14. The story is a tale encouraging children to not resist growing up, and instead surpass the existing inadequacies of contemporary adults
Although as a children’s fairy tale “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” invariably places child characters to the forefront, it has been asserted by renowned author and essayist Salman Rushdie that the novel deliberately seeks to explore and highlight the inadequacy of adults. In addition to other motifs, Rushdie contends the story demonstrates how the weakness of adults compels children to seize control of their own destinies and to grow up themselves; in this light, Dorothy’s quest through the Land of Oz is a “rite of passage” into adulthood at a time when she was already considering running away from home and becoming independent.
Throughout the novel is a consistent theme concerning the weakness of adult characters initially believed by Dorothy to be strong. Beginning with her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s inability to save her beloved dog and companion Toto from the mean neighbor Miss Gulch, to the powerless eponymous Wizard of Oz, and even the Wicked Witch of the West, who as she grows down into nothingness observes Dorothy having grown up as a result of her journey.