In recent classes, we have been examining fairy tales from the European tradition. Now, we are moving into folklore and “myths” from our own country of America, and getting closer and closer to our own day and age. Historically, there are countless “tall tales” from far and wide in the fledgling United States, and the folktales of our land are simultaneously exceptional and unusual while also being discernibly connected to prior tales and traditions. America is also home to Hollywood, which established new legends and myths during the rise of the cinema in the early twentieth century. To examine these uniquely American developments, you have two options for this Blogpost: 1) In response to the stories assigned for Monday (11/13), you should identify and choose a significant theme, idea, or image from a specific tale that you find to be particularly intriguing as a window into the beliefs, behaviors, politics, or social developments of early America. Then, I’d like you to do a little research into the historical time period in question and the issue in question as it relates to that age. Next, move on to examine the issue as it appears thematically in the story and offer a brief interpretive analysis of just what the author seems to be doing by way of rendering that issue for the reader in this tale. As it relates to your chosen social subject, just what is the “moral of the story”? 2) The second option for this response is intended for all you movie lovers out there. On Wednesday (the 15th) we will be discussing one of the most famous movies of all time: The Wizard of Oz. In the story of Dorothy, this film may offer a new kind of hero for a new age. On the other hand, Dorothy is simultaneously a hero of old, with traits that are kindred to those of the great heroes of ancient myth, such as Odysseus, Aeneas, and so on. With this in mind, your second option is to consider how, specifically, The Wizard of Oz connects with some of the key archetypes, traits, behaviors, or heroic adventures we have seen so far this semester? What kind of hero is Dorothy, exactly? How is her story similar to – or different than – the myths of old?
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Everyone knows the famous movie The Wizard of Oz. A young girl, Dorothy, is sent into the magical land of Oz when a twister carries her house. It is up to her, along with a few friends, to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West and save the Munchkins. Dorothy can be described as an innocent girl. The journey that Dorothy and the rest of the characters go on is very similar to some of the other myths we have covered this semester.
The first trait that The Wizard of Oz shares with many myths is the theme of family. While Dorothy is transported into a new world, all she wants to do is get home to her Aunt Em and the rest of her family. This theme can be found in other myths such as the Odyssey, when Odysseus longs to return to his family and escape the island Calypso has kept him on. In Norse mythology family was very important to not only the gods and goddesses but the culture as well. Another trait that the Wizard of Oz has that is common is the depiction of characters. Dorothy, the main heroine, is a beautiful girl with a thin waist, braided brown hair and ruby red lips. It is clear to the audience that she is the main character and is good. Meanwhile the evil entity, or villain in this movie, is literally a witch. She is depicted with green skin, an ugly face, and an iconic evil laugh. This representation of beauty can be found in many myths, old and modern, more specifically fairy tales. A final trait that can be found in both the famous movie and other myths covered in class is the journey the characters go on. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and Toto follow an outline that other famous characters partake in. Dorothy crosses the threshold, enters a strange new place, gets distracted by poppies, defeats the villain, earn a great reward, and returns back home. Joseph Campbell outlines this journey and practically every myth that was created can fall into this outline in some way or another.
The story which I will be analyzing from our readings is “The Adventures of Daniel Boone”. One of the major themes in the story revolves around the Native Americans, of which Boone has many encounters with. These encounters interestingly are both positive and negative, as friends of Boone are killed by the Indians, but he also shares some peaceful moments with the natives, saying “The Shawanese king took great notice of me, and treated me with profound respect, and entire friendship, often entrusting me to hunt at my liberty”. This is interesting because it shows that although it would be easy to see Indians as terrible, heartless people because of their brutal fighting with the white men, Boone decided to show their softer side as well.
This idea that Indians were not entirely bad is very interesting, because although The Adventures of Daniel Boone is basically an autobiography of his life, historical fact might not necessarily agree with what he is saying. Most historical sites from the time period focus more on the negatives of Indians than the positives about them, such as the friendly tribes which embraced the white man and taught them how to live off the land. Because many Indians decided to side with the British during the American Revolution and War of 1812, there was a long lasting hatred of Indians, who were seen as former enemies of war and were therefore hated. This makes Daniel Boone’s perspective even more interesting, because he was someone who actually had interactions with the natives in both positive and negative ways, and wrote down personal accounts about it.
