Psycho Analytic Criticism Found In the Wizard of Oz
In Freud’s analysis of the self, he explains that there are three alternating and governing
psyches. The Id controls ones immediate wants, needs and urges, the Superego follows rules,
reason and is the moral and the Ego acts as the mediator between the two. In the film “The
Wizard of Oz”, all three mindsets are represented by different characters. As the twister
approaches Dorothy’s home town of Kansas City, she has gotten to the house too late to make it
into the cellar with her aunt and uncle; the only place to go is into her house and try and hide
from the storm about to hit. As the storm arrives, the violent winds descend upon her, sending
her to the world of Oz. Dorothy remembers the events of the day: the terrible trouble Toto has
gotten into as well as the unfairness of life. She dreams of a magical world, one that is perfect and
fair, somewhere “over the rainbow”. Since this is in itself quite impossible, her brain, when
knocked from the winds of the storm, creates an alternate world in which the mindsets of the Id,
Ego, and Superego are set loose to create a story that externally demonstrates the internal
process of how the Freudian mindsets balance themselves.
Both in and out of the world of Oz, Dorothy exerts a strong sense of Id as she deals with
situations that she encounters. She knows what she wants, wants it done as soon as possible,
and will do anything she can to get it. As the movie starts, Dorothy has just gotten herself and
her dog into a terrible position. Her neighbour will be coming over at any moment to pick up
Toto and take him away. As she thinks of this, she only has one thought concerning its solution:
all she wants is somewhere where there will be no troubles and where “the dreams that you
dare to dream really do come true.” This desire represents her sense of Id shining through.
Before her mind begins to rid itself from the tension built up from the suppression of the id by
the ego and super ego, Dorothy even tries running away, leaving with a complete stranger in
order to escape. At this point the Id is in control and has pushed back the two other mindsets.
As she enters the World of Oz, Dorothy’s character does not change. Although she has
changed wants, and needs, she still goes after her one and only want to get home. When she had
tried running away from home, the wizard that she had met along the way had mentioned to her
that he could see her aunt sick and upset that she had left. Immediately upon hearing this she
wants to be home to help her family. This want gets transferred over to the world of Oz and
follows her through until the end of the movie. The famous quote “there’s no place like home” is
quite significant to the distinction of her id; it has stayed strong throughout her entire trip until it
has finally been realized.
Oz is a world made-up by Dorothy’s mind as a way to relieve the tension building up by
her suppressed Id in the real world. As such, the different parts of the mind have emerged
“disguised” as characters she meets in Oz on her journey back home. Her superego is
represented as three friends she meets as she follows the path of the yellow brick road: the Lion,
the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man. The superego is the part of the mind that follows the rules, and
is the part of the mind that causes one to be timid and shy, almost the opposite of the Id, and
represents all morals of the mind. As the three new friends travel on their journey to the great
wizard, each one exerts a certain characteristic of this mind set, all having their own insecurities.
The scarecrow is the first character that Dorothy meets on her adventure. She meets
him in a corn field where she finds that he is very sad and disappointed in himself because he is
only made of straw. His one wish is to have a brain so that he could be able to think thoughts like
others around him. This shows a great prominence in the superego of the scarecrow; his self-
consciousness due to his “lack” of a brain prevents him from respecting himself. This is a quality
of the Superego.
The Tin man is the next to be met on their long journey. He is also missing a very
important element that controls emotion. The Tin man decides to go along for the trip because
he wishes to gain a heart. When he is first introduced, he does not have much self respect, and
his lack of a heart makes him feel as if he is not able to connect with people properly.
The Lion, the third and final friend they pick up travelling along the yellow brick road,
has a Superego that is the most prominent of all three of Dorothy’s new friends. As Dorothy, the
Tin man and the Scarecrow cross through a deep dark forest, they meet up with the Lion as he
jumps out from behind bushes and tries to scare them. His lack of courage reverses the effect,
and instead he manages to scare himself. His lack of courage sends is dismaying as he is too shy
to approach others for fear that he will be rejected and ridiculed because of his handicap. All
three friends display timid behaviour, shyness and want to follow all rules on their way to the
Emerald city. These missing links demonstrate their evident superego. It is possible to see how
Dorothy’s mind has used them as a way to represent the Superego as her mind tries to counter
her strong Id.
As the journey comes to an end, the travelers reach their destination of the Emerald
City. Having gone through the long and testing journey, they have finally made it to the Wizard
of Oz, and think that all their wishes will be granted as they enter to see him. This is where the
Ego in Dorothy’s mind is expressed. The ego is the part of the mind that is the reasoning or
balance, telling the Id that it can get what it wants, but it must wait until it is right, or moral.
Having a wish granted by the wizard is not quite as easy as expected. The Wizard
demonstrates many of the characteristics of the ego, especially when they arrive and first meet
him. Unlike what they all thought, the wizard refuses to grant their wishes as soon as they
arrive, but instead tells them that he will only grant their wishes if they can return with the
Witch’s broom, proving that they have killed her. This is exactly what the Ego does in the brain:
it tells the Id that it must wait to get what it wants, but in turn it reassures that it will eventually
get it. The Wizard tell the travelers that they must first go and retrieve the Wicked Witch’s
broom before he will answer their wishes, displaying a perfect parallel to the Freudian mind set.
Finally, the Wizard of Oz uses intimidation to try and scare Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the
Tin Man, and the Lion away by pretending he is a large floating head. This creates fear in the
traveling four. This form of intimidation causes a delay in asking for what they want as they
must first muster up the courage to ask him. This delay is a small form of ego which Dorothy’s
mind has created in her “dream” to show how the three mindsets are reacting to control one
another, with the ego acting as the moderator.
The mind works in many ways. In the film “The Wizard of Oz” the representation of the
separate Freudian mindsets are able to lead Dorothy in the right direction. They lead her in a
way in which she is able to see how all the mindsets work together to teach her a lesson of
friendship, understanding, and the way of life; a lesson that remains with her after her return
from the other side of the rainbow.
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