What is "American" about the novel? Can you please describe the situation of the South in the USA at the time the novel was written? #HISTORICALresearch #cross-curricular #alqareading

There are many details in the novel that exemplify the American reality of the book's time - scarecrows, fields, farmers, prairies, forests, and deserts. The geography of Oz has been discussed in terms of its resemblance to America; the Emerald City was supposedly modelled after Chicago at the time of the World's Fair and the four quarters of Oz represent the east, west, south, and north of America. The Munchkins live in a country that resembles Dutch Pennsylvania. The north is said to resemble the forests and lakes of Michigan, which Baum visited. Baum had attended the World's Fair in Chicago and saw myriad strange and wondrous things that may have influenced him in his creation of Oz.

CARLOS VÁZQUEZ