A Modernized Fairy Tale: Speculations on Technology, Labor, Politics, and Gender in the Oz Series

On the surface, L. Frank Baum\u27s Oz series would appear to merely be fourteen books of inventive children\u27s fantasy, but in truth Baum communicates several personal progressive beliefs to his youthful audience through the use of his fantastical world upon closer examination. For my research, I reread every book in Baum\u27s original Oz series and made note of any potentially relevant allegorical or metaphorical themes. Once I started to notice a trend of themes regarding technology, labor, politics, and gender, I settled on these themes to be the overall focus of my thesis\u27s discussion. I read as many academic essays and articles on the Oz series as I could find, observing previous readings and arguments to better inform my own work. Finally, I read a comprehensive biography on Baum\u27s life to contextualize his perspectives based on when, where, and how he grew up and lived. Overall, I found the Oz series to hold a host of interesting ideas and opinions that paint Baum as quite a colorful individual, one interested in the potential for America to change how it operated during his time and hoping to do so by encouraging children to challenge the society of their parents