Is The Wizard Of Oz A Populist Allegory?



Hey guys! So my history professor gave us a paper to write with three possible topics and the one I chose is about The Wizard of Oz (agreeing or disagreeing with Littlefield's theory if it is a parable on populism) and re-reading the book, as well as several essays on the subject, makes me overwhelmingly happy. If you're interested in reading my essay, continue reading :)

Many written works allude to other famous works and many children’s books are intended to teach lessons; thus, are primarily delivered as parables or fables. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a children’s novel written by L. Frank Baum, has been argued to be a monetary allegory for the Populist movement in the late 19th century. In the book, a young girl by the name of Dorothy, is swept away from her home in Kansas and finds herself in the mystical world of Oz. Along her journey to meet the wonderful wizard, Dorothy is joined by a Scarecrow, a Cowardly Lion, and a Tin Woodman, each hoping to meet the Wizard for their personal purposes.[1] Henry Littlefield, discovered several similarities to the plot of Baum’s novel and of the Populist movement in the 1890s.[2] Although a sufficient amount of evidence is given noting the possible allegory, there is much speculation whether or not this coincides with Baum’s personal political, economical, and possibly religious beliefs.
              The Wizard of Oz takes place in the world of Oz, where Dorothy finds herself lost and seeking a way to get home. Littlefield states the setting is a deadly and dull environment that dominates everyone and everything except Dorothy and her pet, nature seemingly grayly impersonal and angry.[3] The Land of Oz is divided into sections of North and South, ruled by good, while the East and the West are ruled by evil; that is until Dorothy comes and kills the Witch of the East. Littlefield compares the Eastern witchcraft of dehumanizing the simple laborer to be faster and better, working more as a machine, to the Populist view of the evil Eastern influences on labor and industrialization.[4] After encountering the Emerald City, representing the national Capitol, Dorothy and her friends are asked by the Wizard to kill the Witch of the West; however, the golden road does not go in that direction and Littlefield parallels this to the group following the sun, as many pioneers did in the past.[5] Also stated in The Wizard of Oz: Parable of Populism, the concept of the Witch of the West is speculated to be an evil force of Darwinian nature, correlating with grim Western farmer mentalities of being enslaved to the west. The complex setting of The Wizard of Oz is what led Littlefield to theorize possible material similar with the Populist movement during the 19th century. 
              In addition to the well-developed setting, Baum gives the novel several dynamic characters that hold various symbolic possibilities. According to Littlefield, Dorothy, the young protagonist, is Miss Everyman.[6] She is set out to the Yellow Brick Road in search of the Emerald City wearing the Witch of the East’s magical silver shoes, leading Littlefield to speculate her being the innocent agent of Baum’s ironic view of the Silver issue.[7] Next comes the Scarecrow, believed to represent the idealistic Kansas farmer, in longing of a brain. The Tin Woodman, whom Dorothy meets second on her journey, was put on a spell by the Witch of the East supposedly representing the earlier stated Eastern witchcraft dehumanization and is seen as a parallel to many Eastern workers situations after the depression of 1893.[8] The Woodman himself is just in search of a heart since he feels he has lost his ability to love and be kind when becoming tin. They meet next the Cowardly Lion, feeling he was born a coward and seeks courage. The Lion, in Littlefield’s opinion, represents William Jennings Bryan.[9] Upon meeting the group, the Lion, “struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws,… he could make no impression on the
tin, although the Woodman fell over in the road and lay still.”[10] Littlefield quotes this from Baum’s novel stating this is to refer to the fact that in 1896 workers were pressured into voting for McKinley and gold by their employers. According to his argument, the King of Beasts is not after all very cowardly, and Bryan, although a pacifist and an anti-imperialist in a time of national expansion, is not either.[11] Interpreted by Henry Littlefield, the interpretation of the four main characters is the Scarecrow representing farmers, the Tin Woodman representing industrial workers, and the Cowardly Lion representing Bryan. [12] Along with this Littlefield suggests the Wizard to symbolize the American criterion for leadership, the Winged Monkeys to substitute for the plains Indians, and The Witch of the West to proportions of Mark Hanna or Baker Boss.[13]
              Correspondingly, Baum’s The Wizard of Oz emphasizes and highlights the significance of color. Dorothy was told to follow the yellow brick road, which in coherence to the Populist movement, could be represented as the gold standard; the people of the Emerald City saw everything through green glasses, paralleling with greenbacks; the silver shoes that held the power to take Dorothy home, being the coinage of silver.[14] Unmistakably, Baum alternates the colors as the characters move through Oz; blue was the color of the Munchkins, yellow was the color of the Winkies, and red was the color of the Quadlings. [15] The importance of color was impacting on Baum’s writing style and may or may not have been significant to the representation believed by Littlefield.
