Chapter 30: Explanations and Significance: Developing Your Analysis
Chapter 30: Explanations and Significance: Developing Your Analysis
As one of the more mystical poets of the Romantic period, William Blake may have been thinking about the transformative power of the imagination when he wrote these lines, but his words apply equally well to how analysis can open up new perspectives that give greater understanding and appreciation for our subjects.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And Heaven in a wildflower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour
(William Blake. “Auguries of Innocence.” The Mentor Book of Major British Poets. Ed. Oscar Williams. New York: The New American Library, 1963. 40. Print.)
In this chapter, you will learn how to both explain and show the significance of your initial ideas, also described as assertions, by reexamining the information that first inspired them. In doing so, your point of view will evolve as your assertions become increasingly clear and complex. Always keep in mind that the more deeply you think about one area of analysis, the more fully you can understand the other areas. To illustrate, let’s take a fresh look at one of the most well known movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz – Synopsis
Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas, is bored with the life that she leads on her uncle and aunt’s farm and spends much of her time dreaming of running away to a magical place “over the rainbow.” Besides her fantasies, she finds most of her happiness from taking care of her dog, Toto, but soon a mean, yet influential woman takes the dog away from her and threatens to drown him in a river. Though Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, Dorothy decides to run away to protect her pet and seek more exciting adventures. She doesn’t get far, however, before she feels guilty for causing her Auntie Em so much worry and returns home, only to get caught in a tornado that takes her, her dog, and her house to the magical land of Oz (The Wizard of Oz. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Margaret Hamilton. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939).
At this point, the movie changes from black and white to color as Dorothy leaves her home to explore these strange new surroundings. Immediately we see that the house has landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, much to the gratitude of the Munchkins, strange little people whom the witch oppresses. Unfortunately for Dorothy, the witch’s sister (the Wicked Witch of the West) is not at all pleased by this and threatens revenge. Before the Wicked Witch of the West can carry this out, however, Glinda, the Good Witch from the North, protects Dorothy by placing the deceased witch’s magical ruby slippers on her feet. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where the Wizard of Oz lives, the only man wise and powerful enough to protect her and help her to return home.
On the way there, Dorothy encounters a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion who accompany her on her jo