Symbolism, Economics, and Politics, Oh My!

For my final unit paper of the semester, I was asked to write an annotated bibliography on a topic of my choice. Overwhelmed with relief that I would get to ramble on about my favorite book and it be counted for my exam grade I excitedly began working on my paper that ended up being over 1500 words long. Grateful for the constructed criticism from my classmates, especially Haylee Carpenter, Racheal Rosemass, and Seth Davis, and my professor, I now present my final draft.

Symbolism, Economics, and Politics Oh My!

Introduction

            The mind-numbing sound of my AP US history teacher flipping through PowerPoint slides was only a few clicks away from putting me in a comatose state, until I heard the fragment of a sentence including the words “the wizard of oz”. Jerking upright in my seat, I honed into Mr. Dickson’s words as he proceeded to spout the similarities and symbolism of the Gilded Age to that of my favorite novel.

Reading the numerous amounts of footnotes in my personal copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz gave me an inside look into the author L. Frank Baum’s writing inspiration. From the blue-and-white check of Dorothy’s gingham dress, to the name of her cherished dog Toto, I was entranced by the detail that Baum put into his writing. Now seen in a different historical perspective, I fell in love with the idea of a possible allegory and have since then never been able to forget.

Be it merely coincidental, or simply analyzed too deeply, the thought of a correlation between my favorite book and a crucial time in American history has encouraged me to find inspiration for my own writing in all that is around me.

The succeeding bibliographies elaborate to an extensive detail of the examples of symbolism, or lack thereof, in the novel. My third source, written by Quintin Taylor, simplifies the extensively written prose which originally hinted at the idea of an allegory proposed by Hugh Rockoff. To avoid redundancy, I mentioned the parts of the book that Taylor did not include in his recount of Rockoff’s idea. On the other hand, Bradley Hansen disputes against Rockoff’s claim and then proceeds to expose many allegations with more seemingly logical explanations.

Annotated Bibliography

Hansen, Bradley A. “The Fable of the Allegory: The Wizard Of Oz in Economics.” Journal Of Economic Education 33.3 (2002): 254-264. Business Source Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Openly questioning the credibility of Hugh Rockoff, Bradley Hansen writes of his speculation toward the relation between the beloved children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum, and the implication of an allegory. Published in 1900, The Wizard of Oz unknowingly illustrated the lives of many Americans living in the Midwest. Unknowingly given that few were able to recognize the seemingly obvious similarities from the reality of those in the Midwest and of those in Baum’s fictional Kansas and Oz.

Primarily what faulted Rockoff’s claim of political ties was the fact that Baum never out rightly stated his political status. In addition, he never left a diary or personal letter specifically linking his book with support to the Populist Party. He began writing TWWOO shortly after his move to Dakota, which then was not under the influence of the populists. Furthermore, none of Baum’s other books were found to have parallels in relation to the government. While in Dakota, Baum also wrote editorials in which he supported the republican party including his poem submitted in 1896 where he wrote of the excited anticipation for McKinley to lead the nation—clearly not in line with the populist ideology.

Aside from Baum’s personal life, looking more into the book solidifies Hansen’s opposition toward the alleged allegory. At the end of the novel, all the main characters do not support a democracy, but a monarchy. The Scarecrow takes the place of Oz in ruling over Emerald City, the Tin Man rules over the Winkies, the Lion over the forest, and in the later four novels, Dorothy is a princess. This then suggests that Oz was not supposed to represent America, but an unattainable utopia—a mocking of the Populist Party’s dogma.  Finally, the seemingly unopposable argument of the importance of color and numbers in Rockoff’s “Monetary Allegory” too has a riposte. During the time of the 1900’s printing in color became a new fashion, one for only those who could afford it. In the original printings of the novel, the illustrator W. W. Denslow expressed the importance of the upcoming trend of printing images in color—not only to keep up with the times, but also to appeal to the desired audience, the color and use of specific numbers were used to enchant the minds of Baum’s young readers.

Rockoff, Hugh. “The `Wizard Of Oz’ as a Monetary Allegory.” Journal of Political Economy 98.4 (1990): 739. Business Source Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Written mostly in 1899, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz highlighted the rising triumph of the Populist Party. The original title “From Kansas to Fairy Land” could have represented the expedition of the Populist Party from the small Omaha platform of the Midwest to Washington D.C. The rarely mentioned Wicked Witch of the South is to represent, obviously, the south. Seemingly separate from the gold standard crisis, the southern part of the United States could plainly see the rift caused by the silver versus gold. Similarly, only the Wicked Witch of the South knew the true powers that Dorothy’s silver shoes possessed.

Taylor, Quentin P. “Money and Politics in the Land Of Oz.” Independent Review 9.3 (2005): 413-426. Business Source Premier. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.

