Chapter 17 - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Masterwork Analysis

Hello and welcome to the StoryGrid Masterwork Podcast. We're part of a growing StoryGrid community that includes thousands of writers and editors from all over the world. We're dedicated to helping writers improve their craft through books, podcasts, courses and online forums. In this StoryGrid Masterwork podcast, we'll be reading and analyzing great books to learn what makes them work so well. I'm your host, Bib Bailey. This season, we're reading the Wonderful wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum's classic novel about a young girl's heroic journey. In each episode, I'll read you one of the book's 24 scenes and then we'll analyze the scene using storygrid tools and methods in order to understand how and why this story endures and still captivates readers more than a century after it was written. Editor and publisher Sean Coyne developed StoryGrid during 30 years in the storytelling business. He's applied his knowledge to dozens of best selling fiction and nonfiction stories and now shares what he's learned in the StoryGrid community. You'll find a full introduction to StoryGrid's method of analyzing scenes in the first episode of this series. Now let's review how we'll analyze today's scene. If you're already familiar with StoryGrid, you can skip ahead 1 minute 40 seconds to start listening to the scene. We use five first principles to analyze any story. First, we look at a story both as a whole and in smaller parts. In this podcast, we'll dissect the Wonderful wizard of Oz in parts, scene by scene. Second, we look for a change inside the world of the story, because all stories are about change. Third, we figure out how the change is linked to a universal human value such as safety, love, or justice. Fourth, we sum up the change in that human value in a single sentence called a story event. To find the story event, we ask four Socratic questions. These questions help us see what's actually happening in the scene, what the character's essential tactics are, and how they connect to the universal human value at stake. Fifth, when we know our story event, we look at how the scene is constructed by using what we call the five commandments of storytelling. The five commandments we'll find in each scene of the Wonderful wizard of Oz are the inciting incident, which kicks off the action the turning point, progressive complication, an unexpected event that turns the human value at stake in the scene and gives rise to the crisis, which is a dilemma about how to confront the unexpected event. The climax, which is the decision and action a character takes in response to the crisis, the resolution which is the outcome of the action of the climax. Now let's step onto the yellow brick road with Dorothy and listen to this week's scene and analysis.

The Wonderful wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum Scene 17 how the balloon was launched.

For three days, Dorothy Heard nothing from Oz. These were sad days for the little girl, although her friends were all quite happy and contented. The scarecrow told them there were wonderful thoughts in his head, but he would not say what they were because he knew no one could understand them but himself. When the tin woodman walked about, he felt his heart rattling around in his breast, and he told Dorothy he had discovered it to be a kinder and more tender heart than the one he had owned. When he was made of flesh, the lion declared he was afraid of nothing on earth and would gladly face an army or a dozen of the fierce Kalidahs. Thus each of the little party was satisfied, except Dorothy, who longed more than ever to get back to Kansas.

On the fourth day, to her great joy, Oz sent for her, and when she entered the throne room, he greeted her pleasantly. Sit down, my dear. I think I have found a way to get you out of this country and back to Kansas? She asked eagerly. Well, I'm not sure about Kansas, said Oz, for I haven't the faintest notion which way it lies. But the first thing to do is to cross the desert, and then it should be easy to find your way home. How can I cross the desert? She inquired. Well, I'll tell you what I think, said the little man. You see, when I came to this country, it was in a balloon. You also came through the air being carried by a cyclone. So I believe the best way to get across the desert will be through the air. Now, it is quite beyond my powers to make a cyclone, but I've been thinking the matter over, and I believe I can make a balloon. How? Asked Dorothy.

A balloon, said Oz, is made of silk, which is coated with glue to keep the gas in. I have plenty of silk in the palace, so it will be no trouble to make the balloon. But in all this country there is no gas to fill the balloon with to make it float. If it won't float, remarked Dorothy, it will be of no use to us. True, answered Oz, but there is another way to make it float, which is to fill it with hot air. Hot air isn't as good as gas, for if the air should get cold, the balloon would come down in the desert and we should be lost. We. Exclaimed the girl. Are you going with me? Yes, of course, replied Oz. I am tired of being such a humbug. If I should go out of this palace, my people would soon discover I am not a wizard. And then they would be vexed with me for having deceived them. So I have to stay shut up in these rooms all day, and it gets tiresome. I'd much rather go back to Kansas with you and be in a circus again. I shall be glad to have your company, said Dorothy. Thank you, he answered. Now, if you will help me sew the silk together, we will begin to work on our balloon. So Dorothy took a needle and thread, and as fast as Oz cut the strips of silk into proper shape, the girl sewed them neatly together. First there was a strip of light green silk, then a strip of dark green, and then a strip of emerald green. For Oz had a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the color about them. It took three days to sew all the strips together, but when it was finished, they had a big bag of green silk more than 20ft long. Then Oz painted it on the inside with a coat of thin glue to make it airtight, after which he announced that the balloon was ready. But we must have a basket to ride in, he said. So he sent the soldier with the green whiskers for a big clothes basket, which he fastened with many ropes to the bottom of the balloon. When it was all ready, Oz sent word to his people that he was going to make a visit to a great brother wizard who lived in the clouds. The news spread rapidly throughout the city, and everyone came to see the wonderful sight. Oz ordered the balloon carried out in front of the palace, and the people gazed upon it with much curiosity. The tin woodman had chopped a big pile of wood, and now he made a fire of it. And Oz held the bottom of the balloon over the fire so that the hot air that arose from it would be caught in the silken bag. Gradually, the balloon swelled out and and rose into the air, and finally the basket just touched the ground.

