Wizard Of Oz Archetypes

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.

After deciding to run away because of the evil neighbour Mrs. Gilch, Dorothy is caught in a tornado, thrown around, and wakes up to find herself in a foreign land.  After realizing she “isn’t in Kansas anymore”, she and her little dog Toto meet Glinda.  Glinda is a kind, sweet, caring, and compassionate Witch...unlike the Wicked Witch of the West who tries her best to make Dorothy’s journey very difficult.  Glinda the Good Witch of the North  is there to help Dorothy on her journey back home.  Despite just having  met her, Dorothy recognizes this kindness and takes her advice to travel to Emerald City, the Land of Oz. Oz, the powerful wizard is said to grant people's wishes; Dorothy’s being getting back to Kansas to her Auntie Em and Uncle.  On her way to the powerful Wizard of Oz, she runs into three unique characters: the

The wicked witch of the west wants her sister’s ruby slippers, which apparently have magical powers. However, Glinda has magically put the shoes on Dorothy’s feet. The wicked witch of the west vows to get Dorothy and regain her sister’s shoes, “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog too” ("Quotes from "The Wizard of Oz", 2018) Besides her vow to the shoes, very little is known about the motivations of the Wicked Witch of the West. Many other mediums in literature and movies have attempted to explain her intentions, including occasionally making her an antihero. Psychoanalytically speaking, the witch’s inner desires are a mystery because so little is known about her. One could speculate that maybe she wants the magical slippers because they belonged to her sister and she wants something of hers to remember her

As the story of The Wizard of Oz plays out the character Dorothy goes through significant change, she is a dynamic character. Her heart turns from wanting to grateful as she matures into a young lady, which is important to this plot, because her journey of growing up impacts the entirety of the story and it impacts all of the characters she encounters along the way.

The Wicked Witch of the West is the ruler of the western land of Oz. Her description relates her to the railroad companies of the west. In her actions of the book,

Around the world, there are very different myths and folklore, each suiting a specific culture’s beliefs. Nonetheless, amongst those different narratives, there are certain elements, such as themes, character types, and design, that keep manifesting. These recurrences are labelled as archetypes. One type of archetypes is character archetypes. Prevalent in myths from Sigurd the Volsung to The Epic of Gilgamesh, character archetypes are types of characters that are conventional amidst literature. In the Medieval British legend King Arthur three character archetypes are prominent; the Hero, the Mentor, and the Villain. These archetypes are universal, found in myths from around the world.

Adventure stories are always interesting because they have unexpected twists and endings. They could also go places that are magical and full of fantasy. Authors can also take a huge variety of approaches to the story. In the passages “Peter Pan” and “Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz”, the authors take different approaches to adventure.

Her name has become well-known throughout the years and has become the symbol of feminism. Creating a female protagonist inspires young females to express themselves as well highlight the power of women. Dorothy is introduced as a 6-year-old girl taken away by a tornado from her aunt and uncle. The reader follows her journey as she faces obstacles along the way to return to her home. Dorothy being a vulnerable six years old girl, becomes one of the most powerful being in the land of Oz. The death of the Wicked Witch of the East made her a national hero of the Munchkins. Baum characterizes Dorothy as a strong female character. She displays perseverance and independence in order to reach her goal, to go back to Kansas. Considering her young age, it is expected from her to feel disoriented and vulnerable, however she finds solutions to her problems and carries them through. At the start of the journey she travels alone with no guidance from a ‘strong’ male character, making her only companion her dog Toto. Along the way, she saves the Scarecrow as well as the Tin Woodman from captivity. Baum titled the chapters as ‘How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow’ and ‘The Rescue of the Tin Woodman’ when she crossed paths with these characters. Dorothy’s character contradicts the common representation of females in novels. Baum’s narration of Dorothy conflicts with the stereotype of women needing a man in order to survive. Instead of a ‘knight in shining armor’ archetype rescuing a ‘damsel in distress’, Dorothy appears to save the male characters. She further demonstrates her strength and confidence “when Dorothy, fearing Toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could,” (Baum 43). She has control over an animal that is considered to be the ‘king of the jungle’ and protects her companions. Surprisingly,

Her name has become well-known throughout the years and has become the symbol of feminism. Creating a female protagonist inspires young females to express themselves as well highlight the power of women. Dorothy is introduced as a 6-year-old girl taken away by a tornado from her aunt and uncle. The reader follows her journey as she faces obstacles along the way to return to her home. Dorothy being a vulnerable six years old girl, becomes one of the most powerful being in the land of Oz. The death of the Wicked Witch of the East made her a national hero of the Munchkins. Baum characterizes Dorothy as a strong female character. She displays perseverance and independence in order to reach her goal, to go back to Kansas. Considering her young age, it is expected from her to feel disoriented and vulnerable, however she finds solutions to her problems and carries them through. At the start of the journey she travels alone with no guidance from a ‘strong’ male character, making her only companion is her dog Toto. Along the way, she saves the Scarecrow as well as the Tin Woodman from captivity. Baum titled the chapters as ‘How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow’ and ‘The Rescue of the Tin Woodman’ when she crossed paths with these characters. Dorothy’s character contradicts the common representation of females in novels. Baum’s narration of Dorothy conflicts with the

In Baum’s fairytale, many of the politically charged aspects of Oz that have been discussed also have perfectly practical explanations that relate to the time period of when the story was written. For example, one of the most prominent symbols that theorists see in The Wizard of Oz is the famous yellow brick road. Shortly after Dorothy

Our own heroic journey, an undertaking that we all must power through in our lives. Though many of us would like to believe we in fact are responsible for the outcomes of our many journeys during life, there are actually a plethora of people who contribute to our tragedies and victories. These people who affect us in ways we might not even see fall into categories called archetypes. However not all archetypes have to be people, our furry companions may contribute to our journey along the way, and who knows that acceptance letter may just be your herald to go and begin an adventure. In the case of Cheryl Strayed in the novel Wild she faces many different archetypes along the path of her heroic journey, some of these even being within herself.

Winnie the Pooh is one of the many classic children's stories that have entertained children from all over the world. I grew up listening to my mother read the many different stories from the books, and also watching the movies and television shows religiously. Ever since I was a little girl, my favorite Winnie the Pooh character has been Tigger. Tigger is a fun-loving, energetic stuffed tiger, who is always bouncing around the Hundred Acre Woods. Tiger is my favorite character because, I love that he is always optimistic about himself, even though it may sometimes come off as arrogant, he is always positive about himself and his abilities.

Unlikely heroes, what comes to mind, maybe Sully from Monsters Inc, Carl Fredricksen from Up, or even Lightning McQueen from Cars. Flashback fifty years and that's when Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, showed what that archetype is really about. Throughout the book his son, Jem, and daughter, Scout, learn important lessons about racism, courage, and how to treat people. Atticus defends a Negro throughout the course of the book which in result, shocks the rest of the Maycomb community. This is quite a surprise because To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the deep south during the great depression. Throughout the story, Atticus Finch becomes an unlikely hero through his fairness, compassion, and his intelligence.

In The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, The dwarves portray the hunting group of companions archetype because they helped Bilbo by leading the way around, they made Bilbo feel comforted by singing for him and they protected Bilbo throughout the novel.