More handpicked essays just for you.
Color theory in literature essay
Essay regarding the use of color in frank l baums the wizard of oz
The wonderful wizard of oz story use of colors
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Color theory in literature essay
Braum’s use of color throughout The Wonderful Wizard of Oz might seem random or inconsequential to anyone reading the book, but the assignment of certain colors bring underlying meanings to certain aspects of the book that would not have been there without color. The land of the Munchkins, Quadlings and Winkies represents Baum’s knowledge of color theory. The yellow brick road and Emerald city represent the fall of the populist movement, and the greys of Kansas are used to contrast the magical land of Oz.
Some parts of the land in Oz are colored; the land of the Munchkins is blue, the land of the Winkies is yellow, and the land of the Quadlings is red. These primary colors represent color theory, which Baum had knowledge of before writing this
In 1939, Victor Fleming made a film version of L. Frank Baum’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” However, both the novel and the film focuses or touches on the same moral, it features the protagonist Dorothy who resides in Kansas the farm, along with her aunt Em and uncle Henry as well as her dog Toto. Both Baum’s novel and Fleming’s 1939 film adaptation the setting is in Kansas which is described as a small farm which Dorothy lives in which in Baum’s novel is picturized as gloomy, grey and dull. Throughout Fleming’s adaptation of Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” there are a number of differences which presents itself in a direct manner on screen as well as similarities. The variety of changes in the film’s adaptation tends to take away from the meaning of L. Frank Baum’s depiction in his novel to a certain level and extent.
L. Frank Baum shared an imaginary tale to the world when she wrote the “The Wonderful Land of Oz”. His passion and reasoning for writing this story was “written solely to pleasure the children of today”. Although not everyone agreed with this reason and thought otherwise. Quentin P. Taylor believed the “The Wonderful land of Oz” was a political symbolism and even thought that it was a populist allegory. Taylor accused the author of this imaginary tale that he was putting hidden messages or meaning in his story. Not only was Taylor accusing Mr. Baum of these actions but used different examples to prove his point. The biggest and most iconic example was the shoes Dorothy wore. In the movie “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy wore shiny red ruby slippers but in Baum story Dorothy wears a pair of silver slippers. Taylor believe that not only was the slippers an issue but the yellow brick road with attaching the silver slippers was an Populist platform in which it demanded “ free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver”.
Baum took a different approach on gender than many did in this time period. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz reverses the accepted gender roles of its time, women taking control, even helping men in times of need. Throughout the novel are a number of examples of a woman helping a man through a problem, and a woman getting through her problems on her own. This novel was one of the first signs of feminism, putting the woman into power. As Baum said, “Never give up. No one knows what’s going to happen next” (www.goodreads.com).
The ability to go out on one’s own, to have experiences and to meet people who are different from what you know. Then to return home if the person chooses. It also represents America’s growth. Kansas is a grey, bleak and dull wasteland, where everything is hard-work and misery. This was how it was for many Americans, especially since the movie was released during the Great Depression. In the movie Dorothy clearly longing to be elsewhere sings Over the Rainbow this was representative of how many people felt. Dreaming of being able to escape the hardships of their life and go “Somewhere over the rainbow/Skies are blue/ And the dreams that you dare to/Dream really do come true” (The Wizard of Oz) On the flip-side The Emerald City, which was probably representative of New York City was bigger than life, with bright colors, singing/ dancing and happy people. It is idealistic in its happiness and glamour. This is an idealism that cannot last. Eventually, everyone like Dorothy has to return to the dull, dreariness of their reality. The reason for this return is that it is necessary to lean on one’s family and family values during a time of economic crises, like the Great Depression. Rather than running off to follow one’s dreams in the big
Baum was very close with his mother-in-law, who was an influential suffragist who had worked with woman such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Baum had also been the secretary of his local women’s suffrage club. Knowing this some would say that some feminism aspects had found its way into the story of The Wizard of Oz, the men in this story have no real power and are lacking some sort of aspects such as a heart, brain, courage. Though, the woman such as Dorothy and the witches have great power and are not lacking in any
In the novel, play, and the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” had multiple opinions that explained the arguement on whether or not Frank Baum meant to use "The Wizard of Oz" story as a parable on the Populist movement. Ever since it was first publicated in 1900, Lyman Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been very popular to all age groups, providing the basis for a profitable musical comedy, three movies, and a number of plays on broadway. It is an orginal creation, curiously warm and touching, although no one really knows why, despite its acceptance by generations of readers, Baum's story has been given neither critical acclaim, nor critical examinations. An interested scholar, such as Martin Gardiner, looked upon The Wizard of Oz as the first sequel in a series of Oz stories, and probably base their appreciation of Baum's talent on all of his works.
