American Archetypes

by Aisha Gilani

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This interpretation of the Wizard of Oz is by Sam Blackwell, a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian. He looks at the fairy tale from an average American's perspective. He feels that the fairy tale relates a lot to our lives.

"Perhaps we are unrefined, but we are kind. Perhaps we work too hard but we have a great capacity for love. Perhaps we exaggerate our fears, but we do not lack courage. Maybe we lose our way, but we do not give up."

"Dorothy, not coincidentally an orphan, fantasizes about a somewhere over the rainbow where skies are blue and dreams come true. Even as adults we yearn for a place and a family that can make us feel secure and loved."

"Don't we all have times when it feels we have landed in a foreign world, when everything looks scary and it seems as if something is out to get us? Don't we all have periods when we need a Yellow Brick Road, a Good Witch watching over us and the hope of finding a Wizard who has the answers to life's questions?"

"We all know Dorothy finally discovers that Wizards do not have the answers and the power she is looking for. The answers and the power were always within her."

"None of us believes it. We have to make the journeys. Through them we acquire the wisdom, compassion and courage to finally look within ourselves."

 

 

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