In this post, we come to the end of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Therefore, we are going to summarize and analyze chapters 18-24 and reflect on the book. In the following chapters, as in the previous chapters, Dorothy attempts to find her way out of Oz after the Wizard abandons her accidentally. Moving forward, she has a host of strange encounters.

Chapter Eighteen: Summary

Dorothy and her friends spend chapter 18 mourning two losses. One is the loss of the Wizard himself and the second is Dorothy’s chance at getting home to Kansas. However, they hatch a plan to travel to the South after they realize that Glinda the Good Witch might be able to help them. As it turns out, the Flying Monkeys cannot travel to Kansas because no Flying Monkey has ever traveled there.

“It seems, in spite of dangers, that the best thing Dorothy can do is to travel to the Land of the South and ask Glinda to help her. For, of course, if Dorothy stays here she will never get back to Kansas.

The company prepares themselves once again to go on an adventure and set out the next morning.

Chapter Nineteen: Summary

In chapter nineteen, Dorothy and her companions combat some fighting trees on their way south to Glinda. At first, a branch strikes the Scarecrow at a wall of trees and sends him flying. After the Tin Woodsman graciously steps forward, he strikes the limb in twain and they are able to ford the ferocious forest in order to continue traveling south to Glinda.

The four travelers walked with ease through the trees until they came to the farther edge of the wood. Then, to their surprise, they found before them a high wall which seemed to be made of white china. It was smooth, like the surface of a dish, and higher than their heads.

While the trees take center stage in this chapter, their threat is quickly dispatched by a sharp axe and a brave woodsman.

Chapter Twenty: Summary

In chapter twenty, Dorothy and company meet Glinda the Good Witch. Before meeting her, however, they ascend her glass wall with a ladder made by the Tin Woodsman. Granted, the surroundings that the group found were extremely strange:

“Before them was a great stretch of country having a floor as smooth and shining and white as the bottom of a big platter. Scattered around were many houses made entirely of china and painted in the brightest colors. These houses were quite small, the biggest of them reaching only as high as Dorothy’s waist. There were also pretty little barns, with china fences around them; and many cows and sheep and horses and pigs and chickens, all made of china, were standing about in groups.”

They meet a great deal of strange people here: from an ornery milkmaid, to a kind princess, to a clown, who is head-to-toe laced with cracks because he is a fool. They learn to be careful as they walk through this strange place, and once again leave to the other side—destroying a small church on the way out.

Chapter Twenty-One: Summary

Dorothy and company descend the wall after exiting the tiny city made out of China. There, they find themselves in a forest. They come upon many different kinds of beasts that address the Cowardly Lion as their king. They tell him that there is a terrible creature that lurks in the woods that has been eating the beasts one-by-one.

“It is a most tremendous monster, like a great spider, with a body as big as an elephant and legs as long as a tree trunk. It has eight of these long legs, and as the monster crawls through the forest he seizes an animal with a leg and drags it to his mouth, where he eats it as a spider does a fly.”

The Cowardly Lion decides to go and deal with the monster. He does so by jumping and landing on its back. He then knocks the creatures’ head off and watches its legs twitch until it is dead. It’s dark. Afterward, he promises to return to rule over them as long as Dorothy is safely back in Kansas.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Summary

In chapter twenty-two, Dorothy and her friends encounter the Hammer-Heads, who are creatures who have necks that extend far out and allow them to strike people with their flat heads. It is actually a little unsettling, because they are also incredibly mean, as they pummel the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion for trying to pass. As such, Dorothy calls upon the Winged Monkeys. They arrive and carry Dorothy and her friends over the hill to the land of the Quadlings.

The country of the Quadlings seemed rich and happy. There was field upon field of ripening grain, with well-paved roads running between, and pretty rippling brooks with strong bridges across them. The fences and houses and bridges were all painted bright red, just as they had been painted yellow in the country of the Winkies and blue in the country of the Munchkins.

While there, they meet some Quadling people and enjoy cake and cookies with them until they are admitted into the castle to see Glinda.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Summary

Dorothy washes up before meeting the Good Witch Glinda, and her companions all clean themselves up, too. The scarecrow patted himself, the lion cleaned his mane, and the Tin Woodsman made sure his joints were oiled. Then, they entered the throne room of the Good Witch.

