The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Group

Question:

teebee111
teebee111
Student
High School - 11th Grade

Is "The Wizard of Oz" considered 'gothic'?

I need some help on proving to my class that the Wizard of Oz is of a gothic nature and has gothic themes present throughout the film.. HELP!

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Posted by teebee111 on Monday April 13, 2009 at 1:43 AM and tagged with genre, gothic, literature.

Answers:


  1. dswain001 Teacher
    Middle School

    eNotes Editor

    I could agree that the story "The Wizard of Oz" does contain some Gothic elements. For example, there is the theme of confinement. Dorothy feels trapped within the confines of normalcy. She longs to escape and see something greater than the world she knows.  Still, I wouldn't say that this would qualify the story as a Gothic tale.

    Remember, Gothic tales are filled with terror and nightmarish incidents. Gothic stories are very dark and in most cases deal with the supernatural. Things like ghosts, vampires and demons are common. Additionally, Gothic settings are often medieval. While the Dorothy character is the typical "damsel in distress", the story lacks the spooky background or supernatural characters that would help it to fit into the Gothic genre.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/gothic-movement/themes

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    Posted by dswain001 on Monday April 13, 2009 at 6:05 AM