Throughout the course of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum implements the use of colors in order to give the readers a sense of urgency whether it symbolizes the danger of the situation which Dorothy and her group are facing or it simply represents the different people in the land of Oz, as they are all very different. Color also plays an important part in both the setting and tone of the story. From the very beginning L. Frank Baum uses colors to highlight the sharp contrast between the land of Oz and Kansas he does so by describing Kansas as a dull, and life less gray place as opposed to the vibrant and colorful Oz, not only did he highlight physical changes but by describing these two very different places the author also manages
Color symbolizes a lot in the story. In the story you see excessive use of colors. The first most clear color symbol is white which doesn't express the purity but the false purity and goodness in the people. The next is gray, valley of ashes, which expresses the lack of spirit in that area. The green shows the hope of a new start, or to work for something. Red is death , or blood. Yellow expresses the corruptness in society and dishonest behavior in society. Also yellow represents the coward image of characters.
When Harriet first meets Roy, she wears a "dressy black dress", carrying a "skinny black hat box" with her and her hair is "a forth of dark curls". However,"her face was striking, a little drawn and pale..."(8). Malamud uses only black and white to describe Harriet. Black and white give people a sense of mystery. "The color black relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, and as a result it creates an air of mystery"(Empower yourself with Color Psychology). Whenever Harriet appears in the novel, she is always related to these two colors. When Harriet invites Roy to her hotel room, the scene is also filling with black and white. "As she shut the door she reached into the hat box which lay open next to a vase of white roses on the table and fitted the black feathered hat on her head"(32). This is not a coincident. From these scenes, we can see that Malamud shapes Harriet in terms of color. The color Malamud uses to describe Harriet create a mysterious mood in the brain of the readers of Harriet unconsciously. Therefore, this successfully creates the surreptitious image of
In the book the Land of Oz is real. Dorothy also comes across three women along the way. The good Witch of the North, Glinda, the good Witch of the South, and the Queen of the Field Mice are the good women that she comes across on her way to Emerald City. The wicked Witch of the West appears near the end of the story. Dorothy wears silver slippers instead of ruby slippers like in the movie. Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion do have to wear special glasses when they enter Emerald City. L. Frank Baum wrote this book and dedicated it to his wife. It was published in the year 1900. It is now cla...
Essential to the look and feel of a scene, lighting plays a key role in the mise-en-scene of The Wizard of Oz. Two basic types of lighting are used throughout the film: high-key lighting and low-key lighting. Used to convey emotion during the opening sepia scenes, three-point lighting also finds practicality here, helping the viewer to get in touch with Dorothy’s sadness, it provides a basis for reality, providing a stark contrast to the color fantasy sequences to come.
When the film begins on the farm in Kansas, the scene is shot in black and white, creating a sepia tone of colour to represent the country dust in the air adding to the effect of the ordinary unsaturated colour of the Kansas landscape. In contrast to the Kansas setting, lighting is profoundly used by the director to enhance the overall emotions of the film. Fleming uses a combination of the set, lighting techniques, and colour to create a magical place with very bright colours and deep focus lens to bring the land of Oz to life. In the scene where Dorothy enters Oz, the lighting is positioned between Dorothy and the foreground plants. The director uses the three point lighting technique so both Dorothy and the colour plants are highlighted but no shadows visible. This shot was done with a background of the black and white house behind Dorothy. The Land of Oz is filled with beautiful colours to create the illusion of a happy world that enhances the feel of fantasy. The allusion of contrasts between the real world and the land of Oz support the central theme there’s no place like home. In this way, the director enhances the picture of the film by the use of colour to reflect a mood experienced by the character in the different places. This colour transition used by the director, incorporates two completely different Mise en scene
Red ruby slippers. Green emerald city. Yellow brick road. These are just of the few iconic colors that bring to life The Wizard of Oz film. But before color even gets introduced, we see Dorothy in a monotone world of black and white with a sepia toned film. Set in the middle of Kansas, the viewer gets a sense of boredom and bareness. It seems as if the only people in that whole state are Dorothy, her immediate family and the farmhands! However, after her house gets lifted up and redeposited, she opens the door to a world of Technicolor. Your eyes are shocked as the screen is filled with various bright colors. The colors of Munchkin Land symbolize a vibrant, surreal, dreamlike adventure. It creates moods of happiness and security for the viewer as we are transported back to a world we know; color. In his article Color and Storytelling in Films, Robert Mills says, “Kansas is described as grey and lifeless whilst
The Wizard of Oz is a fiction story written by L. Frank Baum. The story has two main settings. The first setting is, Dorothy’s home, the Kansas prairies. The prairies are described as dry and gray. The second setting is the land of Oz. Oz is opposed from Kansas, it is colorful, bright, and full of joy. The Wizard of Oz has a grate theme or message behind the story. The message is that we all have good qualities in us, but it is up to us to use them.
When I first looked at the picture, it looked like there were only two colors green and blue. When I got closer to the picture I noticed there were many other colors used. I loved the way the colors were mixed into each other where you have to really look at the picture to see the colors. The other colors, other then green and blue, were pink, white, orange, red, and yellow. There were also different shades of green and blue. There was only one solid color in the picture; it was black.