Referred to as, “The Parable of Populism”, L. Frank Baum’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, has thus far been found to have staggering similarities in that of the Land of Oz and that of the Land of the Free. Published in 1900, TWWOO was read during the climb of popularity for the Populist Party. Leading the underdog of the populists, was the flamboyant William Jennings Bryan, who was then beaten by the later (President) McKinley in election of 1900.

The novel begins as the drought-wrought land of Kansas is being swept across by a “twista!” The first couple of paragraphs alone are full of symbolism. The people of “real” Kansas in the 1900’s were all farmers; farmers were known as the common man. Mary E. Lease dubbed the Populist Party take-over of the mid-west the “Kansas Cyclone”. After being swept away by the tornado, Dorothy, and her house, literally landed themselves in the Land of Oz. Fortunately for the Munchkins their ruler, the Wicked Witch of the East, was the landing ground. The Wicked Witch of the East enslaved the Munchkins who were portrayed as people of small stature and could thus be thought of as “the little people” otherwise known as the common man. Dorothy’s house also plays a key role into the fact that the industry that built the house also runs the bank, which could just as easily take away one’s humble Kansas abode.

The common man of the United States sided with the Populist Party during the debate of the time for the country—the gold standard. Wanting to coin the more accessible silver, the poor argued with the bourgeoisie, traditional gold-favoring rich. The Witch of the North (notice the absence of the word wicked) appears dressed in white. Notably, silver’s nickname is white metal. Dorothy then embarks on her journey to the Emerald City, in her silver shoes, on the yellow brick road. She meets the lonely Scarecrow who claims he is without brains and hopes the wizard will give him some—the common man, the stupid man, the scarecrow. William Peffer and Jerry Simpson were a couple real-life examples of those “simple minded” members of the Populist Party. Dorothy continues her walk along the yellow brick road and encounters the rusted tin man who accidentally cut off his limbs while working. The Wicked Witch of the East replaced those limbs that he lost with tin until finally he was forgotten and left out to be rusted and immobile. The Tin Man was a working man, who was slowly replaced by an industry akin to those jobs that replaced working men with machines in the United States. The Tin Man’s desire for a heart mirrors the Populists’ cries to be used again. Again, William Jennings Brian is brought into the spotlight as his character is shown through the Cowardly Lion. Though Brian was said to give animated speeches that held promise, when he lost the election to McKinley, the fire that drove the Populist Party quickly burned out such as the Lion’s intimidating roar and his petrified reaction to Toto.

Finally arriving in Oz, which “coincidentally” is also the abbreviation for ounces, how gold and silver are measured, the symbolic arrival is alike to the desire for establishment of the Populist Party in Washington D.C. Known as the Gilded Age, the presidents of that time all contributed their character to the illusion that is the Wizard of Oz.  Like all politicians, the wizard refused to grant Dorothy and her friends their wishes until they offered something for him in return. “Killing” the Wicked Witch of the West with water was essential in the comparison of saving Oz (Kansas) from turmoil (drought). Successfully accomplishing the elusive Wizard’s task, it is then revealed that he is nothing more than a fraud who was a “full of hot air” circus balloonist. The color of the patches on the Wizard’s ratty balloon is green. Also green was the “courage” he bestowed upon the Lion. Green, like the paper money that was fleeting, was nothing more than a placebo. The combination of the gold and silver throughout the novel seen in Dorothy’s silver shoes on the gold path, and the new gold and silver ax given to the Tin Man lead evidence to show that an argument was not what the book was trying to portray.

Advertisement

Paul Muldoon Blog Post

The Hedgehog, written by one of Lenior-Rhyne visiting writers Paul Muldoon left me at a loss for interpretation.The poem personified a hedgehog in comparison to God. Having never had personal encounters with a hedgehog, I had no idea how it related to God. Quite frankly, I’m still at a loss for what exactly Muldoon is trying to portray. “The hedgehog keeps to itself”. From what I’ve been taught, God doesn’t keep to himself or “give nothing away”. Even after writing this blog, I am still at the loss I was when we read the poem in class.

