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Chapter 18: Away to the South
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Wizard of Oz, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Self-Doubt vs. Self-Confidence
Home and Belonging
Good vs. Evil
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
After the four companions say their goodbyes to the people of the Emerald City and begin their journey, they look back at the city and reflect on all that’s happened. The Scarecrow must return soon to rule the Emerald City with his wise new brains, and the Tin Woodman and the Lion have also gotten their wishes granted, so they can’t help but think fondly of the Wizard. Even Dorothy forgives him, thinking of him as a bad wizard but a good man. The group sets off in high spirits, believing more strongly than ever that they can get Dorothy home to Kansas at last. After a brief scuffle with some angry trees, the party trudges through a deep wood until they come upon a strange, high wall made of white china. The Tin Woodman decides to build a ladder to help them over it.
Dorothy’s final reflections on the Wizard of Oz highlight his unusual moral complexity one last time. She ultimately decides that he’s more good than bad, though her silence on the matter reveals her lingering uncertainty. In a land that has an absolutist notion of good vs. evil, the Wizard was a unique figure in that he wasn’t fully good or fully evil. Just like the people of the Emerald City, Dorothy thinks fondly of the Wizard and considers him a friend despite his deceptions. Ironically, the showman from Omaha might have been the strangest friend Dorothy made while in this land of bizarre creatures.
Themes
Literary Devices
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