Then Oz got into the basket and said to all the people in a loud voice, I am now going away to make a visit. While I am gone, the Scarecrow will rule over you. I command you to obey him as you would me. The balloon was by this time tugging hard at the rope that held it to the ground, for the air within it was hot, and this made it so much lighter in weight than the air. Without that, it pulled hard to rise into the sky. Come, Dorothy. Cried the Wizard. Hurry up or the balloon will fly away. I can't find Toto anywhere, replied Dorothy, who did not wish to leave her little dog behind. Toto had run into the crowd to bark at the kitten, and Dorothy at last found him. She picked him up and ran toward the balloon. She was within a few steps of it, and Oz was holding out his hands to help her into the basket when crack went the ropes and the balloon rose into the air without her. Come back. She screamed. I want to go too. I can't. Come back, my dear. Called Oz from the basket. Goodbye. Goodbye. Shouted everyone, and all eyes were turned upward to where the wizard was riding in the basket, rising every moment farther and farther into the sky. And that was the last any of them ever saw of Oz the Wonderful wizard, though he may have reached Omaha safely and be there now for all we know. But the people remembered him lovingly and said to one another, oz was always our friend when he was here. He built for us this beautiful Emerald City, and now he is gone. He has left the wise Scarecrow to rule over us.

Still, for many days they grieved over the loss of the Wonderful wizard and would not be comforted.

Now let's use StoryGrid first principles to analyze the scene A story event is an active change of a universal human value for one or more characters. As a result of conflict, one character's desires clash with another's or an environmental shift changes the value positively or negatively. A working scene contains at least one story event. To determine a scene's story event, answer these four Socratic questions. Question number one what are the characters literally doing? That is what are their micro on the ground actions?

Dorothy and Oz make a balloon to escape over the desert between Emerald City and home. Question number two what is the essential tactic of the characters? That is what macro behaviors are they employing that are linked to a universal human value?

Dorothy and Oz are shaping their dreams of returning home into reality. Question number three what universal human values have changed for one or more characters in the scene? Which one of those value changes is most important and should be included in the storygrid spreadsheet?

When in doubt, the storygrid rule of thumb is to highlight the value that best aligns with the progress of the global human value at stake in the story? The Wonderful wizard of Oz is an action story which has a global value at stake of life death. Throughout the story grid spreadsheet, we'll track the ways life is threatened or enhanced scene by scene. The value shift is clear hope to all is lost. Question number four what story event sums up the scene's on the ground actions, essential tactics and value change? We will enter that event in the story grid spreadsheet.

Oz puts in motion his plan to leave via hot air balloon with Dorothy, but leaves without her. Now let's examine how the scene abides the five Commandments of storytelling. What's the inciting incident? Oz figures out how to leave. What's the turning point? Progressive complication?

Toto escapes. What's the crisis?

It's a best bad choice. If Dorothy abandons Toto to find her way home, she'll condemn him to living in the Emerald City for the rest of his life. What's the climax?

Dorothy stays to find Toto. What's the resolution?

Oz leaves, but Dorothy stays. Thanks for listening and please join Dorothy, Toto and me on the next leg of our fantastic journey. If you're writing or thinking about writing a story about a heroic journey, you'll be interested in Sean Coyne's upcoming online seminar devoted to helping writers understand and use the heroic journey in their own work. It's a macro and micro examination of why these stories speak to us so compellingly and how to use the heroic journey to level up Your writing using StoryGrid specific tools. It includes a trip to the Shire to do a macro analysis of J.R.R. tolkien's the Hobbit, with a few detours to Oz and Emerald City along the way. Go to www.storygrid.comhero to find out more. We'd love to see you there. This has been Bib Bailey for the Story Grid Masterwork podcast. I'll see you next time. My prettiest.