The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the novel over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Home is a recurring motif throughout The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

• What characterizes a person’s home? (topic sentence)
• How do the homes to which Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Woodman, and the Lion return exemplify their hopes and dreams?
• In your concluding sentences, summarize the ways in which the characters’ quests for home shape and change them.

2. Baum suggests that self-belief and confidence allow individuals to become the people they dream of being.

• Why are the Scarecrow, the Woodman, and the Lion dissatisfied with themselves when Dorothy initially encounters them? (topic sentence)
• What evidence from throughout the story suggests that these characters already possess the qualities they seek?
• In your concluding sentences, explain why the gifts from the Wizard of Oz make such a difference to these characters’ perception of themselves.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Dorothy and her friends meet their challenges with kindness; they always think of helping each other as well as helping themselves. The Wizard of Oz is a more morally ambiguous character; he is deceptive and manipulative, but he later repents and changes his ways. The Wicked Witch of the West is the epitome of cruelty; she is defeated by Dorothy. What is the author saying about the benefits of behaving with kindness? What advantages does kindness provide in the long run? On the other hand, how are characters who behave poorly punished? How is the theme of The Triumph of Good Over Evil explored both between and within characters?

2. Contrast Kansas with the Land of Oz. Given Dorothy’s reaction to Oz, is her determination to return home to Kansas surprising? What motivates her? How does Baum offer a subtle, satirical critique of those who are overly attached to the idea of home in the Scarecrow’s observation that “I cannot understand it […] if your heads were stuffed with straw, like mine, you would probably all live in the beautiful places, and then Kansas would have no people at all”?