She was both beautiful and young to their eyes. Her hair was a rich red in color and fell in flowing ringlets over her shoulders. Her dress was pure white but her eyes were blue, and they looked kindly upon the little girl.

Dorothy explains her predicament to Glinda, who listens intently. When it is over, she tells Dorothy that in exchange for the Golden Cap, she will transport her to Kansas. Dorothy, having rid herself of the monkeys, gives up the cap. Glinda, in her wisdom, then sends each of Dorothy’s companions to where they belong. The Scarecrow to the Emerald City where he will rule. The Tin Woodsman to the land of Winkies. The Cowardly Lion to the jungle where he is to rule the wild beasts.

Glinda then reveals to Dorothy that the silver slippers have magical powers. She can travel back home! After a tearful goodbye to her friends, Dorothy prepares to leave.  

“Dorothy now took Toto up solemnly in her arms, and having said one last good-bye she clapped the heels of her shoes together three times, saying: “Take me home to Aunt Em!”

After flying through the air, Dorothy lands back in Kansas. Here, she realizes that the magical, silver shoes have flown off and are now lost for good.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Summary

In this brief chapter, Dorothy has made it home and so runs toward Aunt Em who is overjoyed to see her. She kisses Dorothy and embraces her, asking her where she came from.

Dorothy replies:

“From the Land of Oz,” said Dorothy gravely. “And here is Toto, too. And oh, Aunt Em! I’m so glad to be at home again!”

Analysis and The End

In these chapters we find that the Land of Oz still has a lot to offer in the way of strange characters, obstacles, and places to visit. This is very reminiscent of Gulliver’s Travels. Especially the glass country section, which seems to be remarking on the fragility of society and institutions. Case in point, the princess is brittle and so is the church. Methinks this was L. Frank Baum being cheeky about what he saw a frailties in society.

Furthermore, ever since the Wicked Witch of the West was brutally murdered by Dorothy, there has been little for the characters to accomplish. However, these chapters give us additional insight into the imaginative land of Oz. Now, I am back to being excited, and I am looking forward to the last few chapters!

Mostly, we see a rehash of obstacles for Dorothy to face in these two chapters. Additionally, the Cowardly Lion is faced with his own task, which is to defeat an evil monster that lurks in the forest. Of course, he defeats it easily. Then, he and his friends travel safely to the land of the Quadling. They are only stopped by those vicious Hammer-Heads before venturing forth.

Again, we see Dorothy’s dedication to her quest and her ability to problem solve as she works with her companions to reach the land of the Quadlings. In the final two chapters, we will see if Dorothy gets her wish to return to Kansas!

Conclusion

So, the story is over, and we have conquered Oz in all its magic and wonder and strangeness. Does that mean it’s over for good? Probably not. I would like to look at some of the other Oz books in the future. But, maybe we will try something different for a few Mondays in exchange for a brief reprieve from a novel exploration

Works Cited

Baum, L. Frank. “The Wizard of Oz the First Five Novels.” Fall River Press, 2014.

In this post, we are looking at L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by summarizing and analyzing chapters 12-17. A lot happens in this chapter, and we should be aware of the world in which Baum is writing. With that said, we will learn about the Wicked Witch of the West and how she can be stopped.

Chapter Twelve Summary: The Search for the Wicked Witch

In Search of Evil

Dorothy and her party leave the Emerald City and travel in the direction of the Wicked Witch of the West. Before they enter her territory, however, the Witch spies them and begins to plot their demise.

Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck.

As we know in The Wizard of Oz, things can get violent and quite dark. As such, the book does not shy away from gory depictions. This is reminiscent of some of the dark elements present in Grimms’ Fairy Tales. So far, it’s one of my favorite chapters!

The Witch’s whistle summons a pack of hungry wolves that descend upon Dorothy and her friends. The wolves seem very excited to do away with the group. At first, all is lost. There are 40 wolves and four of the party. Yet, the Tin Woodman takes his sharpened axe and takes to killing all of the wolves.

