45 pages • 1 hour read
The Marvelous Land of Oz
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Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of emotional abuse.
Chapter 1 Summary: “Tip Manufactures a Pumpkinhead”
The Marvelous Land of Oz takes place on a continent divided into four countries surrounding the Emerald City. The story opens in the northern Country of the Gillikins and follows a boy named Tip, whom a mean sorceress named Mombi raised at her farm. One day, while she’s out, Tip decides to build a figure to frighten her. He constructs a man-shaped body from saplings with jointed limbs and tops it with a large, carved pumpkin for a head. Dressing the figure in clothes from Mombi’s chest, Tip names it Jack Pumpkinhead.
Chapter 2 Summary: “The Marvelous Powder of Life”
Tip places Jack Pumpkinhead on the road to startle Mombi, but she returns early with a pepper-box filled with the Powder of Life. She spots the figure, but it doesn’t respond when she says hello. Realizing Tip’s trick, she tests the powder on the figure. Jack Pumpkinhead begins to move and speak. Mombi catches Tip spying on her, locks Jack in the stable, and prepares a potion to turn Tip into a marble statue the next morning.
