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Chapter 23: Glinda Grants Dorothy’s Wish
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
Aunt Em comes out of the farmhouse to water the cabbages when she’s suddenly surprised and overjoyed to see Dorothy running towards her. She embraces Dorothy and showers her with kisses, asking where in the world she’s been. Dorothy explains very seriously that she and Toto have been in the Land of Oz, and that she’s so happy to be home again at last.
As she magically arrives back home at last, Dorothy knows that leaving her dear friends behind—while painful—was the right thing to do. At the novel’s conclusion, Dorothy joyfully goes back to where she truly belongs. As a character, Dorothy hasn’t fundamentally changed. She wanted to go back to Kansas during her entire adventure in Oz, and now she’s gotten her wish. But while Dorothy hasn’t changed, she’s certainly changed the people around her for the better. Her friends in Oz now have the confidence to live happy lives, the Wizard has given up his life of trickery, and the formerly gloomy Aunt Em is ecstatic to see her child again. For more than one character, the end of the novel is a homecoming, and there’s no place like home.
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