Angered, the Witch decides to send her crows to kill the group. This action is thwarted due to the Scarecrow’s stature as, well, a Scarecrow. He takes to snapping the crows’ necks as they descend upon the group.

The King Crow flew at the Scarecrow, who caught it by the head and twisted its neck until it died. And then another crow flew at him, and the Scarecrow twisted its neck also. There were forty crows, and forty times the Scarecrow twisted a neck, until at last all were lying dead beside him. Then he called to his companions to rise, and again they went upon their journey.

Likewise, a group of black bees attempts to kill the group. Yet, the Tin Woodsman is able to easily foil them. The bees cannot harm the Woodsman with their stingers. As such, they die in a pile on the ground around him. Lastly, the Winkies try to kill the group with their spears. Yet, the Cowardly Lion roars and scares them off. This action works wonderfully. For their failure, the Wicked Witch beats them with a strap and sends them back to their labors.

The Flying Monkeys and a Gold Cap

It is at this point that the Wicked Witch summons the Flying Monkeys. The Witch can only summon the monkeys three times due to the rules surrounding the summoning device—a golden cap. The Witch had already used it twice. Once to enslave the Winkies to steal their land, and once to drive the Wizard of Oz from the West. Now, on her third time, she commands them to defeat Dorothy and her companions; a job they competently execute.

They destroy the Tin Woodman by dropping him from a high altitude down onto sharp rocks. This dents him so badly that he cannot move. They destroy the Scarecrow by ripping him to pieces. Then they tie up the Cowardly Lion and kidnap Dorothy, taking her to the Wicked Witch’s castle for interrogation. But, Dorothy has the mark of protection on her forehead given to her by the Good Witch of the North.

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark on Dorothy’s forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. She looked down at Dorothy’s feet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them.

One day, the Witch tricks Dorothy into falling to the ground, and one of her silver slippers falls free from her foot. This gives the Witch just enough time to nab it up from the ground. Enraged, Dorothy grabs a pale of ill-placed water and douses the Witch with it, which causes her to melt. With freedom in her hands, Dorothy tells the Cowardly Lion that the Witch no longer threatens them.

Analysis of Chapter Twelve

In this chapter, the Witch destroys the party. Therefore, the fellowship breaks. However, there is a theme in this chapter of perseverance. Even though Dorothy feels defeated, she still maintains that there must be something to do to defeat the Wicked Witch. She is right, because by the end of the chapter, Dorothy destroys the Witch and frees the Cowardly Lion.

Additionally, the Cowardly Lion, himself, remains undefeated, even in captivity. The Witch tries to break his spirit every day by visiting him in the courtyard. Here, she tells him that she can put a harness on him and use him as a slave. Nonetheless, the Lion remains stalwart and unbreakable. He tells the Witch, “No. If you come in this yard, I will bite you.”

There is definitely something to take from both Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion’s colossal spirits.

Chapter Thirteen Summary: The Rescue

Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion, freed from the Wicked Witches enslavement, set about trying to save their friends. Though the Winged Monkeys destroyed them, they are able to reassemble them. Dorothy asks the Winkies to help her collect and save her friends, and they happily oblige.

So they called the yellow Winkies and asked them if they would help to rescue their friends, and the Winkies said that they would be delighted to do all in their power for Dorothy, who had set them free from bondage. So she chose a number of the Winkies who looked as if they knew the most, and they all started away.

The Winkies fixed up the Tin Woodsman as some of their ranks were knowledgeable about tin working and they sharpened his axe, setting him up as if he were brand new. Then, they found and brought The Scarecrow back to the Wicked Witch’s castle and stuffed him with new straw and sewed him back up again. At this point, because they were all rejoined in good company in the Wicked Witch’s Yellow Castle, the “spent a few happy days” there until they realized that they had to venture off again to the Emerald City—with a few new tools even.

Dorothy went to the Witch’s cupboard to fill her basket with food for the journey, and there she saw the Golden Cap. She tried it on her own head and found that it fitted her exactly. She did not know anything about the charm of the Golden Cap, but she saw that it was pretty, so she made up her mind to wear it and carry her sunbonnet in the basket. Then, being prepared for the journey, they all started for the Emerald City; and the Winkies gave them three cheers and many good wishes to carry with them.

