英文兒童文學 week15－kiwiguo的部落格

1. The Wizard of Oz is a American musical comedy-drama fantasy film and the most well-known and commercially successful adaptation based on the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an American children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum

Dorothy Gale lives with her dog Toto on the farm of her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry . One day she races home as a powerful tornado develops. Unable to get into her family's storm cellar, she seeks safety in her bedroom.A wind-blown window sash hits her head and she falls unconscious on her bed. She begins dreaming, seeing the house spinning in the air, held aloft by the twister. In the storm outside the window she sees an elderly lady in a chair, several farm animals, two men rowing a boat, as well as Miss Gulch (still pedaling her bicycle), who transforms into a cackling witch flying on a broomstick.The farm house crashes in Munchkinland in the Land of Oz, where the film changes to Technicolor. Glinda the Good Witch of the North and the Munchkins welcome her as a heroine, as the house has landed on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East, leaving only her feet exposed.Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, arrives to claim the magic ruby slippers worn on her sister's feet. Glinda transfers them off her feet to Dorothy's feet instead. The Wicked Witch of the West swears revenge on Dorothy and Toto for her sister's death. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the Yellow brick road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz might be able to help her get back home.On her way to the Emerald City, Dorothy meets and befriends the Scarecrow who wants a brain, the Tin Woodman who desires a heart, and the Cowardly Lion who is in need of courage. Dorothy invites each of them to accompany her. After encountering the Witch, who attempts to deter them from their destination, they finally reach the Emerald City. Inside, after being initially rejected, they are permitted to see the Wizard (appearing to them in the form of a large head surrounded by fire) who agrees to grant their wishes when they bring him the Witch of the West's broomstick.On their quest to the Witch's castle, the group passes through the Haunted Forest while the Witch views their progress through a crystal ball. She then sends her winged monkeys to ambush the four and capture Dorothy and Toto. At the castle, the Witch fails to get the slippers off Dorothy due to a magical electric barrier, remembering that Dorothy must first be killed.Toto escapes and leads her friends to the castle. After defeating three Winkie Guards and stealing their uniforms, they march inside and free her, but the Witch and her guards trap them. The Scarecrow drops a chandelier onto the Winkies, and the group is chased across the battlements, before being trapped on both sides. The Witch sets fire to the Scarecrow and Dorothy splashes a bucket of water onto the flames; the Witch, also hit by it, melts. The guards rejoice that she is dead and give Dorothy the charred broomstick in gratitude.Back at the Emerald City, the Wizard delays their requests to grant their obviously well-deserved rewards. As the outraged group argues, Toto pulls open a curtain and exposes the "Wizard" as a normal middle-aged man who has been operating and controlling the image of the wizard; he then admits to being a humbug.Nonetheless, he reinstates it when he gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Lion a medal, and the Tin Man a ticking heart-shaped watch, granting their wishes and convincing them that what they sought has been achieved. He then prepares to launch his hot air balloon to take Dorothy home, but Toto chases a cat, Dorothy follows, and the balloon leaves without them.Glinda arrives and tells her that she can still return home by tapping her heels together three times and repeating, "There's no place like home". After bidding a tearful goodbye to her friends, Dorothy taps her heels together and awakens from her dream, surrounded by her family, the farmhands, Professor Marvel, and Toto.

Characters:

1. Dorothy

A young and sprightly girl, Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle on the bleak Kansas prairie. She is energetic and delights in her dog Toto. After a whirling cyclone lands her house in Oz, she embarks on a journey to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard of Oz how to return to Kansas. Dorothy is sweet and simple and represents traditional and idealistic moral values. She lives in the present and does not trouble herself with much anxiety or worry. Throughout her journey, her goal is to return home despite the wonders and magic of Oz.

2. Wicked Witch of the East

Killed when Dorothy's house landed on her after the cyclone dropped it in the land of Oz, she wreaked havoc on the Munchkins for years by enslaving them. After her death, Dorothy takes the magic silver slippers from her feet.

3. Witch of the North

One of the two good witches, the Witch of the North greeted Dorothy upon her arrival in Oz. She is small and elderly and very kind. Although she cannot help Dorothy get back to Kansas, she gives her a mark of safety on her forehead.

4. The Scarecrow

Rescued by Dorothy from his dull life in a farmer's field, the Scarecrow's greatest wish is to procure brains for himself from the Wizard of Oz. Despite his perceived lack of brains, however, the Scarecrow is exceedingly intelligent and resourceful. At the end of the novel he becomes the ruler of Emerald City in the Wizard's absence.

5. The Tin Woodman

Rescued by Dorothy after rusting in the forest, the Tin Woodman desires a heart from the Wizard of Oz. He used to be a real man and was in love with a Munchkin girl, but due to the Wicked Witch of the East's evil machinations he lost his limbs and eventually became a man of tin without a heart. Despite his belief that he lacked emotion, he proves himself a kind and sensitive man. He is given the task of ruling over the Winkies at the end of the novel.

6. The Cowardly Lion

The Lion encounters Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman in the forest. He claims to be a coward and wishes for the Wizard of Oz to give him courage. However, he proves himself courageous in many situations throughout the novel. He later rules over all of the animals in the forest.

7. The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard reveals himself to be a ventriloquist and balloonist from Omaha, Nebraska, who accidentally ended up in the land of Oz and was taken for a powerful sorcerer by its Munchkin inhabitants. He prolonged the illusion and had them build the beautiful Emerald City. Benevolent but undoubtedly a humbug, the Wizard is unmasked by Dorothy and her companions when they return to claim the promises he made them if they were successful in killing the Wicked Witch of the West. He helps the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion with their wishes and tries to take Dorothy back to Kansas in a hot air balloon, but it unfortunately departs without her.

2. Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest authors of all time. In Search of Lost Time—also translated as Remembrance of Things Past—is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is known both for its length and its theme of involuntary memory , the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine" which occurs early in the first volume.

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

--by Sam Smith

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
From now on,
Your troubles will be out of sight

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on,
Your troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

So have yourself a merry little Christmas,
Have yourself a merry little Christmas,
So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

4. Let it Snow

Oh the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we've no place to go
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

It doesn't show signs of stopping
And I've bought some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

When we finally kiss good night
How I'll hate going out in the storm!
But if you'll really hold me tight
All the way home I'll be warm

The fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we're still goodbying
But as long as you love me so
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!