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Summary: Chapter X: The Guardian of the Gate

The Cowardly Lion feels amazed to learn that small flowers almost killed him and small mice saved him. Back on the yellow brick road again, the friends get closer to the Emerald City. On this beautiful part of their walk, they notice that everything in the area is green. When they stop at a house for food and lodging, Dorothy assures the woman there that the Cowardly Lion won’t hurt her. A man in the house warns the travelers that the Great Oz might not see them and that no one sees him in person since he appears in changing forms. However, the man does believe that the Great Oz can help them. 

After a good meal and a night’s sleep, the friends continue their journey. A bright green glow tells them they are close to the Emerald City. At the city’s gate, they ring a bell, and the Guardian of the Gates questions them about their business. Before he admits the travelers inside the city, the Guardian of the Gates warns the travelers about the dangers of wasting the Great Oz’s time, and then he locks a pair of glasses on each of their faces to protect their vision from the city’s brilliance.

Summary: Chapter XI: The Wonderful City of Oz

Happy, prosperous people fill the Emerald City. The Guardian of the Gates makes the travelers wait in a waiting room while he goes to ask whether the Great Oz will grant them an audience. The Great Oz agrees to see them individually, one per day. The travelers are then taken to their rooms. The next day, wearing a green dress she finds in her room, Dorothy visits the Great Oz. She learns he is willing to see her because of her silver shoes and the good Witch’s kiss. Appearing as a big head, the Great Oz tells Dorothy she must kill the Wicked Witch of the West in order for him to help her. 

When the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion each visit him, the Great Oz appears in different guises—as a ball of fire, a beautiful woman, and a terrible beast. The Great Oz tells them the same thing he told Dorothy: He will only grant their requests for a brain, a heart, and courage once they have helped kill the Wicked Witch of the West. And so, the next day, the travelers set off for the land of the Winkies to try to find the Wicked Witch of the West.

Analysis: Chapters X–XI

This section is filled with foreshadowing that hints that the Wizard may not be what the travelers hoped. They are warned that he never lets anyone into his presence and that he does not like to be seen. The guardian at the gate warns the travelers not to waste the great Wizard’s time. All these warnings go against how Dorothy feels about the Wizard, who hopes the Wizard’s strength and age will compensate for her weakness and youth, but the Wizard disagrees with her logic. He demands that she kill the Wicked Witch of the West before he will help her, and he makes the same demand of all of Dorothy’s companions, each of whom is surprised to learn that their quest is not over.

These chapters at first appear to show Dorothy and her companions reaching the object of their quest, but things are not always as they seem in this magical setting. At the opening of Chapter 10, the Lion is astonished to find out that he was nearly killed by flowers and rescued by tiny mice. Later, the people of the farmland around the Emerald City are frightened of the Lion before Dorothy assures them that he is going to be more fearful of them. Finally, the great Wizard is not at all what Dorothy and the others expected. He appears to them in many different forms: a head, a lady, a beast, and a ball of fire, so they aren’t sure what precisely he is. His rudeness and ambivalence to their problems goes against all they had hoped for from the magical wizard. He is also unhelpful to each companion, sending them into further danger rather than helping them. Dorothy and the rest of the characters find that not only are appearances often deceptive, but their own expectations can be misleading.

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