Analysis of Chapter Thirteen

In this chapter, the company uses the friendships and skills they have acquired on their journey to fight against hardship. The field mice once again direct them to the right place, and Dorothy uses a newly acquired magical item to help her and friends reach their objective. Likewise, we continue seeing Dorothy’s resourcefulness and compassion in this chapter. She implores the Winkies to help her, which they do, and asks the field mice for help, which they also do, and she also uses the Winged Monkeys to her benefit.

Journeys and quests should not be easy. They should be dangerous and exciting. We have seen a lot of that here, especially when they put together her friends and venture off yet again to head back home. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, just because you think the adventure is over, one more thing always seems to creep up to hinder the heroes.

Chapter Fourteen Summary: The Winged Monkeys

On their way to the Emerald City, Dorothy and her companions become lost and have to resort to asking the field mice if they know they direction. As it turns out, though the Queen of the Field Mice tells them the correct direction, they realize that they are far off course, as the Winged Monkeys had kidnapped them and flown them a great distance to reach the evil witch.

It is here that Dorothy learns about the Golden Cap she took from the Witch. It is actually a charm that allows her to possess the Winged Monkeys for her own benefit. After calling upon them, she asks them to fly her and her friends to the Emerald City. The Winged Monkey’s agree to do so because Dorothy controls them.

“We will carry you,” replied the King, and no sooner had he spoken than two of the Monkeys caught Dorothy in their arms and flew away with her. Others took the Scarecrow and the Woodman and the Lion, and one little Monkey seized Toto and flew after them, although the dog tried hard to bite him.

While flying, the Winged Monkeys tell Dorothy about how they became enslaved by the cap, and it involved dropping a sorceress’s loved one in a river, because the Winged Monkeys are mischievous creatures that’s what fantastical creatures do in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The sorceress, unhappy with the Winged Monkeys’ conduct, threatened them with the same treatment if they did not agree to her wishes: “… the Winged Monkeys should ever after do three times the bidding of the owner of the Golden Cap.”

After the story, the Winged Monkey’s deposit Dorothy and her friends at the gates of the Emerald City. The Winged Monkeys depart until they are needed again.

Chapter Fifteen Summary: The Discovery of Oz, the Terrible

The Quest Rewards

Dorothy and company enter the Emerald City and straightaway head to the Wizard of Oz, who owes them each a debt for ridding the land of the Wicked Witch of the West. However, Oz does not send for them immediately, and the group has to sit and wait for three days until The Scarecrow threatens the wizard with the Winged Monkeys. Of course, Oz relents and asks them to meet him in the throne room to receive their reward. Oz gets dodgy at this point and tells them to return the following day. Dorothy and friends do not like this response and decide to try and intimidate; however, that doesn’t go accordingly.

The Lion thought it might be as well to frighten the Wizard, so he gave a large, loud roar, which was so fierce and dreadful that Toto jumped away from him in alarm and tipped over the screen that stood in a corner. As it fell with a crash they looked that way, and the next moment all of them were filled with wonder. For they saw, standing in just the spot the screen had hidden, a little old man, with a bald head and a wrinkled face, who seemed to be as much surprised as they were.

The Truth Revealed

It is at this point that the Wizard of Oz reveals the truth. As it turns out, he is but a normal man and has kept himself safe due to his deceptive nature. The Wicked Witch, for instance, thought of him as a powerful wizard and thus was afraid to attack him head on unless she had magical means (the Winged Monkeys). Though he’s a liar, the Wizard of Oz rationalizes his actions to the best of his ability.

According to the wizard, he actually from Omaha. One day, he flew into the sky in his balloon and became lost above the clouds. By the time he landed, he found himself in the land of Oz. Once there, he commanded the people to build his city and his palace, and he named it the Emerald City. Why would the good people of Oz do this? Well, much like the Wicked Witch, they thought he was powerful. Nevertheless, he lived in fear of the Witches. Yet, he grew relieved to discover that Dorothy had landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. He was more relieved when he found at that she had killed the Wicked Witch of the West with a bucket of water.

