The joint anniversary of these two classics offers an irresistible opportunity to ask why, and to see whether the difference says something fundamental and troubling about how Americans understand ourselves and our children. A 'modernized fairy tale' Baum no doubt revealed his full intentions in his original introduction to the book. The worst torment the witch can devise for the girl is to make her do housework. In later books in the series, Baum explained that no one in Oz ever dies, ages or gets sick. Rowling, however, remains adamant that to pretend that loss, pain and fear aren't a part of life would be to weaken and trivialize her series, and she need look no further than Baum's Oz books for a cautionary example.
Character is fixed, and no one really changes.
The answer to life's perplexities is to realize how terrific you already are, an aspect of Oz that seems one of its most American traits. Then there's the universal narcissism of the characters. Social conversation in Oz consists almost entirely of creatures explaining themselves to each other. Whatever makes Americans want to go on national television to natter on about the joys and trials of being a transvestite or a born-again Christian stripper obviously predates the mass media. The Ozian symphony of self-involvement reaches its crescendo when the Wizard's true identity has been revealed and the four pilgrims lament their dashed hopes.