Now There's an Ending!

I did it! I finished book one in the Oz Series, and it was incredible! The ending was ten times better than the movie’s dream crushing ending. I still can’t believe how much more superior the book is to the movie. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD The book ends very simply, the cowardly lion was final king of the forest, the lovable tin man became king of the Winkies (Former Subjects of the Wicked Witch of the West) and the thoughtful scarecrow was ruler of the Emerald City, which welcomed him warmly. Most importantly however, Dorothy got back home safely and wasn’t dreaming in the end! You could imagine my joy when I discovered it wasn’t a dream; you could almost feel my childhood dreams streaming back to me!

One major aspect of the book that differed from the movie in a large scale was the way Baum portrayed Dorothy’s companions. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD Baum made the characters act in an ironic manner in comparison to their feelings. For example, the tin man complained that he was heartless, however, in the dark forest when he steps on a bug he cries for half an hour. The cowardly lion claims to fear other creatures but jumps into battle when Dorothy is attack by flying monkeys. Finally, the scarecrow weeps for brains; however is the group’s true mastermind. I found it amusing that Baum made the characters act in such a contradicting manner. These descriptions made me realize that even if people think they lack essential traits, they are still present and are certain to surface.

What the Book is About...

So I have just recently begun reading the first book in the Oz series, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written by Frank Baum and am enjoying it more than the movie! The book is full of details that clear up any questions one may have about the movie. For example, at the start of the story (both in the movie and the book) Baum describes the setting as gray and dull; in order to emphasize how Dorothy’s old life lacked color and joy. The author tells us that the Kansas sun has bleached the color from the land and its inhabitants, only to later emphasize the queerness radiated off of the Land of Oz. The book is very simple which amuses me because I do not need to make an effort to understand what Baum is trying to infer. In the introduction of the book Baum explains how fairy tales have evolved over time and how he wrote the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in order differ from the average fairy tale format and create something new. Although I am enjoying the book, I was told by my English teacher that it is the worst one of the series, surprising me entirely; now I’m anxious to read the next books and hopefully finish all thirteen books before the end of the school semester. So if you have not yet read the book I recommend 100% that you do! Until then… remember to keep following The Yellow Brick Road!

Why a Dream?

A few days ago I was reading a friend of mine’s blog, Sincerely Me, and one of the posts reminded me of the Wizard of Oz. It was about dreams. As you know the Wizard of Oz is an incredible movie, however there is one aspect of it that I truly disliked; the ending. Now, some of you may think I am hypocritical but I’m not! The ending was terrible! The movie showed incredible scenes of fairy tales and witches; and for what? To be ruined by the fact that it was all a dream!

Imagine it in my point of view, the first time I ever watched the Wizard of Oz I was about eight or nine years old. I watched it joyfully, overtaken by the incantation presented to me through the magical world of Oz. The fantasy was overpowering, making me believe that maybe there really was a magical world somewhere over the rainbow. The evil apple trees, ruby slippers and magical beings all expanded my creativity and imagination, however when the end came I was disappointed. I was overjoyed that the wicked witch was dead and that Dorothy was finally going home; but what did the director and script writers decide to do? Make it a dream! In that moment I actually felt sad that there was no world of Oz and that the entire adventure I had been on was just a dream. What was going through their heads? Did they want to ruin little kids hopes and dreams? Did they not think that the incredible story line would be brought down by their terrible ending?

The Journey Begins...

I have been asked something so difficult, so incredibly hard for me to do; write about myself. I am capable of writing, I really am! However, writing about myself? Who I am? What I like to do? It just stumps my brain. I lose my ability to organize ideas and use them in my writing, all ability to express myself, to create something worth reading… Poof! Gone. Unfortunately, it’s not a choice because if I don’t do this I get a big “ZERO” on my English class grade, so logically I’m going to have to do it; whether I like it or not.

I’ll start with the basics; I am a ninth grade student at  an international school in Caracas, Venezuela, I try to dedicate myself to my work and strive to be the best that my abilities allow me to be. I love those old kid’s movies such as The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and I cannot stress this last one enough but I think the most amazing movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz; which is probably why I chose this as my blog theme; to help me focus on something that I truly love. For my future posts I will make many references and discussions to this inspirational film; so if you have not yet seen the movie, watch it because if you don’t, half the things I mention on this blog will mean nothing to you. Anyways, back to my description, I have a passion for reading and do it every night, getting lost in a book is one of my top thrills, to be in a world other than your own and to experience what happens to a character throughout a book has no superior feeling to me. My family consists of four people my sister, father, mother and I, we are of an average standard and are like most other families; we eat dinner together and what not.

So this is me. I know I’m not the most impressive person in the world, or the most interesting but I do try to push myself to achieve the best of my abilities and live life at its fullest. So from here on out I guess I will just simply have to follow the yellow brick road.