Though, now that the truth was out, the Wizard of Oz tells Dorothy that there is little he can do to actually help her and her friends, but tells them to give him a few days to think about it, because even though he has no real powers, he was still quite ingenious.

Analysis of Chapter Fifteen

This is a chapter is a centered on a big reveal and offers up a fun twist to the story. In fact, it is an education in how to take your own story and flip it on its head if you were of the mind. In other words, all stories need twists and turns to remain engaging and entertaining, and you should think about what Baum does here to make this already fantastical story even more delightful. The wizard is not a wizard but a normal man, and he has an interesting story (more interesting than the Winged Monkeys’ story, I think), which causes the readers and Dorothy and her friends to take pity on him. It’s really creative!

Also, I love that at the end of the chapter it is revealed that Dorothy refers to the Wizard of Oz as “The Great and Terrible Humbug.” This is amusing because it’s really disparaging. It’s made even funnier in the next chapter because the wizard sees himself that way, too.

Chapter Sixteen Summary: The Magic Art of the Great Humbug

The chapter opens with the company reaping the rewards of the fantastic adventure.

• The wizard stuffs The Scarecrow’s head with a large amount of bran, pins, and needles, and “stuffed the rest with straw, to hold it in place,” and The Scarecrow was thankful.
• The Tin Woodman receives a heart after the Wizard cuts a hole in his chest and plops in a pretty heart that is made of “silk and stuffed with sawdust.”
• The Cowardly Lion is given his courage through the use of a tonic, which gives him the courage he was after since the beginning of their quest.

As for Dorothy, the Wizard is perplexed, as he is conflicted about his own powers.

“How can I help being a humbug,” he said, “when all these people make me do things that everybody knows can’t be done? It was easy to make the Scarecrow and the Lion and the Woodman happy, because they imagined I could do anything. But it will take more than imagination to carry Dorothy back to Kansas, and I’m sure I don’t know how it can be done.”

At that, the chapter ends. We as the reader are left to ponder how the Wizard will help Dorothy in order to get her back to Kansas.

Chapter Seventeen Summary: How the Balloon Was Launched

The Wizard decides that to get Dorothy back to Kansas, he must construct a large balloon to launch into the air. The balloon will then carry both himself and Dorothy home to where they belong.

“You see, when I came to this country it was in a balloon. You also came through the air, being carried by a cyclone. So I believe the best way to get across the desert will be through the air. Now, it is quite beyond my powers to make a cyclone; but I’ve been thinking the matter over, and I believe I can make a balloon.”

The Wizard and Dorothy set themselves about constructing a wonderful balloon to fly across the great desert and upon its completion the Wizard informs the people of the Emerald City that he is going to go visit “a great brother Wizard who lived in the clouds.” Of course, the people believe him to be magic when he is in fact not. So, this news is taken exactly as expected and the “news spread rapidly throughout the city…”

The Wizard has the balloon brought out, and he addresses the audience as a charlatan. However, he grants the Scarecrow permission to rule the city; but, unfortunately, before Dorothy can get on the balloon, her dog Toto runs into the crowd and Dorothy chases after him. The Wizard sails away into the clouds. He is never seen again.

Chapter Seventeen Analysis

For this week’s posts, we are looking at the theme of magic in writing, and both chapter sixteen and seventeen of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz deals with the Wizard’s magic in some way. What we know of the Wizard is that he is a fake; that is, he has lied about who he is to the people who love and cherish him, which has caused a conflict inside of him (man vs. man), as he is unsure of how to proceed with rewarding Dorothy and her friends because he has no way to actually reward them through the use of magical powers.

Thus, he resorts to practical means to reward each member of the company and to reward Dorothy herself; so, he makes handcrafted rewards and, because they all believe in him (which they really shouldn’t) they take their rewards as truth, like a odd sort of placebo. He stuffs The Scarecrow’s head with straw, gives the Tin Woodsman a beautiful heart, and concocts a tonic for the Cowardly Lion. Lastly, he literally creates a balloon with Dorothy’s help.

Yet, because the Wizard is a flawed individual, not all of his magical tricks work, as he leaves Dorothy behind as he has no way to control the balloon once it takes flight.