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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz incorporates many colorful descriptions to make it vivid and appealing for children. However, the use of color throughout the novel is also symbolic and meaningful. L. Frank Baum uses color to indicate to the reader the attitudes and perceptions that the characters hold in regard to certain objects and locations they encounter throughout the novel. To emphasize the significance of color within the novel, the most important and widely known aspects of the novel are identified by their color such as the Yellow-Brick Road, the Emerald City, and Dorothy's silver shoes. A main focus of symbolism within the novel is the significance of gray and silver in the development of the relationship between Dorothy's shoes, the Land of Oz, and Kansas. The significance of color and the meaning associated with it are prominent throughout the novel and can strongly influence the reader's perception.

Within the first chapter of the novel, the reader is exposed to the very dull and gray depiction of Kansas. On one page alone, the author describes the gray prairies of Kansas and the gray house where Dorothy resides. He continues on to state that even the sky and grass, which are universally known to be colorful symbols of life, are gray in Kansas. The novel furthers this idea of lifelessness and dullness by stating that the grass was gray because "the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere" (Baum 12). Ultimately, Kansas is portrayed as a "gray mass" (Baum 12-3). Not only is the environment surrounding Dorothy gray, but the people surrounding her are also described as gray. The author describes Aunt Em and Uncle Henry as being overall gray, and interestingly, the characteristics usually used to depict someone's youthfulness are used to express Aunt Em's lifelessness. The novel describes her as having eyes, lips, and cheeks that are gray, but these facial features are often used in other novels to depict the exuberance of a character with rosy cheeks or sparkling eyes (Baum 12).

Upon her arrival at Munchkin Land, the novel refers to Dorothy as "a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, gray prairies" and illustrates the significance of how her gray environment has developed her into who she is (Baum 20). In contrast to this, the first color used to describe the new exciting world of Oz is "green" because the land is full of blooming plant life and meadows (Baum 20). This green and colorful description can be viewed as the complete opposite of the dusty, gray plains of Kansas. The lush landscape of Munchkin Land presents an immediate contrast to the lifelessness of Kansas. When in Kansas, Dorothy's view is described as seeing "nothing but the great gray prairie on every side" (Baum 12). Immediately upon her arrival, her view of Munchkin Land is described as seeing a "country of marvelous beauty" with "lovely patches of green sward all about with stately trees bearing rich and luscious fruits" (Baum 20). As mentioned previously, the grass in Kansas was not green, so it is easy to imagine how the green of Oz is a contrast. It is notable that green is the color that is most characteristic of Munchkin Land due to its lush meadows. It is also interesting that Dorothy adventures to the Emerald City which is even greener than Munchkin Land. However, the green of Munchkin Land represents the life and happiness of the cheerful Munchkins who live there, while the green of the City of Emeralds is symbolic of wealth since it is a large, extravagant city made of Emeralds. It is also debatable as to whether or not the Emerald City represents life since it is a large bustling and booming city that is lively. However, it is evident that the symbolism of life represented by the Emerald City is a very different type of life than what is symbolized by the green of Munchkin Land since Munchkin Land portrays peace and plant life compared to the excitement and life of the city.

Another important representation of color in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is Dorothy's silver shoes that she receives from the Witch of the East (Baum 24-5). The dazzling silver that is characteristic of the slippers completely contrasts the dull gray that the novel centered around in the first chapter of the novel. However, the colors "gray" and "silver" appear to be very similar since silver is a metallic and reflective shade of gray. The silver of the slippers is the first significant color mentioned in the novel after the reader is exposed to the significance of the gray of Kansas. Since L. Frank Baum deliberately incorporated two similar colors within the same time frame, he raises the question of the relationship between the silver slippers and Kansas and the meaning of this relationship.

Dorothy's shiny, silver slippers are strongly associated with the dull, gray Kansas. Before the Witch of the North gives Dorothy the shoes, she shakes the "dust" out of them (Baum 25). This can be considered as a reference to Dorothy leaving the dust and dullness of Kansas behind to experience the exuberance of Oz and trading in her old "gray" regular life for a new, interesting "silver" adventure. The slippers may also be used as a physical reminder of Dorothy's wish to return to Kansas. The relationship between the slippers and Kansas has been established previously. However, the timing of when Dorothy is presented with the slippers factors into the symbolism of Dorothy's slippers. Dorothy establishes that she wishes to return home to Kansas at the same time that she is being presented with the slippers. While asking the Witch of the North for guidance on how to return home, Dorothy is presented with the silver slippers while being instructed on how to begin her adventure. It is also important to note that the silver slippers allow Dorothy to finally return to Kansas at the end of the novel which only strengthens the relationship between Dorothy's shoes and Kansas.

The relationship between Dorothy's shoes and Kansas play a significant role within the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . However, a relationship of arguably equal significance is present between the colors "silver" and "gray" which assists in establishing the relationship between Kansas and the slippers. The contrast of the Land of Oz to Kansas is also presented through the "green" liveliness of the Land of Oz and the "gray" lifelessness of Kansas. Although these only two or three instances of the significance and symbolism of color used by L. Frank Baum, they are a few of the examples that are less obvious and of more importance within the text. In conclusion, the portrayal of the silver shoes, the green Land of Oz, and gray Kansas demonstrate the significance of color within the novel.
Madison Haugh

Sources:

Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . Dover, 2015.

The Wizard of Oz. Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor, King Vidor, Mervyn LeRoy, and Norman Taurog, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, 25 Aug. 1939.

Published