Follow the Yellow Brick Road!

Ah... The Wonderful Wizard of Oz... A timeless story about a girl named Dorothy who gets abruptly thrown into a dream world called Oz (a symbolic reflection of her current life situation) is forced to embark on an adventure to the unconscious. Dorothy's life in Kansas, one that is complete opposite of the land of Oz, is not the most ideal situation. Due to the death of her parents, she is forced to live with her aunt and uncle on a boring, lonely, dry, black and white prairie landscape with her only friend, her dog Toto. The adventure throughout Oz brings a new meaning to Dorothy's life due to its colorful setting, energetic characters, and mysterious yet magical atmosphere which all play out to help her achieve self-realization.


Right away she encounters a beautiful "good" witch, who explains to her that she must travel the yellow brick road to see the Wizard of Oz, a man who has answers for all of life's questions. During this journey Dorothy comes across companions who are all suffering from the same issue that she has, a loss of self and a feeling of loneliness. Starting with the scarecrow, who is missing a brain, and is strongly reliant on the Wizard helping him get one. Next she meets the tin man, who has no heart, therefore he is in need of traveling the yellow brick road with her as well. Lastly she comes across the almighty Lion, who actually is not so mighty because he lacks courage, a trait that all lions must have. And of course there is Dorothy, why would she want to see the Wizard? It seems to me that the Wizard, also known as Professor Marvel, is Dorothy's source for getting adult help with her life since she has no parents to go to, and she is not comfortable enough with her aunt and uncle to seek advice from them. Marvel serves as the father figure that Dorothy has been yearning for since the death of her parents, and is the character who can relieve her from an unconscious guilt (oedipus anyone?). While this journey to see the Wizard is taking place, there are many other conflicts that arise. Throughout Dorothy's time in Oz she is constantly harassed by the Wicked Witch of the West, who could symbolize one of two conflicts in Dorothy's life; the evil town lady who wants to have Dorothy's dog taken away, OR the Wicked Witch could represent Dorothy's "id" thoughts concerning her mother abandoning her at such a young age. I personally believe the latter, Dorothy is uneasy with her mother's passing.

All the major events throughout the movie have significant impacts on Dorothy's inner self when she comes back to real life in Kansas. First her ability to overcome the Wicked Witch was Dorothy's accepting of her aunt as an adequate mother figure and showed that she could control her unconscious emotional conflicts. Second, during the journey on the yellow brick road, Dorothy slowly starts to take on a responsible role for both herself and her three companions, resulting in her having the discipline to return home to the real life struggles. The third and final event that impacts Dorothy was her friendship with the three companions. I strongly believe that Dorothy's allegorical male companions, the scarecrow, tin man, and lion, symbolize the mind, body, and spirit of Dorothy herself. Their discovering of certain attributes that they had all along, was really Dorothy discovering those same attributes on a conscious level inside herself, allowing her to conquer her greatest goal... To achieve self-realization.