A story that has a protagonist and no journey is like watching a really bad NHL player, sure its nice that he accomplished his goal but how the did he get there. For Dorothy her journey was one that took a young girl from a small town in Kansas and turned her into a hero. In the beginning of her journey she met three companions that would fallow her to the end, they were the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Lion. They all wanted to find the wizard as well not only to help Dorothy go back home but as they thought they needed a brain, a heart and courage but as they learn in the end they had it within themselves the whole time, as said in a speech from the wizard.
Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a
very mediocre commodity. Every
pusillanimous creature that crawls on the
earth -- or slinks through slimy seas has
a brain! (Baum,119)
back where I come from there are men
who do nothing all day but good deeds.
They are called phil...er -- er -- phil --
er, yes...good-deed-doers. And their
hearts are no bigger than yours.(Baum, 121)
Back where I come from, we have men who are
called heroes. Once a year, they take
their fortitude out of mothballs and
parade it down the main street of the
city. And they have no more courage than
you have. But! They have one thing that
you haven't got! A medal! Therefore[…]
I award you the Triple Cross.[ellipses mine] (Baum,120)
So at the end of our hero’s journey each character learned was that the things they really wanted they already had or in Dorothy’s case they had the power to achieve themselves.
A hero is defined as a character who in the face of danger and adversity or when is in some from of a position of weakness, displays courage and the will for self-sacrifice for the greater good of others. In this fantasy tale the character who best shows these charectoristics of a mythopoea archetype hero would be Dorothy. Not only does she save the land of Oz from the wicked witch but she does this in a place she has never been and does not understand at all, wich would be a great point of weakness being in her shoes. After making her way to see the wizard and being sent on an other side mission to steal the wicked witchs broom stick she does so not only with the purpose of going home but also to help the Tin Man, Scarecrow and the Lion with there quests for a heart, a brain and courage. She even shows her willingness for self-sacrifice when she stands up to the wizzard in defence of the three others.
DOROTHY
Yes, sir. So we'd like you to keep your
promise to us, if you please, sir.
OZ'S VOICE
Not so fast! Not....
...so fast! I'll have to give the matter
a little thought. Go away and come back
tomorrow!
DOROTHY
Tomorrow? Oh, but I want to go home now.
[…]
OZ'S VOICE
Do not arouse the wrath
of the Great and Powerful Oz! I said -
come back tomorrow!
DOROTHY
If you were really great and powerful,
you'd keep your promises! [ellipses mine] (Baum, 114)
The devil figure is a pretty self-explanatory archetype. It is essentially the story or fables antagonist, and in the world of oz the Wicked Witch is a perfect representation of the devil figure. Not only does she appear to be everything Dorothy isn’t she goes out of her way to prove it, by capturing Dorothy in her attempt to steal her slippers. Also not only does she have the evil vibe by looking at her you get the same vibe when you notice her surroundings and where she lives, the almost cliché dark creepy castle in the middle of nowhere that you see in most fables but also when you see how Most of the Land of Oz was filled with vibrant colors and really seemed to be the sort of perfect haven for people to live in peace. But once you stepped over the border and found yourself in the territory of the Wicked Witch everything that you first thought of the Land of Oz changed. It no longer had the same feel. Trees were dead and everything looked like it could come out at you at anytime. It was obvious that the writer really wanted her to stand out as the antagonist. Even the witch’s own minions could not stand the way she was, even praising Dorothy by song when she was defeated at last.
WINKIES
Hail! Hail to Dorothy -- The Wicked
Witch is dead!
DOROTHY
You mean, you're...you're all happy about
it?
LEADER
Very happy - now she won't be able to hit
us with a broom.... (Baum,111)
In Mythopoeic archetypes the platonic idea is the inspiration for the protagonist. So for Dorothy her Platonic idea would be her family or more specifically her desire to return home to her family. She does not realize it at first because she doesn’t know fully how much she misses her family until the end of the story. For the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion they all individually had there own Plutonic Idea for going on this quest. The Tin Man wanted to have a heart, the Scarecrow wanted a brain and the Lion wanted courage. But if you were to look at the three of them as a whole then there plutonic Idea changes because their inspiration is now Dorothy. Because you have to look at it as what would happen had they of not met Dorothy. No matter what Dorothy wanted to go home, she may of needed help but that’s what she wanted, that was her inspiration. So would the three of them have been able to accomplish their goals with out Dorothy? No. They needed her to be their inspiration.
The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic, it’s a story that will go down in history as being a perfect example of a mythopoeia and like many fantasy stories and tales the Wizard Of Oz has many characters that can be matched up with a mythopoeia archetype. Whether or not it is how it follows its archetypical hero who puts other peoples interest before hers or how it shows her journey to defeat its antagonist/devil figure also known as the Wicked Witch, no matter what way you look at this story it is a perfect example of mythopoeia.
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