Troy Terwilliger’s Reviews > The Wonderful Wizard of Oz > Status Update
Troy Terwilliger
is 81% done
There is a really fascinating theory about what that drink actually was, based on the late-1800s slang of Baum's era. Back then, people frequently used the phrase "liquid courage" to refer to alcohol—specifically whiskey or gin. In fact, standard patent medicines of the 1890s were often heavily laced with alcohol and promised to cure nervousness, anxiety, and faintness of heart.
— 6 hours, 50 min ago
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Troy Terwilliger
is 39% done
I love the Queen of the Field Mice! And the slippers are silver!
— 7 hours, 21 min ago
Troy Terwilliger
is 34% done
While it might not be a direct satire, Baum was absolutely playing on the cultural awareness of opium. The poppies represent a classic mythological trope—the "lotus-eater" trap where travelers are lured into a beautiful, numbing complacency and forget their journey. Notice how it takes the cold, unfeeling characters (the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman) to rescue the emotional, flesh-and-blood ones.
— 7 hours, 24 min ago
Troy Terwilliger
is 16% done
Dorothy is guided by her heart and home, while the Scarecrow is already using pure, curious logic to try and understand the world, long before he ever gets to the Emerald City.
— 7 hours, 37 min ago
