Josephus of OZ (ePub)

Once you complete this book, you will have read the only comprehensive interpretation of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This groundbreaking work offers a new paradigm for L. Frank Baum's first Oz book, and for the New Testament and the author of its source document, Flavius Josephus. It has no counterpart within any other analysis. As such, I initially expect to gain few allies. In time, for those willing to look deeper, the bold hypothesis I offer will gain justification.

Josephus of Oz will cause those with faith-based belief in the historic origins of the Gospels to bristle; it will create "pushback" from academics who specialize in comparative literary analysis, it will challenge experts who have studied Oz for most of their lives, and it may well upset a large portion of the general public who will feel that their wonderful "fairytale" is being taken from them. These are the inevitabilities of breaking new ground when addressing something as powerful as the long held beliefs regarding truly significant topics.

First, consider that there is no need for the joy of the Oz stories to be discarded. Although it is not accurate, many people associate "Ring Around the Rosie" with the Black Plague; a rather dark origin, but who would stop children from enjoying this playground singing game? There is no need to disenchant them.

Second, consider the very limited possibility that I could have constructed Josephus of Oz as an act of raw creativity, removed from any symbolic nature of Baum's writings. While many of the allegorical references presented by Baum are vague, others are transparent enough to make identification obvious. The characters of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, The Tin-Man and the Lion, and what they experience in their audience with the Wizard, lend themselves to establishing clear awareness of their identity. The destruction of the china church (something not included in the movie version of the story) begs the question of why the Lion would crush a church. The allegorical use of The Wicked Witch of The West as a representation of the Roman Catholic Church was documented and held true throughout the entire analysis.

There is a comfortable rhythm supplied by Josephus of Oz. Travel the Yellow Brick Road with me and you will soon realize that it represents an enlightening trip through the history of western civilization.

To anyone who would reject this annotation out of hand I offer this challenge. As you absorb the entirety of the explanations offered, consider this critical question: "Could the interpretation have remained consistent throughout the analysis if Baum's Oz did not lead to the conclusions presented?" Logic would demand this answer be "No."