The story, The Wizard of OZ, what is it saying regarding religion? What's the mesage?

Question

You know the story. What's represented through the characters, their motivations, story plot, etc., regarding religion.

Does it represent Catholisism, Buddhism, any 'ism? What about these does it say?

Specifically, just to get started,...What do you thinkd about Toto revealing the truth about The Wizard?

Answer 1

it describes the realities between different worlds
there are some things that can be attained just by contributing to the world...like salvation(not really)
and there are evils in the world
as goes for certain religions

different religions have different concepts
as goes for oz and kansas, there are differences and similarities in which people can do and cannot do

Answer 2

The story was about growing up. The scarecrow represented Dorothy's way of always wanting someone else to "do her thinking for her". Tell her what's right and wrong good and bad. Example: She knew better than to let Toto loose near that lady's yard. She was warned what would happen if the dog got into her garden again and yet Dorothy let it happen anyway. Even knowing the consequences yet not taking them seriously.

The Lion represented her lack of courage to face her own problems and work them out. To admit responsibility for ones own actions is a scary prospect.

The Tin Man represented her love of home and family.

In my opion, I don't believe that The Wizard of Oz represents any religion. We all see things - interpret things differently though. The whole plot of the story was for Dorothy to realize that it was time to grow up. Take responsibility for your actions and work through them.

Answer 3

I think there is a lot of imagery in the Wizard of Oz which suggests a critique of Christian religion and society. For instance, the characters are all on a journey to reach Oz, and the all-powerful Wizard who reigns over the city. This could very much be a parallel to the Christian belief of an all-powerful, all-knowing God who reigns over the world, and the characters could be the Christians who are "journey-ing" through life, trying to resist temptation, (like the apples in the dark forest, or the sleeping potion in the field of flowers, or the rain that rusts the tin-man.) The characters need the Wizard to fix them of their imperfections, much like in the Christian religion, where one needs God to forgive them of their sins and provide them with redemption.
Just as Christians have the counterpart of the Devil, the Wizard of Oz has the Wicked Witch of the West. She taunts them along the way, much like Christians believe that the Devil tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden, and tempts Christians to sin on a daily basis.
So it seems that Oz directly parallels Chrisitianity; however, there is one major difference, and that is that, in the end, the Wizard of Oz is not powerful at all- he's a fraud!! This could be interpreted as a critique of Christianity, because in the end, the characters find that they had it within themselves to fix themselves of their imperfections all along- they didn't NEED the Wizard. Perhaps this suggests that Christians, much like the characters of Oz, are looking to a false idol, and should instead look within themselves for the strength they need to solve their problems. In this sense, the moral of the story seems to be more along the lines of Eastern thought; where inner strength and individuality are stressed over man's dependency on anything material/man-made.
There is also a lot of irony in how little Toto uncovers the truth about the Wizard, which once again parallels a more Eastern thought, because Toto is an animal, and can "see" things with an intuition that the more human-like characters do not seem to have. Animals are not affected by society, religion, etc- they rely solely on intuition and instinct. With this ability, Toto unveils the truth about Oz that the characters, blinded by religion and society, could not see.
I could go one... what a GREAT question!! I wonder where you came up with that. It's a great conversation starter!

Answer 4

I don't know if it's what L. Frank Baum intended, but the message I get is that god is like the Wizard of OZ--essentially a big fake, and that Dorothy, the Tin Man and the rest (all of us) have the power to reach our goals within us, not given to us by some bozo 'behind the curtain'

Answer 5

The Wizard of Oz doesn't say anything about religion. It was written during the free silver movement in the United States and is a commentary on the merits of silver over gold.

Answer 6

I'm not sure about the rest of it, but the fact that Toto revealed the true Wizard just goes to show that animals are smarter than some people.

Answer 7

I'm sorry I didn't get any isms out fo that story.
What I got was a young girl growing up into adulthood and analyzing values in life through silly dream interpretations.
There's no place like home.

Answer 8

I own a set of Oz stories published in 1924. I read them all, and felt that Baum was writing more about power and the illusions it puts up more than anything else. It could be 'bout government or about big churches.

Answer 9

My high school history teacher kept telling us he was going to lecture one day on how the Wizard was supposed to represent FDR and Oz was a big metaphor for 1930s America, but he never got to it, so I'm still clueless. I hadn't heard its message had anything to do with religion, though.

Answer 10

Baum wrote The Wizard of Oz to be an American fairy tale. He did not intend any religious message.

You can read anything you want into it, but it was not intended by the author.