#Scarecrow with gun wizard of oz series#

Unlike animated non-humans from later in the series such as Jack Pumpkinhead and the Patchwork Girl, who were both brought to life using the Powder of Life, L. The Scarecrow was made by a Munchkin farmer only two days before being discovered by Dorothy Gale. She becomes his love interest in subsequent books, though their romance isn't fully explored much in the series. However, he is neither very wise, nor is he stupid.ĭespite being a man made of straw, he still finds himself enamoured with the beauty of Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, due to their many similarities, neither of them being 'meat people'. After the Wizard gives him some 'brains', the placebo effect turns his lack of confidence in himself into near-overconfidence, and he becomes very proud of his intellect. He also comes up with some quick-thinking and clever plans on his first journey with Dorothy, saving the party from the Kalidahs among other things. The only thing he fears is the burning flame of hot fire!ĭespite claiming to not have a brain, the Scarecrow questioned Dorothy for wanting to return to Kansas as Oz is far more colorful and pleasant compared to Kansas, which is boring and colorless. He never tires, and never needs to sleep or eat. Therefore Scarecrow can never get hurt, though he is awkward in his movements as he literally weighs less than five to ten pounds. The Scarecrow is a very clumsy and uncoordinated figure in his mannerisms because he is stuffed with straw. The Scarecrow is a extremely gentle character, his disposition is so kind and considerate, obliging, and honest that all who know him love him. Thus, concluding that there is ' No Place Like Home'. Therefore, he simply cannot grasp the concept of the way people who are made of flesh and blood think, and the desire of returning to where one belongs no matter how beautiful or appealing any other place may be, for home is where the heart is. It is then when Dorothy tried to explain to her new stuffed friend that he can't understand because he has no brains. When he befriended Dorothy, at first he did not understand why the little girl wanted to leave the magical Land of Oz and go back to Kansas as the majority of Oz is such a beautiful place when Dorothy described Kansas to be colorless and dull. So the Scarecrow would only stand about four or five feet high. Denslow, he is only as tall as Dorothy who is a mere child said to be no older than twelve. Because he is wearing Munchkin clothing the original Scarecrow is actually quite short in height like the majority of the Munchkin race in Oz. Around his waist is an old leather belt and on his stuffed feet are old and scuffed farm-boots of navy blue. On his stuffed body he wears worn-out and faded hand-me down Munchkin clothing of blue, with an old wrinkled and pointed hat that stands a foot above his head. He is described as having an overstuffed sack filled with straw for a head with a mouth, nose, ears, and eyes painted on with blue paint, (one of his eyes is said to be larger than the other) and has two big blue buttons for pupils. Somewhere in the middle of the Munchkin Country of Oz, he was introduced as being placed high up on a wooden pole in the cornfields of the Munchkin farming community. The Scarecrow is being made by two Munchkins. In Baum's seventh Oz book titled the The Patchwork Girl of Oz, published in 1913, the Patchwork Girl named Scraps, who later served as the Scarecrow's love interest is brought to life with this same powder by a young Munchkin boy named Ojo.ĭorothy meets the Scarecrow by W.W. In this story, the Powder of Life is a special potion invented by a mysterious Magician and brings three Oz characters to life: Jack Pumpkinhead, Sawhorse, and Gump. The Powder of Life is an element that Baum introduces in his second Oz book which serves as a sequel to the first story titled The Marvelous Land of Oz, published in 1904. We may speculate that a Munchkin farmer, who made him added the powder hoping to more effectively scare the crows away. One possibility could be that the magic substance called ' Powder of Life' (mentioned in a later book) changed the scarecrow to a living being. Scarecrow of Oz ' There was a great cornfield beyond the fence, and not far away Dorothy saw a Scarecrow, placed high on a pole to keep the birds away from the ripe corn.' ― The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)īaum never wrote how the Scarecrow was given life, (in contrast to his Oz companion the Tin Woodman, who was a real man with a body of flesh and blood whose soul transferred to its current form).