Summary: Chapter XVIII: Away to the South

While glad not to have gone up in the balloon, Dorothy despairs that she will never be able to return to Kansas. The Scarecrow rejoices to have gone from life on a pole to ruler of the Emerald City. The Tin Woodman and the Lion also feel content with their new gifts of a heart and courage. As Dorothy still wants to return to Kansas, the Scarecrow suggests that she call the Winged Monkeys again with her magic Golden Cap so they can carry her there. 

When summoned, the Monkey King tells Dorothy that the Monkeys cannot leave the land of Oz nor cross the desert, so Dorothy has wasted one of her Golden Cap requests. The Scarecrow then asks advice from the Emerald City’s soldiers. While they don’t know how to cross the desert, they suggest that Dorothy get the help of Glinda, the beautiful and good Witch of the South, who rules over the Quadlings. Out of devotion to Dorothy, the Lion, the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow resolve to go with her on the dangerous journey on the straight road that leads south.

Summary: Chapter XIX: Attacked by the Fighting Trees

Before departing, the Scarecrow promises to return, if he is able, to rule the people of the Emerald City after he helps Dorothy. The travelers set off filled with hope and good cheer. They journey to a thick wood. When the Scarecrow tries to pass a giant tree at the forest’s entrance, the tree grabs him and throws him back. Unharmed, the Scarecrow tries passing a different tree, but the same thing happens. Next the Tin Woodman approaches a tree. When the tree tries to grab him, he cuts the branch with his axe. The others are then able to pass by the tree without getting harmed. Once beyond these fierce guardian trees, Dorothy and her friends travel through the forest without any problems until they come to a white china wall.

Summary: Chapter XX: The Dainty China Country

The Tin Woodman builds a ladder so Dorothy and the others can climb over the smooth, white china wall. When the friends get to the top of the wall, they see before them a small, delicate country with brightly colored houses, animals, and people all made of china. The Scarecrow jumps down from the wall first. Then Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto jump down on top of the Scarecrow to soften their landing. 

As Dorothy and her companions walk through the country, they startle a china cow and milkmaid, which causes the cow to break his leg and the milkmaid to get nicked. The cow and milkmaid must then go to a mender’s shop to get repaired. The travelers then meet a princess who worries she will fall, break, and be filled with mended cracks like Mr. Joker, a porcelain clown. Dorothy wants to take the princess back to Kansas, but the princess says life in this china country is happier than standing stiffly on someone’s mantel. As they reach the other side of this delicate country with its brittle people, the travelers reach another, shorter china wall, which they climb over by first standing on the Cowardly Lion’s back.

Analysis: Chapters XVIII–XX

Dorothy’s desire to get home at all costs becomes the main theme of the remainder of the story. Dorothy’s companions want her to stay in the Emerald City with them, but Dorothy refuses, knowing she must undertake the dangerous journey South since she has no other option of returning home. The Scarecrow, who has found his home as ruler of the Emerald City, joins the others in offering to help. Dorothy’s companions are grateful for her leadership and kindness, and they want to repay her by helping her get home to Kansas. The contentment of belonging somewhere pervades this part of the story, as more and more characters end up where they belong.  

Setting out again into the wondrous and sometimes dangerous land of Oz, Dorothy and her companions wrestle with each setting and its corresponding peculiarity. Heading South, a direction known to be “full of dangers,” the companions are soon enough attacked by trees in the forest, reminding the reader of the dangers Oz can present. However, in the town made entirely out of china (porcelain), the companions themselves become the dangerous ones, passing through a country where everything and everyone is made of a fragile, breakable material. The magical boundary between Oz and Kansas is further defined by the porcelain Princess’s refusal to join Dorothy on her journey home, asserting that she would not belong there. The magical, topsy-turvy setting of Oz once again challenges Dorothy and her friends as they make their way South for Glinda’s assistance.