The Green Spectacles Symbol Analysis

The green-tinted spectacles worn by every citizen of the Emerald City are symbolize the Wizard’s deceit and the power of perception. These mandatory spectacles enable a deception, as the Emerald City isn’t really as green as it appears—the city seems so green because the green spectacles color every person’s perception of the city. However, the Wizard doesn’t trick his subjects for any malicious purpose. He only wants his people to be happy, and in the Wizard’s view, this requires a bit of deceit.

This philosophy carries over into how the Wizard treats Dorothy’s friends after they discover that he’s a fraud. While he tries to convince the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion that they already have a brain, a heart, and courage respectively, he knows that the truth alone isn’t enough. The Wizard agrees to give them what they want in the form of several symbolic trinkets, but he knows that the trinkets he gives them won’t actually change them. Instead, their belief in the trinkets’ power lets them feel whole, even if no true magical change has taken place. Just like with the green spectacles, Dorothy’s friends become happier through what is essentially a placebo, or a benign lie that gives them confidence and makes them feel better. The green spectacles and the Wizard’s other gifts represent how slightly changing a person’s perspective, even if through deceit, can change someone’s personal reality for the better.