Theatrical Adaptation

9-8-06 #1

Baum shows a lack of consistency throughout the novel that I believe hurts the story itself. When the details are not consistent, you do not know which to believe or which is true and can inhibit your view and understanding of the story. It is written in The Tin Woodsman of Oz, after “Queen Lurline left one of her fairies to rule this enchanted Land of Oz… no one in Oz ever died.” (Hearn 94, 6) The idea of death and aging is not something that exists in Oz, while Baum has the lion offer to “go into the forest and kill a deer for you,” (Baum, 119) so that Dorothy may eat. If death does not apply to the woodsmen, scarecrows, lions, munchkins, why would it apply to deer? At the same time, we need to eat meats to be healthy, and the only way to get that would be through other animals. Something would have to die in order to sustain this need, so the idea of death is not impossible.

When Dorothy meets the Queen of the Mice, she is told that “If ever you need us again…come out into the field and call, and we shall hear you and come to your assistance.” (Baum, 157) When our heroes need help again in later chapters, “Dorothy blew the little whistle she had carried about her neck since the Queen of the mice had given it to her.” (Baum, 245) Baum has mixed up his information here because the mice never gave her a whistle to summon them, but the Wicked Witch does use a whistle to summon her creatures, maybe he was thinking of that. (Hearn, 242, 3) This is inconsistent with the facts we have been given in earlier chapters and therefore can hinder the story by Baum’s inability to check his facts throughout the book.

Baum also has a tendency to be indecisive when discussing places, or describing things and does not keep the place or description consistent throughout the book or the series. Baum tells of Gaylette’s “handsome palace built from great blocks of ruby, ” (Baum, 248) while this is a castle in the north, where the favorite color is purple. (Hearn, 249, 4) To be consistent with the other lands, everything would be purple in this country, especially the castles and homes. The colors are one way to keep each land separate as it exists in Oz, and to make each place more distinct and unique in a child’s mind. When the details are skewed or changed, it becomes difficult to distinguish one land from another.

-Ann Nelson

posted by Ann @ 2:29 AM