A Revised Report On Wicked

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Remembering: The author of Wicked, Gregory Maguire, was born in Albany, New York, in 1954. After receiving a degree in English from the University at Albany, he went on to earn a Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University. The very popular broadway musical “Wicked” is based on the first book written by Maguire (also called Wicked). He also wrote Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, and Son of a Witch. Currently, he lives near Boston, Massachusetts, with his family.

Understanding: The only true main character was Elphaba, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West. Arguably, her most unique and defining characteristic was her green skin. I use the preterite because, as we all know, Dorothy melts her, the Witch is no longer alive. Elphaba had also been afraid of water her whole life, when she cried, her tears burned, when it rained, she found a dry nook or an umbrella. She did not have a concept of religion, even though her father was a minister, and she frequently found herself subject to social inconvenience due to her skin condition. This slowly molded Elphaba into a detached, aloof, reclusive type, but still able to maintain (somewhat) social stability. No other character appears in more than half of the book.

Applying:

Analyzing:

Melena, the wife to a minister, is pregnant. When a mystical, magickal, clockwork clock and “puppet theatre” falsely predicts the minister as corrupt, an angry mob forces the minister and Melena to separate and hide. Melena hides in the clock while also being in labor. She gives birth to Elphaba, and days later recuperates with her husband. They are shocked by the baby, for it is green.

Some years later, Elphaba, now a to...

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... awe of its excellence, but afraid to go near, that it might reveal itself to be of a lesser design.

I felt sympathy for Elphaba in the end, she was simply a victim of circumstance, and admired her courage in standing up for what she believed in (which was pro-Animal civil rights and anti-Wizard). I admire people who stand up for others and help them, especially if it is against the evil tyranny of a wizard.

Creating: In the final hours before the witches demise, she concocts a plan to create a copy of herself, that Dorothy might kill the copy and not the original. Elphaba contacts Glinda, who takes pity on Elphaba and helps create the copy. When Dorothy arrives, the events that take place are the same is in The Wizard of Oz, but instead of the Wicked Witch of the West dying, her copy dies, and Elphaba becomes a hermit, living in a cave for the rest of her days.

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