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The Wizard of Oz
Characters
The Wizard of Oz
characters first came to life in L. Frank Baum’s 1900
fantasy book The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz. More than a
hundred years later they
still have
the power to
captivate and enchant.
The story that carries us somewhere over the rainbow begins in Kansas in the late 19th
century and revolves around a schoolgirl named Dorothy Gale.
After a cyclone strikes her home, Dorothy falls unconscious and dreams
of going to a magical place in the clouds called the Land of Oz.
There she meets a host of beloved Wizard of Oz characters including the colorful munchkins, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, Tin Man, the people of the Emerald City, the Good Witch of the North, the Wicked Witch of the West and her crew of winged monkeys.
Here
are portraits of three prominent Wizard of Oz
characters, Dorothy Gale, the Wicked Witch of the West and Scarecrow:
Dorothy Gale
 Dorothy
Gale (left: as portrayed by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz) is an orphaned schoolgirl and the main character in The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz as well as many of L Frank Baum’s other novels about Oz.
Before a cyclone whisks her off to the Land of Oz, she lives on a farm
in Kansas with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and her beloved little dog,
Toto.
Dorothy’s
main motivation during her adventure through Oz is to reach the Emerald City so
she can ask the Wizard of Oz to help her return home. Throughout the journey,
she proves herself a compassionate and loyal friend. She helps
Scarecrow down from the post he’s hung on, oils Tin Man so he can walk
again and soothes the frightened Cowardly Lion.
Forthright
and adventurous, Dorothy is not afraid to speak her mind. She frequently
sticks up to those who try to bully and attack her friends, including
her greatest foe, the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy’s adventure
teach her that you don’t have to travel further than your front door to
find your heart’s desire because afterall, there’s no place like home.
Dorothy
is the most iconic of all the Wizard of Oz characters. She is usually
portrayed as a young girl with her hair in two pigtails, wearing a blue
and white checked dress and a pair of red baby doll shoes.
The Wicked Witch of the West
 The
Wicked Witch of the West (left: as portrayed by Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz) is the wickedest of all the Wizard of Oz
characters. She is the main threat to Dorothy and to all good folk of
Oz.
The Wicked Witch of the East, said to be the Wicked Witch of the West's sister in many
on-screen and on-stage adaptations (though not in the book), is a foe
of equal wickedness until Dorothy’s house falls on her and kills her. The
Good Witch of the North removes the dead witch’s silver shoes (usually
depicted as ruby slippers) and gives them to Dorothy, who wears them on
her journey through Oz. This makes Dorothy the prime target of the
Wicked Witch of the West who is determined to get the shoes at any
cost, even the lives of Dorothy and her friends.
In the book, the
Witch captures Dorothy and uses magic to trip her up and seize one of her shoes. Dorothy loses her
temper and empties a bucket of water over the Witch, which causes her to
melt into nothingness.
There
are many different versions of the Wizard of Oz characters. In the book the Witch is an old woman with a protruding
belly and three pigtails. She wears an eye patch, which gives her telescopic vision, is afraid of the dark
and carries an umbrella, no doubt to protect herself from the rain water that
is so lethal to her.
However,
the Witch is most often depicted to resemble her portrayal in the 1939
movie, The Wizard of Oz, in which she has green skin and wears black
clothes and a pointed hat. The Witch is often used to represent pure evil.
Scarecrow
 Scarecrow
(left: as portrayed by Ray Bolger in the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz) is one of the three Wizard of Oz characters who accompanies Dorothy
along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City. When Dorothy first
meets him, he’s hanging on a pole in the Munchkin Country wishing above
all else that he had a brain.
Dorothy
helps Scarecrow down from the pole and then suggests he accompany her
to Oz so he can ask the Wizard for a brain. Despite Scarecrow’s
claim to be brainless, he proves himself cleverer than he ever expected
to be and is eventually deemed the wisest man in all of Oz.
Scarecrow
is usually depicted wearing a green long-sleeved shirt, a pair of brown
trousers and a soft pointed hat, with straw protruding from underneath
his clothes.
The Wizard of Oz chararacters on screen
The story
conceived by author L. Frank Baum is also the subject of one of the
most beloved fantasy movies of all time, the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming.
The
Cowardly Lion (Bert
Lahr), Scarecrow
(Ray
Bolger), Tin Man
(Jack
Haley) and Dorothy
(Judy
Garland) in a scene from the 1939
movie, The Wizard of Oz
I
grew up watching The
Wizard of Oz
on Irish television every Christmas, a time when it’s traditionally
broadcast in many countries. It’s lost none of its magic for me over
the years. The Wizard
of Oz characters will always be welcome guests in my home
and in my heart.
RETURN HOME from The Wizard of Oz
Characters to read more about the top 100 fantasy
books and top 100 fantasy movies of all time
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