Next

Summary: Chapter I: The Cyclone

The story begins by introducing Dorothy, an orphan who lives with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in the middle of the Kansas prairie. Their simple house, in the middle of nowhere, is surrounded by treeless land and open sky. The house has a small cyclone cellar for protection since cyclones commonly occur in Kansas. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are drab, hardworking farmers who do not smile or laugh. Dorothy’s only playmate is her little black dog, Toto, who makes her laugh. 

When a cyclone hits, Uncle Henry rushes to secure the livestock. Aunt Em urges Dorothy to get to the cellar and hurries there herself. But Dorothy instead searches for Toto, who has disappeared under the bed. Suddenly, a strong wind lifts the house along with Dorothy and Toto high into the sky. Toto falls through the house’s open trap door that normally leads to the cellar but now just leads to the sky. But the strong winds hold Toto up so he doesn’t fall down. Dorothy grabs Toto, and they lie on the bed. Suspended at the center of the cyclone, the swirling house rocks Dorothy to sleep.

Summary: Chapter II: The Council with the Munchkins

Dorothy awakes with a jolt to find the house no longer moving and the sun shining. The house landed in the Land of Oz, a beautiful place, brilliant with color and life. A group of strange-looking people, whom Dorothy soon learns are Munchkins, approach her. An old woman refers to Dorothy as a sorceress and tells Dorothy that she killed the Wicked Witch of the East, freeing the Munchkins from years of slavery. Dorothy protests but then sees that the house has indeed landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. 

Dorothy learns that the old woman is the good Witch of the North, a friend of the Munchkins. She also learns that the Wicked Witch of the West remains alive somewhere. The good Witch gives Dorothy the Wicked Witch of the East’s charmed silver shoes. Dorothy wants to return to Kansas but learns that this will be difficult since Oz is surrounded by deserts. When Dorothy starts to cry, the Munchkins suggest she go to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard of Oz for help. To get there, Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road, a difficult journey, but a magic kiss from the good Witch should protect her.

Analysis: Chapters I-II

The opening chapters of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz introduce the protagonist, a child named Dorothy, and the beginning of the quest that forms the plot. Dorothy functions as an “every child” character in the novel. She loves her aunt and her dog, but she has few strongly developed character traits otherwise, which allows young readers to identify with her. Once she is taken to Oz, Dorothy has one overwhelming desire: to return home. This is the goal of her quest and the reason she sets off down “the road paved with yellow brick” to the “City of Emeralds.” In the first section of the novel, the Emerald City and its Wizard are symbols of something wonderful that will give Dorothy a way to return home. 
 
The opening chapters set up a stark contrast between the two settings: Kansas and Oz. Kansas, where Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle, is a depressing location and everything there—even the people—is portrayed as flat and gray. The house, the land, and Aunt Em have all been oppressed and flattened by the Kansas prairie. Oz presents a dramatic contrast as “a country of marvelous beauty” with bright trees, flowers, and birds. Even more, the setting of Oz is magical. The people Dorothy meets there are also different from the people of Kansas. Dorothy learns that there are real witches in Oz, both good and bad, which is different than Kansas where “the witches [are] all dead.” Dorothy also has power in Oz that she does not have at home. In Oz, the people are as small as children, granting Dorothy more agency in this land.

Next section Chapters III–IV

Take a Study Break