By spending so much time discussing Native Americans, it is clear that interaction with natives was a huge part of Daniel Boone’s life. Boone was seen as a legend, so perhaps he spoke of Indians’ softer side in hopes that people would begin to leave behind the negative aura that surrounded the natives and would begin to see them for who they really were. Clearly, the debate over how Indians should be treated was a major issue in the time of Daniel Boone, as historical fact along with his autobiography explain. The moral to be found out of how Boone describes the natives is that there can be more to a person than is seen, and you cannot judge a person based on his stereotype. Even though Boone fought Indians, he accepted that some good Indians did exist. This can be related to today’s world, if you think about terrorism. Many terrorists are from predominantly Muslim countries, but that does not mean every Muslim is a terrorist. The moral which Boone portrayed in “The Adventures of Daniel Boone” was something that he really wanted to tell his readers back in the 1800s, and can also still apply to today’s world.
In this blog post, I decided to analyze the iconic character Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz. As most people know, Dorothy is considered to be hero for example one reason being that she frees the enslaved victims of the wicked witches.
When watching the movie, I came to notice Dorothy follows the path of the Hero’s Journey, which is something that we’ve read about earlier in the year which is found in some myths like the Odyssey. For instance, the Hero’s Journey involves the hero coming from an Ordinary World, where in this case for Dorothy is Kansas. Kansas is very dull and not magical at all. Secondly, she receives her Call to Adventure when she gets stuck in a tornado that sends her to the land of Oz. Next, the Refusal of The Call occurs when Dorothy tries to head home when she realizes that Aunt Em and Uncle Henry really do care about her, but the road to adventure cannot be denied. After that, She meets her mentor which happens to be Glinda, the Good Witch of the North who provides her magical red shoes and tries to help her get home. This idea of the Hero’s Journey goes on for quite some time until the end of it.
In comparison to the Odyssey, Odysseus and Dorothy do go on a similar journey although they are from different myths from different times. Their stories may be different but the Hero’s Journey continues on in myths from all time periods. Odysseus’ Call to Adventure begins with the Trojan War. When the Trojans attack the Greeks, Odysseus must travel to Troy to lead the armies in battle. He refuses his call due to the birth of his newborn son, Telemachus and because he doesn’t want to leave his family. His mentor ends up being Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The rest of the Hero’s Journey follows through in The Odyssey just like in the Wizard of Oz.
I am going to compare “The Wizard of Oz” with old mythological myths. In the “Wizard of Oz”, a young girl Dorothy is magically transported to a mythical town, in which she faces obstacles from an evil witch, and even overcomes them with the help of a “good” witch. Just like an ancient epic, Dorothy doesn’t just overcome one obstacle, rather she goes through many in a span of a few days. In the ancient stories, a superior power or force was always present to help the main character along whatever trials or tribulations may come onto his or her path. In the same way, Dorothy was helped by the with of the east, or Glinda as she is popularly known. Glinda helped Dorothy travel to the Emerald city, and more importantly Glinda assisted Dorothy in returning home. Without the help of Glinda, Dorothy’s story would have been much more extensive and cruel on the characters, and may have even completely changed the ending of the story.
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most well-known stories in American history. You could go up to practically anyone and say “follow the yellow brick road,” or “there’s no place like home,” and they would instantly know what it was you were referring to. However, what some may not know is that The Wizard of Oz is also a story that borrows many common traits from myths like the Odyssey or the Aeneid and that Dorothy could technically be considered a mythical hero.
