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behind a powerful facade. In fact, the entire text of The Wizard of Oz supports this theme given the fact
that Dorothy’s adventure in Oz was all just a dream.

Earlier we touched on the subject of universal themes found in folklore from around the world. One such
theme, the hero’s quest, is evident in the text of The Wizard of Oz as well. The archetypal hero can be
found in texts throughout history—from Hercules to Harry Potter. Generally born to adversity, heroes have
gifts or abilities that enable them to overcome all odds and perform extraordinary deeds. These powers
are sometimes not only of the body but also of the mind.

You may want to have students identify tales across texts that embody the hero’s quest and to compare
and contrast the wide variety of interpretations. Though heroes come in all shapes and sizes, they share a
common trait in strength of character, despite their respective goals.

What Brings a Story to Life?

No story, no matter how interesting, will come to life without good characters. Well-drawn characters give
us access to the thoughts and emotions of a story and allow an author to represent a variety of
experiences within a text. Characters embody plot. As we saw in The Wizard of Oz—it’s not just a girl
who goes to see a man; it’s Dorothy who goes to see the Wizard. Understanding the components of
characterization is crucial to our interpretation of any narrative texts.

Characterization is made up of three elements:

• Appearance: how a character looks: physical features, clothing, etc.
• Personality: how a character thinks and feels
• Behavior: how a character acts and reacts

Authors use characters to move the action of a story forward as well as convey deeper thematic content
as we saw in the previous examples. Sometimes characters are what they appear to be. Good and evil
have been locked in opposition throughout history so archetypal heroes have archetypal villains. Often,
however, an author will use characterization to upset our expectations: heroes are flawed, and villains
have a change of heart.

In other instances, characters leave us with more questions than answers, and we must analyze their
actions to divine deeper meaning. Case in point: “Rumpelstiltskin.”

Let’s move back to the story briefly to examine how characterization moves the plot and supports some
underlying themes.

Character Appearance Personality Behavior
takes advantage of
proud, gloating,
“manikin;” perhaps a manipulative; values daughter; gives her
the chance to get
Rumpelstiltskin demon of some sort, not life (child) over out of the bargain;
quite human riches; takes pity on
queen destroys himself
with anger
wants to protect
lies for her own her child; enlists
survival; agrees to
pretty, initially poor, a help of others to
Daughter/Queen give her first born
victim; later wealthy outsmart R.; toys
child to R.; thinks with him before
she’ll get away with it
she reveals his