The Wonderful Wizard of Oz characters

Also known as Dorothy Gale

Appears from the start

A young girl from the gray Kansas prairie who lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry and her little dog. A cyclone carries her farmhouse, with her and the dog inside, into a strange and colorful land. Practical, kind, and steady in the face of danger, she wants only to find a way back home and sets out to seek help, gathering loyal companions along the road.

Appears from the start

Dorothy's small, playful dog, her constant companion, who is swept along with her into the new land. He cannot talk but stays close to her throughout the journey, and his running off at a key moment sometimes causes trouble.

First appears in chapter 3

A living scarecrow stuffed with straw, whom Dorothy lifts down from his pole in a cornfield. He believes he has no brains and hopes the great Wizard can give him some, so he joins Dorothy on her way. Despite thinking himself foolish, he repeatedly comes up with clever ideas that get the group out of danger, and he cannot be harmed by anything but fire.

First appears in chapter 5

A woodcutter made entirely of tin, found rusted motionless in the forest until Dorothy oils his joints. He believes he has no heart and longs for one so that he might love again, and he joins the journey to ask the Wizard for it. Gentle to the point of weeping over any small creature he harms, he is careful never to step on a living thing.

First appears in chapter 6

A great lion who bounds out of the forest roaring, but who confesses that he is a coward, frightened of everything, and only bluffs to hide it. Ashamed of his fear, he hopes the Wizard can grant him courage and joins the others. In practice he faces down real dangers to protect his friends, whatever his nerves.

Also known as Oz, the Great and Terrible

First appears in chapter 11

The mysterious ruler of the Emerald City, reputed to be a powerful magician who can grant any wish. When the travelers are finally admitted to his throne room, he appears to each of them in a different terrifying form. He agrees to help them only on a hard condition: that they first destroy the Wicked Witch of the West.

First appears in chapter 12

The cruel one-eyed ruler of the western land of the Winkies, who keeps them as slaves and commands packs of wolves, crows, bees, and a band of enchanted Winged Monkeys. Seeing the travelers approach with her far-sighted single eye, she attacks them again and again. She covets Dorothy's silver shoes and is terrified of water and of the dark.

Also known as the Good Witch of the South

First appears in chapter 23

The beautiful and kindly Good Witch who rules the southern country of the Quadlings. Wise and powerful, she receives Dorothy warmly and reveals the secret of getting her home, and she arranges kind futures for Dorothy's companions.

First appears in chapter 2

A little old woman who greets Dorothy soon after the house lands, explaining that it has fallen on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East and freed the Munchkins. She gives Dorothy a protective kiss on the forehead and advises her to follow the road of yellow brick to the Emerald City to seek the Wizard's help.