We can label Dorothy as the Protagonist in The Wizard of Oz with some confidence. The Scarecrow seems to be Reason since he is the planner of the group ("I'll show you how to get apples!"), but he is not calm or collected. In fact, he is the opposite. Similarly, the Tin Man looks like Emotion as he cries in the poppy field. Yet he is anything but frenetic when he rusts himself from the tears. Clearly, our original Archetypes don't seem as true-to-form as they did in Star Wars.

Let's file that away for later and press on. The Cowardly Lion fills the role of Skeptic and Toto performs as the Sidekick. Glinda is an unabashed Guardian and the Wicked Witch of the West balances her as the Contagonist. But just a moment, doesn't the Wicked Witch act more like an Antagonist? Indeed she does, yet she seems to also fill the same role compared to Glinda as Darth Vader fills compared to Obi-Wan. Assuming for a moment the Wicked Witch IS the Contagonist, then who is the Antagonist?

There is only one major character yet unaccounted for --the Wizard himself.

The Wizard as Antagonist? Somehow it doesn't sound right. At this point it becomes clear the characters in Oz are not all exactly Archetypal. Something is going on with the Scarecrow and Tin Man and the Witch and the Wizard that doesn't fit. Exploring these failings of the Archetypal Character model as applied to Oz will eventually offer some insight into the essential character Elements.

However, let's pencil in the Witch as Antagonist and the Wizard as the Contagonist so we have a place to start. Here are the Eight Simple Characters of The Wizard of Oz in Quad format, ignoring any inconsistencies for the moment.

Drivers and Passengers in The Wizard of Oz

Driver Characters

PROTAGONIST--DOROTHY

GUARDIAN--GLINDA                     CONTAGONIST--WIZARD

ANTAGONIST--WICKED WITCH

Passenger Characters

SIDEKICK--TOTO

EMOTION--TIN MAN                       REASON--SCARECROW

SKEPTIC--LION