The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Notes on Chapter 9

Chapter 9. The Queen of the Field Mice

Disclaimer: notes transcribed as is, no editing has been made so as to preserve my original feelings as I read the chapter.

Straight away this chapter has Tin-man saving the life of the Queen. He does this act by attacking and killing her pursuer, a great Wildcat.
Baum seems to swing back & forth with Tin-man’s character. At first he has him abhorring violence & killing, but will easily throw out the pacifist ideals whenever he, and subsequently Tin-man feels like it. Yes, his actions are for a good cause, but does that make it the right thing to do. Debatable. Tin-man could have used his axe to frighten off the Wildcat instead of killing him.

Afterthoughts
Utilising mouse-power to save Lion from the toxic poppies was an expected course of action. As soon as Tin-man saved the Queen, I knew what was going to happen.
Overall, not much plot, just a stopgap to save Lion.
Tin-man’s character is becoming somewhat anomalous, to the point where I’m no longer certain about him. Morality is a tricky beast in real life, where nothing is ever black & white.
I may not be as sure of Tin-man as I was in the beginning but the author has since succeeded in making the character most complex and intriguing. Remember, this is fiction for children and Baum’s fairytale has surprising depth & complexity.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Notes on Chapter 8

Chapter 8.The Deadly Poppy Field

Disclaimer: notes transcribed as is, no editing has been made so
as to preserve my original feelings as I read the chapter.

The Tin-man’s raft gets them all across the river but it’s a pity they misjudged the depth of it. Their long poles prove to be little use in the middle of the river. Scarecrow even gets stranded because of this oversight.
Lion helps the others get to the riverbank but what of Scarecrow. It is rather fortuitous that a stork comes along and is large enough to fly over and carry Scarecrow to safety. What would the remaining friends have done without her aid, as it seems almost all of the good ideas have been from Scarecrow of late.

The flowers, beautiful and fragrant. Baum wrote this around 1900 and so poppies had quite an impact on the society of the time from what I can remember. Taking opium was considered fashionable but not dangerous, here Baum seems to hint at the darker, dangerous significance of the poppy. I’ve been in fields of the common variety of poppy – the type used as a symbol for Armistice (1918) – and although fragrant they have yet to put me to sleep. Which is why I think Baum’s deadly poppies are of the opium variety. I may of course be reading too much into this. I’ve never really delved too deep in the botanical world.

Afterthoughts
Yet more excitement for the intrepid band. Dorothy seems to be becoming less of a heroine and more of a damsel-in-distress at each turn of the page. The focus has yet to swing back to her and I am almost forced to experience their journey through the companions.
Not that I’m complaining, for each has an interesting and are so vastly different that it’s interesting to witness the co-operation of the characters. A common goal and a desire to help each other achieve these goals tie them all neatly together. It makes for fun reading too.

Bag-Pipes at Sea by Clinton Scollard

LibriVox volunteers bring you 12 recordings of Bag-Pipes at Sea by Clinton Scollard (1860-1932). This was the weekly poetry project for February 15th, 2009.

Running time=1m 18s (mp3@64kb)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Notes on Chapter 7

Chapter 7.The Journey to the Great Oz

Disclaimer: notes transcribed as is, no editing has been made so as to preserve my original feelings as I read the chapter.

The food is gone.
As they rest for the night, each companion tries to make himself useful. Lion’s suggestion of a deer for dinner unfortunately does make the Tin-man somewhat appalled at the idea of killing. Scarecrow manages to forage some nuts for Dorothy to eat instead.
Would Tin-man let Dorothy & Toto starve because of his ideal? I’m not certain but it is unlikely.

They reach, what seems to be an impasse. Scarecrow & Lion collaborate & find the solution, showing that perhaps they are not so short on brains & bravery as they each might think. Tin-man has shown shown he has heart too. Why can they not all see this, when it seems so plain and clear.
Well, Lion has got an inkling as Scarecrow comes up with another good idea at the second obstacle. This time with the assistance of Tin-man’s skills. After which the Kalidah’s make an appearance.
Bodies like bears, head like a tigers’, claws razor sharp. Yet Lion brings up the rear across their make-shift bridge, protecting the group. Even when across, he puts Dorothy behind him in an effort to keep her safe. Such bravery in the face of self-proclaimed cowardice. However, there is no need to fight as Scarecrow tells Tin-man to destroy the bridge with his axe and all are safe, though Tin-man is terribly sad for the Kalidah’s demise.
Each of the three show more of the traits they are wishing for, as time goes by. Is Dorothy’s presence the reason?
She is considered a sorceress, wears the silver slippers & bears the kiss of the Northern witch. Perhaps close proximity to the slippers is enough or just that these gifts were always there but unnoticed.

At the third obstacle, the river, Scarecrow thinks that a raft would be the best method to traverse it, so Tin-man sets to work.
Scarecrow finds a fruit-laden tree for Dorothy – who must be sick of her current nuts-only diet.
As Tin-man toils, the others rest for the night. It’s a good job he never gets tired as I don’t think the others would know how to build a raft.

Afterthoughts.
So much happened in this chapter, I’ve already mentioned the developments of the three companions, it seemed this chapter was more about them than Dorothy. They have saved her & Toto and proved to be loyal companions. I did feel that Tin-man has had less to say this time and yet it was balanced as had more to do.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Notes on Chapter 6

Chapter 6.The Cowardly Lion

Disclaimer: notes transcribed as is, no editing has been made so as to preserve my original feelings as I read the chapter.

Meeting with the lion is a strange affair. The lion roars & snaps his great jaws, claws at Dorothy’s companions and almost eats faithful little Toto. Dorothy again jumps to the rescue and verbally berates the lion. How can she seem to cope with Munchkins, living scarecrows & tin woodsmen, witches and now talking lions without loosing any semblance of calm or sanity?

She and the others show a remarkable level of forgiveness towards the lion. They seem to sympathise with his feelings of loneliness & apparent cowardliness, and so the last of the companions has joined the little band.

Dorothy’s assessment of the lion as a bodyguard shows a capacity for common sense. The lion may be cowardly but, as he himself points out, one look at him and (almost) everyone runs. His roar has been proven to have an even greater impact.

Afterthoughts
I’ve gone past my five chapter cutt-off point and find I am rather intrigued with Baum’s world of Oz.
The chapters so far have been short but compelling. The characters live & breath, even little Toto has a part to play. Baum does not forget to write about him just because he is a dog & has no dialogue, unlike the other inhabitants of Oz. At the end of this chapter, Toto & the lion even become friends despite the risk to Toto’s life by the jaws & teeth of the great cat. Quite an interesting development.

Of course, now Dorothy has one more mouth to feed and has yet to replenish her dwindling food supply. Perhaps Lion can help?