One of the most common traits in ancient mythology is supernatural interference. Often times the god will come and mess around with our hero while they are on their travels, and The Wizard of Oz is no exception. However, instead of a god like Zeus messing with Dorothy, it’s the Wicked Witch of the West. After Dorothy “steals” the ruby slippers, the Wicked Witch does everything in her power to get them back, doing things like setting Scarecrow on fire, setting her hoard of flying monkeys on her, leading them to a poisoned poppy field, etc. Overall, the Wicked Witch uses her powers to guide Dorothy and her group right where she wants them. You could also say that these actions that are done by the Witch are trials, another common trait in mythology. Many stories of old have their heroes go through trials that the hero must overcome to reach home, which are set again by some supernatural being. The traps that the Wicked Witch sets could be seen as trials set for our heroes, seeing as they are obstacles that they must overcome to reach their respective goals. Another trait that the two share is magical items. The ruby slippers that Glinda gives to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz reminded me a lot of the bag of wind Aeolus gives to Odysseus in the Odyssey. Both are items given to the hero to help them to reach home/their goal in some way, slippers protected Dorothy from the Witch/ granted her safe travels, and the bag of wind was meant to be used as a way of Odysseus to make it home quickly. While one was used properly and the other wasn’t, it’s clear that both magical items had roughly the same intent, showing a connection between the two stories. Overall, the famous story of The Wizard of Oz has some strikingly similar traits to that of the stories of ancient myth. Both share themes of supernatural interference, heroic trials, and also share common traits like the hero having a magical item to help them on their travels. While it might’ve looked like the two subjects would have had nothing in common seeing their cultural and periodical differences, it was interesting to see just how similar they actually were.
In the stories of American folklore legend Paul Bunyan, the giant Lumberjack and his Ox tackle the early American western frontier and the unknown world being settled past the United States and the Mississippi river. The duo, along with his “Seven Axemen”, other paid workers and a reversible dog, reflect what life was like for a frontiersman at the time: harsh, and unpredictable, to say the least. One image that embodies this idea is seen in a portion of the lore where Paul’s Ox, Babe, is unable to find grass to eat due to the layers of snow on the ground. Subsequently, he’s given green glasses that make him think the snow is green, and chows down. While clearly Babe’s problem wasn’t really resolved, this situation speaks for the mentality that the story tellers of the Great Lakes and surrounding frontier had in order to survive, and shows how it was not only a part of culture but also something taught through stories. Tricked into thinking the snow is grass, Babe becomes “strong and healthy again”, regardless of the fact that he did not actually eat the grass.
In the same way, the settlers of the frontier were often faced with having to survive when there seemed no means of surviving, or making something out of nothing. Those who decided to try and make a life on the western frontier had to build towns from scratch, nothing around them but the raw supplies to make them with. When winter came, living a lifestyle where you are cut off from major cities (and for some, anyone besides your family or close loved ones) meant having to deal with the cold and shortage of raw supplies on your own. To this day, stories of winter on the frontier are told, such as the Donner family whom infamously resorted to cannibalism before perishing in the Sierra Nevada mountains due to heavy snow trapping them and leaving them blocked paths. Although Paul Bunyan’s message most likely isn’t as gruesome as cannibalism, it does speak for how often the settlers were faced with real problems of lacking basic needs, such as food and proper heat or shelter. Through story telling, the settlers taught this moral of being crafty and creating something from nothing for the means of survival.
The main character “Dorothy”, in The Wizard Of Oz exemplifies the qualities of the hero and provides steps from Joseph Campbells Hero’s journey. Dorothy, just like every other hero has a dull life and she wants a purpose and adventure just like other hero’s such as Odysseus. Dorothy is accompanied by many companions such as the Tin-man and Toto. Each hero is always accompanied by followers or guides. The wizard of Oz displays the qualities of a good myth and ended up becoming a wonderful film. Dorothy wants to free her puppy from getting put down and she runs away. She receives guidance from professor Marvel to set her on the right track which has been seen in plenty of other myths. All myths have similarities and rely on one person becoming a better person or the downfall of that person, but in the case of wizard of Oz, the main character Dorothy plays a role model for young women.
Dorothy the main character in the story “The Wizard of OZ” goes through a heroic adventure which makes her have something in common with the old myths. The main characters of the old myth would also face a heroic adventure. It would start off with them being sent somewhere they are unfamiliar with. Once they reach that place they eventually must face an evil person or creature and must defeat them (which is their only way out). The result of them defeating the evil person or creature is that they get what they want, and they also get to go back home. When they return home, they are a hero by others. Another thing they have in common is the treatment of women. Dorothy is never really respected just like the women in the old myths. These women in the old myths are cheated on by their significant others or used for one thing. Which shows that they are not respected and not really truly loved.
