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An American children's novel written by author L.Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow, originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900.
The story chronicles the adventures of a young farm girl named Dorothy in the magical Land of Oz, after she and her pet dog Toto are swept away from their Kansas home by a cyclone. The novel is one of the best-known stories in American literature and has been widely translated.
Plot summary :
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the classic story of a young girl named Dorothy who is swept away from her home to a magical land. There, she befriends a Scarecrow, a Cowardly Lion, and a Tin Woodman and the three make their way along a Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City in search of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They finally find him and he seems to grant the wishes of her three friends but Dorothy is forced to learn that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is nothing more than a mere human and that the ability to return home lies within her.
Main characters :
- Dorothy : The main character of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is an orphan and lives with her aunt and uncle on their farm in Kansas, along with her dog, Toto.
- Toto : Dorothy's dog and her constant companion. When he runs away right before the hot air balloon is supposed to take off from Emerald City, Toto costs Dorothy her chance to go home.
- The Wicked Witch of the East :The former ruler of the Munchkins. After Dorothy's house lands on her, the Wicked Witch of the East dies.
- The Good Witch of the North : Welcomes and gives Dorothy the magical silver shoes after she arrives in Munchkin Country. She is old and not very powerful, but she gives Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead before Dorothy heads to the Emerald City.
- The Wicked Witch of the West : An evil, conniving witch, and the Wizard of Oz orders Dorothy and her friends to kill her if they want his help. He makes this request this because he does not believe anyone will actually be able to accomplish the task due to the Wicked Witch of the West's extreme power.
- Glinda, the Good Witch of the South : A benevolent soul, and after Dorothy misses her chance to go back to Kansas with the Wizard, Dorothy asks Glinda for help. Glinda is very nice. She helps Dorothy and also frees the Winged Monkeys from their enchantment.
- The Scarecrow : Wishes he was smarter. The Wizard gives him bran to put into his head, which he calls 'bran-new brains.'
- The Tin Woodman : Wants a heart. To fix this, the Wizard gives the Tin Woodman a stuffed silk pouch resembling a heart.
- The Cowardly Lion : Desires courage. In the end of the novel, the Wizard gives him a potion of 'courage.'
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz : Rules the Emerald City until he goes back to the United States. He is originally from Nebraska. He does not have any real magical powers but uses technology to manipulate how people see him.
- The Munchkins : Are a race of little people who are very grateful to Dorothy after she kills their cruel ruler, the Wicked Witch of the East.
- The Winkies : Are also very grateful to Dorothy and her friends after they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, who was enslaving them.
- The Winged Monkeys : Were put under an enchantment when they played a trick on the fiancé of a witch. The witch wanted to kill them, but she decided to just force them to do the bidding of the owner of the magical Golden Cap. They have been enchanted for generations. Glinda frees them after Dorothy gives her the Golden Cap.
A French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental novel À la recherche du temps perdu , published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest authors of all time.
Also translated as In Search of Lost Time—is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust (1871–1922). 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.
The novel began to take shape in 1909. Proust continued to work on it until his final illness in the autumn of 1922 forced him to break off. Proust established the structure early on, but even after volumes were initially finished he kept adding new material and edited one volume after another for publication.
✴Pygmalion :
A play by George Bernard Shaw, named after a Greek mythological character. It was first presented on stage to the public in 1913.
The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a commentary on women's independence.
A novelette in the Robot series by Isaac Asimov. It was awarded the Hugo Award and theNebula Award for best science fiction novelette of 1976. According to the foreword in Robot Visions, Asimov was approached to write a story, along with a number of other authors who would do the same, for a science fiction collection to be published in honor of the United States Bicentennial. However, the arrangement fell through, leaving Asimov's the only story actually completed for the project. Asimov sold the story to Judy-Lynn del Rey, who made some small changes to the text. Asimov restored the original text when the story was collected in The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories (1976).
The story formed the basis of the novel The Positronic Man (1993), co-written with Robert Silverberg, and the 1999 film Bicentennial Man, starring Robin Williams.
A 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904.
Plot introduction :
The well-off Smith family has four beautiful daughters, including Esther and little Tootie. 17-year old Esther has fallen in love with the boy next door who has just moved in, John. He however barely notices her at first. The family is shocked when Mr. Smith reveals that he has been transfered to a nice position in New York, which means that the family has to leave St. Louis and the St. Louis Fair.
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