We got dancing Munchkins! We've got talking trees! We've got a horse of a different color! Oz is just a giant chocolate box of goodies, but Dorothy's not going to see it unless she heads out in direct defiance of a sinister witch with a shoe fetish. Exploration always carries a hint of danger, but the pay-off comes in all of the cool things you get to see along the way.
Exploration means looking into the unknown and coming away with hard-won knowledge for it. Not only does Dorothy experience the awesomeness of traveling through a living musical, but she sees the darker parts too and they don't look quite as dark when she's done. Who needs maps? All you need to do is follow the Yellow Brick Road.
Questions about Exploration
- What is it about Kansas, specifically, that discourages exploration? Conversely, what is it about Oz that makes you want to explore it?
- Besides her companions, what other things does Dorothy find on her journey? How do they affect her (in both good ways and bad)?
- What kind of guides does Dorothy have to follow? How do they both prepare her for what she'll find and leave her completely unprepared?
- What does Dorothy learn from her explorations (besides that witches are bad news, that is)?
Chew on This
Professor Marvel makes his living by taking advantage of people's dreams of exploration and the exotic.
Dorothy needed to get to Oz before she could truly go exploring.