For this particular blog post, I am going to reflect on option 2, which focuses on Dorothy from the movie, “The Wizard of Oz”. Dorothy, in many ways, relates to other ancient heroes we have discussed in class. To start, she went through the universal cycle of the “hero’s journey”. The hero’es journey starts with the character being in an “ordinary world”, which for Dorothy was Kansas, then the hero having to leave that world due to a “call to adventure” (the tornado sweeping her house away), or less literally, Gulch threatening Dorothy and Toto. Her “refusal to the call” is obviously, not wanting the tornado to sweep her away and then not wanting to be in Oz. Dorothy meets “the mentor” when Glinda the Good Witch visits her to explain to her what Oz is and gifts her the red ruby shoes. Then, Dorothy is “crossing the threshold” as she travels down the yellow brick road. Alas, she makes a few “allies” along the way (tinman, lion, scarecrow, etc) along with enemies (wicked witch, flying monkeys) and she certainly faces many trials and tribulations along the way. Certainly so, the “approach to the inmost cave” (the climax of the film) occurs as the wicked witch’s flying monkeys are sent out to capture Dorothy and Toto. In the same token, Dorothy’s “ordeal” is being captured and having to ultimately throw hot water on the witch. The “reward” for doing so is retrieving the witch’s broomstick and then the “road back” is being able to talk to the creator and get what they wished for. Along with this, her “resurrection” is being able to return to Kansas and her “return with the elixir” is coming back with the knowledge that there is “no place like home”. In regards to all of this information and insight, Dorothy does seem to be an epic hero, however, she does not embody all of the epic hero traits due to not being born in a special world (just boring old Kansas), meaning she cannot quite qualify as one. All in all, Dorothy relates to many ancient heroes we have discussed because of the journey she traveled and how she was able to defeat a great evil.
The character Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz shares many common traits with heroes seen in ancient mythology. On her journey, she faces many setbacks and meets several magical beings. Her most prominent setback is the Wicked Witch of the West. She tries to kill Dorothy and her companions several times because when Dorothy first lands in Munchkinland, her house lands on and kills the witch’s sister. This is very reminiscent of Odysseus’s relationship with Poseidon in the Odyssey. When Odysseus blinds Poseidon’s son, the Cyclops, Poseidon makes it his goal to use his power and control of the ocean to kill Odysseus and his men. Another parallel that can be drawn between The Wizard of Oz and the Odyssey is the guidance they receive from a superhuman figure. Glinda the Good Witch helps Dorothy and protects her on her journey to Oz the same way the goddess, Athena, helps Odysseus return home to Ithaca.
One of the most important aspects of a hero is his or her flaw. In Dorothy’s case, it’s her immaturity. When her dog, Toto, was taken from her, she runs away from home. Dorothy’s immaturity caused her to handle the situation like a child and ultimately gets her locked out of her family’s storm shelter, leading to the moments when she is knocked unconscious in her room. In the case of many ancient myths, the hero’s biggest flaw is his hubris, or pride. However, unlike these ancient heroes, Dorothy learns from her mistake and grows up.
I will be discussing how The Wizard of Oz, connects to the key archetypes, traits, behaviors, and adventures we’ve seen so far this semester in various mythological readings. Dorothy’s journey mirrors that of a hero’s journey depicted by Campbell. Dorothy is merely a young girl from the country who has experienced loss, since she lives with her aunt and uncle. The boredom of her life, the fear of possibly losing her beloved dog, and a freak tornado sends her on a journey that tests her bravery and strength. First Dorothy goes to an outlandish place far from what she is used to. She is met by a mystical being that grants her guidance. The mystical guidance being from Galinda the Good Witch. Galinda directs Dorothy to the Emerald City to fulfill her quest of getting home. Along the way she faces obstacles, like flying monkeys, and makes companies, like the cowardly lion.
Dorothy like other characters we’ve discussed Odysseus, Thor, Oedipus ,etc she is brave and determined. She goes against the wicked witch and defeats her with water, which no one else has been able to accomplish. Dorothy shows her determination to get home by her willingness to defeat the witch and put on the ruby red slippers in the first place. Even though it was a ricky thing to do, she did it and kept them on. Dorothy is not irrational or prone to fits of anger like many of the other heroes we’ve learned about which proves to be a strength. This is a strength because it allowed her to make companions on her journey. Rather than getting revenge on the Cowardly Lion when he picked on Toto, her dog, she stood her ground in a manner that still allowed them to become friends.
