Assignment NT 4.2

Narrative Outline
1. Dorothy lives a happy life with her dog Toto in rural Kansas
2. She runs away when her neighbor threatens to take away her dog
3. A magical tornado transports her to the land of Oz
4. She is praised by the munchkins and the good witch of the north for “killing” the wicked witch of the east
5. The good witch of the north places the wicked witch of the east’s slippers on her
6. The good witch of the north tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to go to the emerald city in which she can find the Wizard of Oz to help her and Toto go back to Kansas
7. On her journey she makes friends with a lion that lacks courage, a scarecrow that lacks a brain, and the tin man that lacks a heart
8. The four of them and Toto have their encounters with strange people on the way and the wicked witch of the west
9. They finally reach the Emerald City and the Wizard tells them to recover the wicked witch of the west’s broom stick (I think)
10. Dorothy, the lion, the tin man, the scarecrow, and Toto go to the witch’s castle and destroys the witch by spilling water on her.
11. They go back to the emerald city and Toto pulls a curtain, where the “wizard” is hiding.
12. They find out that there is no wizard after all but just a man.
13. The man tells the scarecrow, the tin man, and the lion that they already have a brain, heart, and courage respectively.
14. The man gets in a hot air balloon and tells Dorothy that he can take her back, but he cuts the rope too early and floats off
15. The good witch of the north comes back and tells Dorothy to click her heals and say, “there’s no place like home.”
16. Dorothy wakes up in her bed and “realizes” it was all a dream.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most classic tales of a character in trouble trying to overcome a problem. I think many people can relate to this story directly or even in small subtle ways because this story is very dynamic. I believe this tale can be used as the foundation or “blue print” for many people’s biographies, which involve overcoming a problem or dilemma.
If you generalize The Wizard of Oz story to it’s simplest form, you basically have the main character or heroin, Dorothy facing some kind of trouble; her problem being that her neighbor detests her dog and wants to take it away. Dorothy then goes on a journey that involves overcoming several obstacles in order to complete her journey. All these experiences throughout her quest helps her more and more to find the solution to her problem. All these hurdles that she passes on her journey gives her tools and life experiences to help achieve her goal. Everyone that comes across a problem in their lives generally use their prior experiences (“past journeys”) or must go on a “journey” no matter if it is physical or mental to overcome a problem. On this journey they must gather life experiences that helps them grow, develop, and mature. These experiences they pick up aids them in ultimately solving their predicament. To give a general example, let’s say a man finds out he has cancer. His journey involves going to the hospital, consulting with doctors, finding out his options, doing research on cancer, and then ultimately being treated and overcoming his problem. The man with cancer’s journey was not as “magical” as Dorothy’s but like Dorothy he was faced with a problem that led him on a quest to find the answer. I believe the story of The Wizard of Oz can be related to people’s own biographies and stories, if you break this tale’s outline down to the simplest form.
When you watch a movie, or turn on the television, the viewer is transported to a place where anything is possible and reality is stretched beyond the limits of the real world and only bounded by the capacity of our imaginations. Watching a film or television is indeed like going to the Land of Oz. It is here where one can express their creativity and is not limited by the boundaries and laws of the real world. Like in the Land of Oz, anything can happen in movies and T.V. You can encounter new beings, creatures, machines, new worlds and other things that are beyond reality. I think that the Wizard of Oz is trying to tell us that watching television and movies encourages us to be creative and think outside of the box. It heartens us to believe that we are not bound by the laws of the real world and anything and everything is possible. It is inspirations like these that brought man to where it is today. I mean just in the last century alone man has achieved what used to be unfathomable, such as landing on the moon or putting the world at everyone’s fingertips with the Internet.
The Wizard of Oz is telling us to be good viewers by not just watching a form of media for entertainment purposes, but to dig deeper and find meaning in what one is watching. They are trying to tell us to be open to new ideas and notions. Watching a new movie or a television show is a new experience just like how being transported to a The Land of Oz was a new experience for Dorothy. Dorothy learned a lot in the colorful world of Oz. She broke out of the “bubble” of monochromatic, boring and sheltered Kansas and learned new views and perspectives on life. Like Dorothy, to be a “good” viewer, one should watch a movie or television with an open mind because it can bring a lot of insight to your life.