16. Toto symbolizes the Prohibitionist movement in the United States
An ever-present yet unspoken character throughout “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is Toto, Dorothy’s faithful canine companion. Accompanying her to the Land of Oz, and then on her journies therein, Toto lacks the capacity to speak like the animals of Oz; although later books in the series grant him the ability, he declines to do so for an unknown reason.
Despite this relatively minor if noticeable prominence in the story, it has been suggested Toto represents the Prohibitionist movement. First, the name Toto is claimed is a pun, a shortening of the word “teetotaler”. Moreover as noted the companions and Dorothy represent the Populist movement supported by Baum, of which the Prohibitionists were among their political allies; proponents of this interpretation of Toto highlight frequent descriptions from the novel depicting the dog as “soberly” following Dorothy.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, L. Frank Baum, Gutenberg Online (1900 edition)
“From Wonderland to Wasteland: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Great Gatsby, and the New American Fairy Tale”, Laura Barrett, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2006)
“Growing Up in Oz”, Stuart Culver, American Literary History (1992)
“L. Frank Baum and the Progressive Dilemma”, Fred Erisman, American Quartlerly (1968)
“Magic Abjured: Closure in Children’s Fantasy Fiction”, Sarah Gilead, PMLA (1991)
“There’s No Place But Home: The Wizard of Oz”, Jerry Griswold, The Antioch Review (1987)
“Secrets of the Wizard of Oz”, Rumeana Jahangir, BBC News Magazine (2009)
“Utopian Tension in L. Frank Baum’s Oz”, Andrew Karp, Utopian Studies (1998)
“Strategic Credulity: Oz as Mass Cultural Parable”, Helen Kim, Cultural Critique (1996)
“The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory”, Hugh Rockoff, Journal of Political Econonmy (1990)
“Money and Politics in the Land of Oz: The extraordinary story behind the extraordinary story of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, Quentin P. Taylor, USA Gold.
The Grunge – The Real Meaning Of These Wizard Of Oz Characters
National Museum of American History – Populism and the World of Oz
McGill – Would Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion have Passed an Emerald City Entrance Drug Test?
Florida State University – The Wizard of Oz: More Than Just a Children’s Story by Lauren Houlberg