The Wizard of Oz The Home

There's no place like it, right?

Some girl in a movie assured us of that. Home here becomes a bit of a double-edged sword: it's the place Dorothy wants to get the heck away from so badly that she sings a song about it. Of course, as soon as she's out the door, she regrets it, but thanks to that pesky cyclone, it's going to take her quite a while to get back. Home here represents peace, comfort and safety: somewhere without flying monkeys dragging you away, and where the people who love you want you back. It's the prize Dorothy is looking for, the thing that drives her on, and the thing she has to earn the right to return to.

Questions About The Home

1. Is the cyclone created because Dorothy tries to return home rather than going with Professor Marvel? Why or why not?
2. In what ways is Oz like home for Dorothy? In what ways is it completely unlike home?
3. How does Dorothy keep visions of home alive while she is in Oz?
4. Why is it so important that home be dull and gray? What does that say about the home, in both good ways and bad?

Chew on This

Dorothy has to leave home before she can truly appreciate what it means to her.

Dorothy always appreciated home and her journey is a sort of retribution for ever doubting it.