Gregory Maguire is an American novelist born in Albany, New York in 1954. He received his PhD in English and American Literature at Tuft University. He is the author of many parallel novels and stories for both children and adults. The most famous of Maguire's novels is, without a doubt, Wicked. Like Maguire's many other novels, Wicked is told in a revisionist manner. It is a creative retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. Maguire's novel was liked by so many, that it became the basis to the Tony Award winning musical of the same name. …show more content…
Through the course of the story, Elphaba is treated as though she was a curse or a punishment to her parents, and even though she proved her intelligence, she continued to be a little reckless. Yet, as the years go by, Elphaba becomes more mature and level-headed, despite the fact that she continues to be the center of humiliation, intimidation and discrimination. When Elphaba is in university she becomes attached the Dr. Dillamond, her teacher. Dr. Dillamond is a Goat, and tells her of the awful manner people treat him. Although it might not be the right way to prove herself to the world, Elphaba becomes interested in the Animal Rights Movement. Elphaba also experienced personal growth when she moved on from the Animal Rights Movement to become a maunt for six years. During that time, she travelled with a young boy that might or might not have been her son, yet she still had maternal instincts when it came to his …show more content…
Frank Baum. There are many obvious distinctions between the two novels, such as the two different viewpoints: Elphaba's in Wicked and Dorothy's in The Wizard of Oz. However, you cannot forget that they were written for two different age groups. While The Wizard of Oz is a fairy tale for children where the heroine overcomes the evil Wicked Witch of the West that torments everyone in Oz, Wicked is about a woman killed over her political views. Wicked is also told with more character depth as well as with the deeper, underlying themes of corrupt governments, social change and