily fooled, while other characters represent aspects of society or politicians of the time. Economic forces and theories are represented by The Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard) and the Emerald City (paper money), and the Wizard is the deceptive politicians manipulating the public. There’s more to the theory, but the more you dig into it the less sense it tends to make.
Religion: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is frequently identified as a coded allegory by both Christians and atheists, usually using the same symbols in different ways. For religious readers, the story can be seen as a tale of resisting temptations and battling evil through faith. For atheists, the Wizard is a deity who is ultimately revealed to be a sham.
Feminism: There is evidence of a feminist subtext in The Wizard of Oz. The male characters are all lacking—they are fakes, cowards, and frozen, or part of otherwise oppressed or passive groups. The women—Dorothy and Glinda most notably—are the true powers in Oz.