In this blog post, I want to explore the differences and similarities of the wizard of oz and other mythological readings. Both stories tend to follow the same storyline where the main character goes on a type of adventure known as the “hero’s journey”. The hero starts off in an ordinary world which in Dorothy’s case is Kansas. Next, there is the call for adventure where a challenge or request is recieved by the hero. In this case, she gets stuck in the tornado which leads her to this magical land of Oz. The refusal of the call happens when Dorothy wants to head home but she is unable to. Just like most folktales, the main character has some type of sidekick or mentor. In this case, Glinda who is the good witch of the North is Dorothy’s mentor who gives her red shoes that are magical and tries to get her back home. Dorothy faces several more obstacles before she finally makes it home which is different than many myths where there is usually one big obstacle they face. The odyssey is similar to The Wizard of Oz in the sense that the idea of the heros journey continues, but the time periods of both stories are much different.
Blog Post
Whether or not Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, is an epic hero is dependent upon what an epic hero is considered. An epic hero is categorized as a noble and courageous character in an epic poem. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is the one to spill the water on the wicked witch which is a very noble act. Dorothy was trying to spill the water on the scarecrow because he caught on fire, but she ended up getting water on the witch by accident. Although, this act does not seem so noble because it was an accident, Dorothy still had the courage to fight the witch. Dorothy was an epic hero in the movie, The Wizard of Oz.
Beowulf is an example of an epic hero because of his noble acts of the demon Grendel. Beowulf can be connected to Dorothy, because they both fought off an enemy.
In this blog post, I will be exploring The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s roll as a hero. Throughout Dorothy’s journey, she shows numerous traits that can also be related to that of an epic hero. The story begins with Dorothy waking up in a foreign land that she knows for a fact is not Kansas and thus begins her journey. After inadvertently killing one witch, she goes on a journey to see the visit the Wizard of Oz in order to get home to Kansas. Along the journey, she must overcome several different obstacles including fighting an antagonist (the wicked witch) who seems immensely more powerful than the hero. If you were to change the names of the characters and made the plot and scenery slightly more formidable than this story would be classified with Beowulf and other stories of its kind. The only difference between the two is that one is slightly more appropriate for children under the age of 12 but all the same, Dorothy and epic heroes like Beowulf could be placed in the same categories.
The character Dorothy from the famous movie The Wizard of Oz is very similar to Odysseus from The Odyssey. At the start of the movie, Dorothy’s house gets trapped in a twister, which brings her house to munchkin land. Her house unfortunately landed on the Wicked Witch of the West’s sister’s house, which causes the Wicked Witch of the West to hold a grudge against Dorothy. A similar situation happened to Odysseus on his journey back home when he landed on the island of the Cyclopes. He blinded Polyphemos to escape his cave and it just so happens that Poseidon was Polyphemos’ father, which caused Poseidon to hold a grudge against Odysseus. The Wicked Witch of the West and Poseidon both then try to stop the protagonists from completing their mission.
Dorothy is the most similar to the epic hero Odysseus, after all, all she really wants to do is get back home. Dorothy goes on a long journey with guided by her own ‘god’, the good witch, where she faces many trials and meets different sorts of people before she defeats her enemy and is allowed to return. A few of the common characteristics of a hero that Dorothy possesses are bravery, loyalty, and honor. Dorothy is not only loyal to her family, but the odd trio of misfits she meets along the way and where she does everything in her power, as their leader, to bring them with her. Although the misfits do not meet such a grim ending as in the Odyssey, they are still sent on their way before our heroine returns home. As a matter of honor, Dorothy not only undertakes the quest given to her by the good witch needed in order to simply return home but decides to aid her friends as well by finding the wizard. Dorothy did not, in fact, even need to help any of them like the tin man with the oil in the first place but honor demanded that she do so when she saw a fellow in need. As for her trait of bravery, it is plain to see that Dorothy has it in spades walking through a dark forest, braving a poppy field, sneaking into the evil witch’s tower then melting her, and confronting the Wizard of Oz by drawing back the curtain. These many trials, like those Odysseus was forced to go through, helped to shape and grow Dorothy as a person and when she returned home, it was with a better, more mature understanding of how to better the world around her.
