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THE WIZARD OF OZ: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF ITS SOCIETAL PARALLELS ALAN COPPERMAN* Lyman Frank Baum's classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was written 85 years ago for children—but with an allegorical value that has transcended the ages. Baum succeeded in teaching morals and prompting the imagination of countless youths. A political analysis of this work, however, shows an ironic portrait of America and its Populist movement at the turn of the twentieth century. By investigating Baum's symbolism from the perspectives of both then and now, one can longitudinally view common themes within society and can recognize social, political, and scientific innovations. Today, as modern technology brings us organ transplants, new parallels between the Land of Oz and contemporary society emerge. The bioethical considerations of organ transplantation may also be investigated using questions proposed by Baum years ago. Originally, Baum was writing of a time when the "free silver" movement was popular. The symbolism of magic silver shoes walking on a Yellow Brick (golden) Road and Oz = (Ounce) is ubiquitous. The Woodman, under a witch's spell, chopped off a different part of his body every time he swung his axe. In Oz, these parts could be replaced with tin. Here, Baum is giving his Populist view of evil Northeastern influences on honest labor. The Populist view dehumanized the simple laborer so that the faster and better he worked, the more quickly he became a kind of machine [I]. Each of the characters in the novel is a symbol of either an interest group or a politician. The Cowardly Lion, for example, personifies William Jennings Bryan, while the Winged Monkeys were an Oz substitute Professor Renée C. Fox submitted this paper to PBM. It was written by student Copperman for her course in the Sociology of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Each student was asked to write several pages on what he or she was thinking and feeling in re sociology of bioethics. (Copperman is currently a student at New York Medical College.) *Address: 3137 Hewlett Avenue, Merrick, New York 11566.© 1986 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-5982/86/2903-0472$01.00 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 29, 3, Part 1 ¦ Spring 1986 | 475 for the plains Indians. Led by naive innocence (Dorothy) and protected by goodwill (Good Witches), the farmer (Scarecrow), the laborer, and the politician approach the mystic holder of national power to ask for mystical fulfillment. The Wizard turns out to be an ordinary man, but one capable of providing shrewd answers to those with self-induced needs. Today, one can envision a Humana hospital as a modern-day Oz. Only at this technological frontier can the needs of many be met. Transplants of many organs are becoming commonplace as man speeds down the modern yellow brick road toward progress. With the recent implantation of the first artificial hearts, a new facet of the Oz/Humana metaphor may be promulgated. When Barney Clarke had his human heart replaced by an artificial one, questions—not unlike those asked by the tin man—arose about his ability to love. Although scores of accounts of the transplant dealt with technique and scientific data, a substantial number focused on the heart's spiritual and magical value. Members of the operating team in Utah saw fit to note that Barney Clarke had proved that courage and good humor and love of wife and children can be sustained by an artificial heart. He was considered a hero and a pioneer. Just as the Cowardly Lion went to Oz in search of courage, the surgeons who performed the transplant found the opportunity to succeed —and the "courage to fail"—at the Humana Hospital. Renée Fox elaborated on this "courage to fail" ethos in her book by that title: it "epitomizes the bold, uncertain, and often dangerous adventure in which medical professionals and their patients are engaged" [2]. She emphasizes the value of confronting this life-or-death organ-transplant situation with a courage shared by physician and patient, a courage that can only be found and maintained under special circumstances. Certain moral questions are raised by both the Tin Man...

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