Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is a new perspective on the classic story of Dorothy Gale, the Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West. The book introduces Elphaba, the Wicked Witch from the original tale and shows her life before the classic story, which paints her in a different and far more sympathetic light. Elphaba has an unfortunate childhood, born with unusual physical features, her unique appearance is used by her father to help encourage conversion to his religion. Additionally her mother was very distant, if not neglectful, and both parents doted on her sister instead. In the story Elphaba pushes people away, transforms from a well meaning activist to vengeful extremist and attacks and kidnaps Dorothy in a series of events that lead
The Wizard of Oz and Wicked are both very successful and well-known broadway musicals. Both of these musicals are based off of the same story, but each give a slightly different meaning to it. While they are both based on a similar tale, these two broadway musicals have many characteristics that are similar and differ from each other. This paper will compare and contrast the characters, theme, and plot.
Frank Baum uses colors throughout the novel the Wonderful Wizard Of Oz. . Color play s a important role in the story l. Each color symbolizes a n object of wealth or emotion . The author wrote the book in the 1900’ s during the depression era, and the lack of money was the most talked about topic in the nation. Frank Baum managed to address this issue in his book with the use of symbolic imagery.
Zora Neale Hurston’s book, “The Gilded Six-Bits” is an important piece of literature due to its impact on the world during the Harlem Renaissance era. It is considered a brilliant piece of modernist literature due to Hurston staying true to her background and roots as a black woman from the south, in which segregation was still a huge issue. The reason why it is considered a piece of modernist literature is because she wasn’t afraid to write in the black vernacular which was considered uneducated as blacks were progressing in arts, literature, and the music was alive. The story is filled with many different themes and issues that people can relate to such as money, deceit, and for people who have a big heart forgiveness and reconciliation.
Racial Prejudice in WICKED: How is the theme of racial prejudice explored in Act One of the musical WICKED?
In Stagecoach, the prostitute and outlaw Dallas and Ringo defy society’s definition of what it means to be a “bad guy” versus a “good guy.” Each is a victim of circumstance having lost their families to murderers. Through their actions both together and apart, they prove to be good people. This illustrates that society judges people by their jobs, not by their characters. This shows that the movie makers think civilization is bad. This idea would be popular in 1939 because many people were poor and didn’t want to be defined by their social standing.
Buddhism consists of a belief in peace, unity, respect, and self-discovery through humility and honesty. Following these ideals creates a more knowledgeable and aware individual and society. L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz reflects on these themes of Buddhism through the use of allegorical settings to create a story about a young girl trying to find her way home.
In every epic, many characters follow archetypes, or “patterns that are repeated throughout the ages,” and The Wizard of Oz is no exception to this rule. Dorothy, the main character, embodies “The Orphan” with her fear of being abandoned forever in this bizarre world and her task to return home. She must brave this alien world and all it’s inhabitants to ultimately gain independence and maintain her innocence. The Wizard is “The Creator,” who fears being revealed as a fraud and works to maintain his illusion of greatness. He must help Dorothy and her friends using his inventiveness and power. The Wicked Witch is “The Destroyer” who doesn’t want to lose her power and, therefore, seeks her sister’s slippers that now belong to Dorothy. She makes
The Wicked Witches of Oz correspond to the major corporations during the election of 1896. The Wicked Witch of the East is the ruler of the eastern land of Oz. She is the equivalent to the real worlds banks. Because of her wickedness a house was dropped on her leaving “her two feet, still sticking out from under a block of wood.” (Baum). The comparison between her and the banks was that the banks would foreclose on the houses of lower class people. As a result of their harsh banking when the house would be returned to the banks it would be similar to a house being dropped on them.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West possesses feminist ideals represented through the characterization of female characters. Iconic characters such as Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose), and Good Witch of the South (Glinda) portray feminist characters that have developed and showed their strong personality, influencing women in today’s society. This leads to the question – To what extent is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked empowering women through the presentation of women?
Within society, materialism is often associated with success and prosperity. In the novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, there was a pattern of how even though the most successful characters were also the most materialistic, they were not always the happiest. Two characters that were at either end of the scale of materialism were Macon and Pilate. These very different lifestyles that Macon and Pilate lived, Macon being heavily materialistic and Pilate not at all, caused them to develop different attitudes that were influenced heavily by materialism. Through the analysis of the mystery of Pilate’s and Macon’s lifestyles, Morrison illustrates that materialism destroys people and prevents them from achieving freedom.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West possesses feminist ideals represented through the characterization of female characters. Iconic characters such as Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba), Wicked Witch of the East (Nessarose), and Good Witch of the South (Glinda) portray feminist characters that have developed and showed their strong personality, influencing women in today’s society. This leads to the question – To what extent is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Wicked empowering women through the presentation of women?
The Wizard of Oz has revealed to be an exceptionally well thought out film when analysed. The film has made use of stylistic elements such as colour, light, sound and mise-en-scene which coincide with the various twists and turns of the plot as Dorothy moves from Kansas, to Oz, and back again. In The Wizard of Oz, the directors have employed the use of different unique editing techniques despite being an early film. It is obvious that the audience is able to notice the absence of colour in the beginning and ending of the film. The audience is able to identify the mood and overall feeling for Dorothy when she is in her family farm in Kansas. The lack of colour shows the audience how boring and normal her life is in Kansas where she wants to
The cinematic language that we hear in modern day movies would not be as it is today if we hadn 't had synchronous sound recordings from the beginning of film. Cinematic Language is the systematic method by which movies communicate with the viewer. Some examples of cinematic language are, Mise-en-scène, camera angles, the use of long takes, & depth of field. Barthes theory of Expressionism, the use of lighting techniques, montage and elaborate props push to make The Wizard of Oz appear to be a spectacle of realism.
“A Streetcar Named Desire” is a very elegant film in which the Southern gothic culture is demonstrated profoundly. Tennessee Williams uses the characters in the play to bring about a sense of how corrupt society truly was in the 1940’s in the South. The 1940’s was marked by an immense amount of violence, alcoholism, and poverty. Women at the time were treated as objects rather than people. Throughout the play Tennessee Williams relates the aspects of Southern society to the characters in the play. As the movie goes on, it becomes more and more clear what Tennessee Williams is trying to convey to the audience. This being, Southern culture was deeply corrupted in many ways and the societal norms of the time period were like a drug that people