In this blog post, I will be examining Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as to how her character can be apply to Joseph Campbell’s ideas of the hero’s journey.
The first step is the call to adventure. This can be seen in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy makes the decision to run away her farm home to protect her dog Toto after Mrs. Gulch has an order to put him down. The next is the assistance which is when Professor Marvel sets Dorothy on the right track by encouraging her to go back home and make amends with her aunt and uncle. The departure would be when Dorothy arrives home there is a huge Tornado. She gets inside of her house, but it is lifted up by the tornado and taken to Oz. The trials is when Dorothy realize that her goal is to find the wizard of Oz by following the yellow Brick Road. In the hopes that he will be able to send her back to Kansas. On the way, she makes friends with the scarecrow, the tin-man, and the lion. However, she also makes enemies with the wicked witch as she is wearing the ruby red shoes that hold a lot of power to the witch. The step after trials is approach. After going and seeing the Wizard of Oz, he tells her she needs to bring back the wicked witches broomstick. Dorothy sets off, with her friends, to the wicked witch castle. However she runs into a c risis. While Dorothy is heading to the wicked witch castle, she is taken away by the flying monkeys, the witches minions. This is so the witch will be able to take the ruby red shoes. She is able to escapes the wicked witch with the help of her friends and got the witches’ broom for the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy visits the Wizard of Oz again and as a result she discovers that her journey has made her realize the importance of family. When she try to return home she finds out that the only way to get home is with the knowledge of how important family is and is able to go home by clicking her heels together in the ruby red shoes. For Dorothy new life, she is able to realized the value of family and the importance of a home. As a resolution accepts Kansas as her home and started to share a stronger bond with her aunt and uncle.
Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, reflects many of the attributes of myths from ancient times. One of the most notable similarities is the magical element that are presented in the film. In almost every myth that we have studied there have been elements of magic and fantasy. In the Wizard of Oz, there are witches, wizards, magic slippers, talking animals, and flying monkeys. In myths like those from Greece, Rome, Northern Europe, and many creation myths, there are similar elements such as witches, magic, talking animals, magical objects, and monsters. Another prominent difference is the clear delineation of good and evil. In the Wizard of Oz, this is represented by the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. These two characters represent the two moral points of the film. Dorothy is on the side of Glinda the Good Witch and, through the film, battles evil. Furthermore, she is perused by this evil, the Wicked Witch, because she had accidently killed her sister and took her shoes from her dead body. This is like the feud between Odysseus and Poseidon in the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, Odysseus is continually pursued by Poseidon because Odysseus had blinded and stole from his son. Another trait, on the topic of good and evil, is the good people are beautiful and the evil people are not. Dorothy is represented as a beautiful girl with her cute dog who is chased by an ugly green witch. This can be paralleled with some of the major characters in the Grimm’s Tales. In these tales, the protagonist, like Dorothy is always beautiful and the antagonist, like the Wicked Witch of the West, is always hideous in appearance. Finally, Dorothy defeats her evil by killing the Wicked Witch with water. Dorothy, as the protagonist, defeating the being that had been opposing her and trying to kill her. This can be associated with major myths with the same theme present; for example, in various Grimm Tales the people that oppose or have tried to kill the protagonist are met with barbaric and violent fates. This comparison of Dorothy to ancient heroes only proves that she, in her own right, is a classical hero.
In this blog post I will be discussing how Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” is similar and different to mythological heroes. Dorothy is to start off much newer than these heroes. She was created less than 100 years ago. Heroes like Odysseus and Aneas were created thousands and thousands of years ago. This means, of course, that Dorothy was created for a much different audience. The second and most obvious difference is that Dorothy is a young girl rather than a large strong man. This is because the role of women in society changed immensely throughout time. Dorothy also doesn’t use pure strength to overcome most of her trials.
Now on to some similarities. Firstly, she has to overcome many different, challenging trials to get what she wants. She has to travel an entire world to go see this magical man who can tell her how to get home. That sounds quite similar to Tireseas the blind prophet seen in many greek and Roman myths. She also has interference in her quest by magical beings, the witches. This, while not being interfered with by the Gods, it is very close to it. There is also the magical artifact that sets the journey in motion with the Ruby Slippers. This is more akin to many fairy tales, but it can also be seen in quite a few myths.