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Olivia Roberts

Alstot

Child Literature

9 February 2020

Wizard of Oz Mini ESA

In the classic American fairy tale, ​The Wonderful Wizard of Oz​, the character Dorothy

and her journey are used to symbolize the lesson that ordinary people are able to do

extraordinary things and how goodness will be rewarded in the end. Dorothy is meant to

represent this lesson due to the way her plainess greatly contrasts with the rest of the characters

in Oz. After Dorothy accidentally the Wicked Witch of the East, the Witch of the North assumed

that she is a “noble Sorceress”, but Dorothy just calls herself a “harmless little girl” (Baum 22).

The term “Sorceress” contrasts with “little girl” to illustrate how average Dorothy is compared to

how everyone in Oz views her as. Some readers may see this as a bad thing since it makes her

seem like a boring character, however it can be argued that this was done on purpose to make her

more relatable to the children reading the story. In most children’s literature, the main character

is often a form of a superhero or has some fantastical trait. While a main character that’s like a

superhero is not a bad thing, it can however lead to children not understanding what it truly

means to be a hero. In the real world, heroes aren’t people with special powers; they’re just

regular people who do good things. This is exactly who Dorothy is, since she’s a normal girl that

shows kindness to each and every person she meets in Oz. Despite how average she is, she

manages to undergo many difficult trials and succeeds in the end, which teaches children that

you don’t have to be magical or special in some way in order to make great achievements.
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Dorothy is also effective for showing how even small deeds are able to have great impacts.

Throughout the story, Dorothy treats everyone she meets with compassion and kindness, such as

the Scarecrow. After hearing the scarecrow’s sad tale, Dorothy feels “truly sorry for him”, and

invites him to come visit the Wizard of Oz with her so he can achieve his goal (Baum 37). When

Dorothy feels “truly sorry” for the Scarecrow, it showcases her empathy and how much she cares

for others. This is one of the many instances of Dorothy behaving this way, as her main character

trait is her kindness. Readers may initially think that Dorothy does absolutely nothing to earn all

of the respect and attention she gets from the inhabitants of Oz, but in truth it’s her simple acts of

kindness that allows her to get as far as she does. If Dorothy hadn’t shown kindness to other

characters, then they would have never helped her on her journey and she likely would have

failed. This has the added effect of showing children that small acts of kindness such as reaching

out to help another person will be rewarded in the end.