The Wizard of Oz: Chapter 1: The Cyclone Summary & Analysis

Dorothy is a young girl who lives on a small farm on the prairies of Kansas. She lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and her beloved little black dog, Toto. The land around the farm is flat, bare, and gray for as far as the eye can see. After years of living on the harsh prairie, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are as gloomy as their environment, but Dorothy keeps a cheerful attitude and always finds something to laugh at. Toto is her main source of joy, and the two of them often play in the family’s tiny farmhouse, which has only one room.

One day, a strong wind picks up, and Uncle Henry shouts to Aunt Em that a cyclone is coming. While Uncle Henry runs off to secure the farm animals, a frightened Aunt Em hurriedly descends into the cyclone shelter, accessed through a trapdoor in the middle of the house. She screams for Dorothy to follow her down, but Toto scampers out of Dorothy’s arms and hides under the bed. Not wanting to leave her dog behind, Dorothy quickly reaches under the bed, grabs Toto, and hurries towards the shelter. Before she can reach the trapdoor, however, the wind shakes the house and sends Dorothy falling to the floor. In moments, the cyclone picks up the entire farmhouse, carrying it high in the air for miles in the eye of the storm.

Dorothy and Toto ride through the air in the tumbling farmhouse for hours as the wind howls around them. Once, Toto falls through the open trapdoor and Dorothy is afraid she’s lost him. But the air pressure fortunately keeps Toto aloft, allowing Dorothy to grab him and shut the trapdoor. While the cyclone scares both of them, Dorothy eventually pushes past her fear and resolves to accept her fate, whatever it might be. She calmly lies down on her bed and decides to wait out the cyclone and see what happens. Eventually, she falls asleep.