Introduction
L. Frank Baum specifically says 'heartache and nightmares
are left out' in his introduction, and as a result I felt there were obvious
gaps in the logical progression of this story. Therefore, in the following
summary I have attempted to include some details of what may be motivating each
character. One thing I can say up front is that Mr Baum did an excellent job
creating his heartache- and nightmare-less story, as hints throughout the book
suggest a much darker and twisted plot that must have been difficult to cover up. Please read at your own risk.
Chapter
1. The Cyclone
Introduce Kansas. What I took from this chapter is,
basically, Kansas is grey and everyone is grumpy, although just to liven things
up, it occasionally throws devil-weather at you, as happens a few pages in.
Uncle Henry goes out to 'look after the stock' which, I don't know, maybe means
'tie the cows down' or something, because putting them in a flimsy shed isn’t
going to help much. But, if there's one thing you don't want in a cyclone, it's
stray cows whipping round your head, so he heads out into the wind. The cyclone
hits, and whisks the house away with Dorothy in it. She leaves the whopping
great trapdoor in the middle of the floor open until Toto the dog falls through
it, but it ends well when Dorothy pulls him back in by his ear. Then she gets
bored of the storm and goes to sleep.
Chapter
2. The Council with the Munchkins
Very much like the film, Dorothy wakes to find the
world now has colour. And munchkins. The Good Witch of the North says hello,
and assures Dorothy that some witches can be good, because she is a Good Witch
and 'cannot be mistaken', which seems a bit of a flimsy argument to me. Ms
North points out the dead and dehydrating feet of the Wicked Witch of the East,
and Dorothy steals her shoes. Ms North then balances her hat on her nose so it
will tell her what to do (magic), and sends Dorothy off on her own into the
land of Oz, knowing full well what dangers await her. Her mission, to find the
Great Wizard Oz. Leaving her with only a hickey for protection, Ms North
disappears into thin air, surprising Toto, and making no impression at all on
the backwater country girl.
Chapter
3. How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow
Dorothy sets out to find Oz, and along the way
cashes in on her ‘murder-by-house’ of Wicked Ms East, getting food and a place
to sleep. The next day, she meets the Scarecrow, and after freeing him from his
eternal servitude (of two days), she finally realises it is 'queer' to
see a stuffed man walking about and talking. She happily agrees to the creepy
effigy joining her on her journey, so on they go towards the Emerald City. Toto
doesn't like the Scarecrow.
Chapter
4. The Road Through the Forest
The Scarecrow falls into holes a lot, and explains
how he was actually no good at scaring crows (shock). The pair discuss how you
need brains to live somewhere as grey and boring as Kansas. It gets dark, so
they stop at an abandoned cottage (blatantly ignoring Rule 1 of any horror
movie). The Scarecrow watches Dorothy as she sleeps. We can only imagine what
he is plotting as he waits.
Chapter
5. The Rescue of the Tin Woodman
Dorothy discovers she has been sleeping in a house
belonging to the Tin Woodman, while the said owner is trapped in his rusted
body just outside. As any sensible girl would do on finding a metal man with a
big axe, she oils him up and invites him to be her companion. He doesn't chop
her into pieces, but does tell her a story about how Wicked Ms East made him
chop each his body parts off in turn. As they walk on, he chops down half a
forest so the group can stay on the road, because heaven forbid they should
have to walk around trees. This should be an indication of the sort of
psychotic nature Dorothy had just saddled herself with, but she keeps him
around anyway. Toto doesn't like the Tin Man.
Chapter
6. The Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion attacks the group. The Scarecrow is
obviously no match for him and is defeated easily, but the armoured Tin Man
falls to the ground and plays dead, probably in the hope that the Lion will rid
him of Dorothy. Unfortunately for him, Dorothy puts her brawling skills to work
by blindsiding the Lion, then shouts at him until he breaks down and cries. The
Tin Man, seeing his hopes dashed, innocently draws attention away from his
obvious dive by suggesting the Lion might have heart disease. Everyone grumbles
about things that they want that they don't have, and the Lion – bullied by
Dorothy to believe he is a coward – decides to join them in the hopes of
finding some courage. In a clearly staged event to made himself seem less
psychotic than he truly is, the Tin Man pretends to be terribly upset when he
steps on a beetle, and insists that he is 'always careful not to hurt any
living creature'. This is an important point, which we will come back to later....Come back soon for Part 2 of 'In Summary - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'.
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