We at Slots Play Casinos are not the first to point out that The Wizard of Oz is a simple story with a great deal of depth. It discusses the boredom of youth, the feeling of escape and adventure, the quest for self-fulfillment and bettering oneself, the fight against evil, trickery, loyalty, and the desire to go back home.
We will try to explain each of these aspects of the story.
First, a Little Background
The Wizard of Oz (technically, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) was published in 1901. It was written by L. Frank Baum, a traveling salesman, selling axle grease and later fine china, who worked out the story to tell his children while he was on the road. The book was so successful that Mr. Baum wrote 13 other Oz books.
His sales career was short as he became a prolific writer in addition to the Oz books
Now, we at Slots Play Casinos are curious as to why this story has captured the imagination of young and old alike for over 100 years. In fact, SpinLogic recently came out with an Oz-themed slot called Oz Golden Trail about which we will have good things to say later on in this article.
The Wizard of Oz Explores the Boredom of Youth
The story could not have taken place in late 19th century New York City. New York, by then, was a bustling metropolis with great opportunities for young people growing up there.
Baum chose Kansas as the place where the tornado hits and Dorothy’s house is transported to the Land of Oz. Everyone can relate to the dreariness of Kansas, the grey skies, the farm life, and Dorothy’s desire to leave Kansas and go somewhere else.
Somewhere over the rainbow.
The Movie Captured the Mood Perfectly
Baum did not write the famous Over the Rainbow song, nor did he have Dorothy express a desire to go somewhere over the rainbow. But the sentiment of the song perfectly expresses the great emotional need of this young girl.
Dorothy sets out on a path of escape and adventure. She meets a travelling salesman of sorts who offers a show for the simple folk. This is the life she hopes to lead, but the tornado comes, and she is swept away.
It is this sense of escape and adventure that permeates the story as it takes place in the Land of Oz.
Self-Fulfillment and Betterment
The scarecrow needs a brain, the tinman needs a heart, and the lion needs some courage. The scarecrow might have asked for freedom from the pole he was hung upon; the tinman might have asked for a lifetime supply of lubricating oil; and the lion might have asked for other animals to fear him.
But they wanted a brain, a heart, and courage.
The Fight against Evil
Dorothy did not choose to become the enemy of the Wicked Witch of the West, but her house landed on the witch’s sister and thus made Dorothy and the surviving witch mortal enemies.
Dorothy had no choice but to accept the fight against the evil embodied in the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Trickery That Describes the Wizard
L. Frank Baum called his book after the wizard. He might have called it Dorothy’s Adventure or some other name. The wizard appears late in the story. He doesn’t seem to be as central a character as the book’s title might assume.
The wizard is the embodiment of the trickster. Not in the humorous way of the practical joke. The wizard’s trickery is the trickery of people in high positions, perhaps especially politicians, who speak with a forked tongue.
The wizard tricks the scarecrow into thinking he has a brain by giving him a diploma. In the book, he fills the scarecrow’s head with pins and needles. He tricks the tinman by giving him a watch in the shape of a heart, and in the book, he puts the watch in the tinman’s chest cavity. He tricks the lion by giving him a medal of honor for bravery.
Loyalty Pulls Dorothy and Drives Her
First, we have to acknowledge Dorothy’s loyalty to Toto. She defends Toto in the book against the mean lady who wants to have Toto taken away for running in her vegetable patch.
When the balloon starts to rise as the wizard says that he will take Dorothy home, Toto jumps away and, rather than leave him, Dorothy runs after him and cannot get back to the balloon in time.
Dorothy is loyal to Toto when the wicked witch threatens him.
The munchkins express loyalty to Dorothy for killing the Wicked Witch of the East.
The castle guards express loyalty to Dorothy after she melts the wicked witch.
Dorothy and the others are loyal to each other. Their shared adventure brings them close together. They find it hard to part ways with Dorothy once she knows how to go back home and prepares to do so.
Finally, as much as Dorothy wanted to get away from the Kansas life, once away, she wanted nothing more than to go home.
Oz Golden Trail
This is a great new slot from SpinLogic. The first thing we noticed is that there are no royal symbols in the game. We have Dorothy and Toto, the scarecrow, the tinman, and the lion, the house caught in the tornado, the tinman’s heart, the red slippers, the tinman’s oil can, and the yellow brick road.
The Hold and Spin feature happens when three hot air balloons appear. You get three free spins, and any balloons that appear during those spins stay in place and reset the free spins to three. As you fill the reels with hot air balloons, your prize increases up to a massive 50,000x win. As an added benefit, sometimes just one balloon will trigger this feature.
The house rising in the twister is the scatter. Three scatters get you 8 free spins. A twister cuts across the reels before you start the free spins. If you get three more scatters, you will get three more free spins.
The Jackpot Pick feature happens either at random or when two heart symbols appear alongside the tinman. When this feature triggers, you get to choose from a series of chests. You will win either the mini jackpot, which is 15x, the minor jackpot, which is 30x, the major jackpot, which is 50x, or the grand jackpot, which is progressive, so it can grow and grow.
Toto is the wild symbol, and he barks whenever he appears.
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