Shitty Blog Entries

Regrettably due to an impromptu time change, I was unable to attend one of Lenior-Rhyne visiting writers, Anne Lamott. However not completely unprepared, my English class read an excerpt from her book Bird by Bird in class. Lamott’s chapter, Shitty First Drafts, tells of her routine struggles faced when writing. Firstly, she dreads the very thought of the daunting task and prolongs it as long as possible. Overcoming denial, Lamott then allows herself to write whatever she wants however she wants. She thinks of theis stage of writing as vital–the shittier the writing, the more valuable potential it holds. Finally having something written down, she then prunes and prunes again until successfully obtaining a copy of the coveted perfect final draft. As an aspiring writer, I appreciate any sort of insight into an effective writing process that I can. Although eager for guidance, I have to cringe when I hear the phrase “first draft”. In high school, I was never a fan of the first draft assignment, then later the final draft. The way I write is not in steps. Yes, I also start off typing anything that I can, but I never completely get to the end and start over. It seemed silly to me to spend time trying to crank out an ending when I wasn’t close to being satisfied with the beginning. Even so, I will take what Lamott has given me and remember that no matter whether one is in their first draft or seventh, shitty writing is still good writing.

Hidden Intellect or Obvious Ignorance?

In Gerald Graff’s essay “Hidden Intellectualism”, Graff offers a seemingly refreshing approach to the concept of “proper” education curriculum. What Graff does not provide is an explanation of the benefits of street smarts in a book-smart driven society. Lacking justification for his arguments toward disregarding an education premise, dismissing the value of customary education, and depreciating the learning possibilities in a classroom, Graff’s essay misses the mark on reviving the core subjects. Consequently, the piece underwhelmed my ambition to seriously consider knowledge about sports as a necessity in adept conversation.

To apply and convey intellect effectively, one must first have a solid educational basis. Graff concluded to forgo the basis. “I grew up torn…between the need to not jeopardize my respectable future and the need to impress the hoods” (246). However, the real world is not the hoods. To succeed, one has to be well spoken to be taken seriously. Graff’s argument that the multi-faceted pop-culture world is no difference in analytical observation than that of the intellectual one ignores the fact that anyone can offer ones’ opinion, but for one’s word to have value, the opinion must come from someone who is credible—and that eludes to proper schooling. Today’s outlook regarding higher education is that it is vital if one wishes to thrive in anything other than the lower class. Education is series of building blocks—if one does not have a solid foundation, then one cannot properly be built upon to expand one’s learning.

The ignorance of undermining education stems from the inability to appreciate it. Eisenhower’s presidential campaign referred to as an “intellectual bit” was meant as a slander to his regime but only solidified Eisenhower’s higher status (247). Graff defends himself in stating that his analyses of sports were more beneficial in contributing to his reputation in the “real world”. Conversely, his example of the knowledge of Ted Williams’s batting average is not as widely understood as he perceived. But, because works such as Shakespeare and Sophocles are mandatory in school, they actually are a conversational subject.

The realm of intelligence can be analyzed at any angle, but it does not go the same for the sports world as Graff claims. “…there is no necessary relation between the degree of interest a student shows in a text or subject and the quality of thought or expression such student manifests in writing or talking about it” (250). In my speech communication class, I was once asked to spontaneously present a speech on a randomly chosen topic; unfortunately, I drew football. Having no interest in the topic whatsoever, I floundered horribly when it came to addressing the actual matter. Fortunately, having been familiarized in my education, I knew how to use skills including diction and comparison from analyzing “hard” topics and applying them to a speech about something I knew very little regarding. If one were to try and apply their sports trivia in a math class, the obvious absence of intellectual training would override any effort to contribute to the material.

“Sports after all was full of challenging arguments, debates, problems for analysis…” (248). Granted, in context, this statement fully supports Graff’s stance on the accessibility of intellectual analysis in relation to sports; however out of context, the statement just as wholly supports the opposite ideology. To Graff, sports were only viewed as “more intellectual than school” simply because of his lack of participation in the classroom, to which he openly admitted. It is just as easy to participate in thought provoking conversation about Dickens’s frequent use of juxtaposition if one were to merely actively listen during discussion. The contention that the reason students are failing to show interest and growth in standard classes is because other interests are not being shown “through academic eyes” is a skewed perspective (250). If the same enthusiasm that was used in the portrayal of sports was used in the classroom, students would be more likely to listen and offer their input.

Hidden intellectualism is untapped potential by the choice of the student. Education can be accessed through other outlets only after the fundamentals have been fully comprehended. Otherwise, the execution of the analysis is elusive.

Work Cited

Graff, Gerald, and Cathy Birkenstein. “They Say / I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 3rd ed. New York: W.W. Norton. Print.

“Snow Day” Blog

The Poem “Snow Day”, by Billy Collins, was assigned at the most appropriate time. The synesthesia that was evoked through the writing complemented the scenery outside my window. Beginning with descriptions of everything around the narrator covered in a “white flag” (2), the snow serves as a blanket to hold the world still. The narrator, along with the children of the area, willingly yield to the “house arrest” and prepare themselves for a day in the snow. The author observes the snow as a symbol of momentary tranquility. The contrast between stanzas 3 and 4 portray the anticipating dread of going out into the snow with appreciating the peace of being inside.