The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Essay -- Fantasy Literature, L. Frank Baum

People start their lives with open eyes and open hearts, but society corrupts them, turning them into shadows of what they once were. Children enter the world not judging anyone, and having no limitations; they believe anything is possible. As they grow and mature, they loose this valued quality in exchange for limitations, and settling into the status quo set by society. Children, at an early age, are fascinated with fairy tales, featuring princes and princesses living â€Å"happily ever after† and are instantly drawn to beauty and bright, colorful worlds, which in reality have been shaded by society. Authors began to grasp the imaginative quality we all once embodied, and channeled those thoughts and desires into fantasy novels, creating utopias and ideal societies for characters to experience. These fantasy novels address the American dream as well- living a successful, blissful life, and usually, finding love. Authors such as L. Frank Baum, J.M Barrie and J. K Rowling wrot e these fantasy books to capture the desires and reams of Americans. Fantasy novels blossomed into an ideal method for authors to express the ideal society and American dreams of the era in which they were written. In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L Frank Baum, a young girl, Dorothy Gale, is thrown into Munchkin County, a small city in the Land of Oz, when a cyclone comes ripping through Kansas, her hometown. She is immediately greeted by the munchkins, and Glenda, the good witch of the north, who informs her that she has killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy only wishes to return to her farm in Kansas, however, this is only possible if she travels to â€Å"Emerald City† to plead for help from the mighty Wizard of Oz. Along the way, she encounters various o... ...so courage in themselves to speak up, and the Tin Woodman’s desire for a heart typifies Americas want for compassion from a leader and from each other. Another classic children’s book, Peter Pan and Wendy, commonly known as Peter Pan also presented a new, limitless world, where there was eternal youth and innocence, and good triumphed over evil. In addition to these early classics, the Harry Potter series, written by J. K Rowling, also created a magical world where good and innocence defeated evil and corruption. Harry Potter, an honest and clever young boy is idolized for his intelligence and power; Two commendable traits every leader should possess. Americans have been drawn to fantasy novels, similar to fairy tales all through history, and even today because they amuse their desires for innocence, the past, and the domination of good over evil- a greater world.