              After summarizing Littlefield’s argument, there are plenty of flaws to point out.  To begin, there have not been significant amounts of discoveries of the interpretation. Although there are many people that have come to the conclusion that The Wizard of Oz was an allegory of the Populist movement, there appears to be no other previous conclusion to Littlefield’s, which was 64 years after The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published.[16]  Ironically, the people of the time period seemed to view the novel as a modern fairy tale, whereas now seem to be more aware of the supposed political symbolism. Most who mention the argument about the populist interpretation have primarily cited Littlefield’s work and those who did not cited the works of others who did.[17]
              A point often overlooked is the evidence of Baum’s political views, which is consequently problematic to the concept of the allegorical interpretation. The points of Baum having had marched in torchlight parades for Bryan, supporting woman suffrage, opposing the monopolies, and editing a newspaper in South Dakota do not imply that he was a Populist or a Populist sympathizer. In fact, Baum was not reluctant to express his political views and his anti-Populist sympathies.[18] For example, the claim that Baum consistently voted Democrat and marched for Bryan appears to have come from a biographical sketch of Baum by Gardner, whom provided no references for this claim and is likely to be at odds with the available evidence on Baum’s politics.[19] Secondly, his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, was a participate at the Seneca Conference and co-author of History of Woman Suffrage and often stayed with the Baums, influencing and encouraging L. Frank Baum’s ideas on the issue of suffrage. Although interested with the problems associated with big business and monopoly, this does not imply Baum being a Democrat or a Populist. Lastly, in relation to his editorials, he consistently supported Republican candidates and Republican issues. Baum’s politics seem to lean toward the exact opposite of the Democratic reform centralized to the Populist Party.
              Similarly to Baum’s views, the characters of Oz were not democrats. On the contrary, all four of the main characters in The Wizard of Oz were elevated to royalty.[20] Although there is some speculating ideas on the anti-allegorical argument that the coincidences of Oz may be a parody of the Populists, as noted by Hansen in The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics. In fact, Hansen goes on to list various relations to Baum’s personal life to the Wizard of Oz. He states that by 1989, Baum had written and performed in plays; managed a chain of theaters; been a traveling salesman for axle grease, hardware, and chine; edited a small paper and reported for a large one; managed a general store; written a book on raising chickens; and edited a magazine on window decorating. Clearly, all of these concepts are relevant or obvious in his great novel, The Wizard of Oz. Likewise, Hansen reveals that the importance of color is not restricted to Baum’s Oz books either. The vivid colors and exact numbers, all expressed in simple language, are part of what Hollister refers to as the “three dimensionality” that made The Wonderful Wizard of Oz a success among children.[21]
              Furthermore, Hansen believes it seems reasonable that many of Baum’s life experience influenced the development of his writing, but the available evidence strongly suggests that he did not write The Wizard of Oz as a monetary allegory.[22]  The symbolism, although very uncanny, does not coincide with Baum’s personal beliefs. In the end, it will never be for certain what Baum was thinking when he wrote the book; however, the allegorical interpretation seems to be a bit stretched and there is the possibility that he just wrote a modern children’s fairy tale for the time period.



[1] L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz, Cover.
[2] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 255.
[3] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 51.
[4] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 52.
[5] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 55.
[6] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 52.
[7] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 53.
[8] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 52.
[9] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 53.
[10] L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz, 33.
[11] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism, 54.
[12] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 255.
[13] Henry M. Littlefield, The Wizard of Oz: The Parable on Populism, 54-56.
[14] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 255.
[15] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 261.
[16] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 257.
[17] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 257.
[18] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 256.
[19] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 257.
[20] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 260.
[21] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 262.
[22] Bradley A. Hansen, The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard of Oz in Economics, 262.

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