Oz Month: Heroes of Oz

As I wind down this Oz series, I’m taking a moment to look at a few characters who don’t quite get enough screen time to make a whole profile. I looked at the Villains last time, and in this post, I visit with the Heroes. I’ll finish up with another look at the girl herself, Dorothy Gale, this time played by Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz.

Ozma – INFJ

She only appears for a minute or two in Return to Oz, so we don’t have much to work with for Ozma on screen. Of course, she’s a major character in the books—rightful ruler of Oz and best friend to Dorothy. Since I don’t want to draw too much from material outside of the movie, though, I’ll just offer a quick, speculative take on Ozma’s personality type.

The Queen of Oz is kind, fair, and compassionate to all her subjects, who love her unquestioningly, so I see Extraverted Feeling (Fe) right away there. She also seems a bit reserved—not detached, just quiet and dignified—so I’d put that Fe in the auxiliary position and pick an Introverted function as her dominant. I’m going for Introverted Intuition (Ni). She’s knowledgeable and creative with her magic, has good hunches about people, and sees potential in everyone whether they’re human, animal, or wooden creature brought to life.

There’s a scene in one of the books (can’t recall which one), where she correctly guesses Dorothy’s thoughts and addresses them. Dorothy sees the ease at which Ozma creates a tent and a meal for them on their journey and thinks that the world would be a better place if everyone could do that. Ozma instead points out the negative consequences if everybody could wield such power thoughtlessly, not the least of which would be that they would not be able to solve their own problems.

That sounds like Ni foresight, and also Introverted Thinking (Ti) logic at work. In the movie we see a touch of this in Ozma’s compassionate treatment of Mombi. Although the witch had imprisoned her, Ozma pardons her at the end of the story, since her magic has been taken away from her and she is now “a miserable creature indeed.” Her Fe seems to step in to support that decision as well, considering Mombi’s feelings even though Ozma herself was wronged by her.

Her inferior Extraverted Sensing seems to manifest in the magnificence of her palace and kingdom. Ozma appreciates these things without being overwhelmed by or obsessed with them. She dresses fancy, but only as a function of her position, not out of a strong love of luxury. She also abhors physical violence and seeks a peaceful solution to all her conflicts.

Oz Month: Villains of Oz

Oz has been part of my life since my parents sat my twin sister and me in front of the TV one evening when we were…five? Six? Younger? to watch a movie about a girl who got caught up in a storm. Most kids I knew growing up were terrified of the Witch, but I remember curling up tensely waiting for that storm to strike. Was it scary? Would she be okay? Would I be okay watching it?

And of course I was. No storm was bad enough to blot out the color and wonder of the adventures one found over the rainbow. So to say I’ve enjoyed this month of digging into some of the most iconic characters in our culture—and my memory—doesn’t do it justice.

Some of these characters appear so briefly, it’s a wonder we remember them so well at all. But actors like Margaret Hamilton will not be ignored even if their characters exist for only 12 minutes or so of screen time. It feels like we know them inside and out, and yet—what if Miss Gulch was only having a bad day?

This is what makes it tricky to type fictional characters—they can come on very powerfully during their appearance, but we might be getting a narrow perspective on them. Nevertheless, here are my best guesses for some of the fabulous baddies we meet along Dorothy’s journeys.

Miss Gulch – ESTJ

Elmyra Gulch wants it all done her way, and done right now, classic signs of dominant Extraverted Thinking (Te-dom). As to whether she’s ESTJ or ENTJ, it all depends on what auxiliary function you think is supporting her Te-dom. Is she a calculating power-grabber (Introverted Intuition/Ni) or a stuffy control freak (Introverted Sensing/Si)? (And of course, the descriptions of both those functions are meant as the stereotypically unhealthy forms.)

There’s a tantalizing hint in Auntie Em’s dialogue that Miss Gulch “owns half the county” and may want “to run the rest of us,” which smacks of an ambitious ENTJ. Seeing how she’s got an obsession over a measly little dog, though, I lean towards ESTJ. A bigger-picture-minded ENTJ, even an unhealthy one, would probably not be so worked up over a few dead flowers. Miss Gulch sincerely believes her own claims that Toto threatens her safety—unhealthy Si-aux in paranoid mode.

Miss Gulch seems to me a particularly vicious ESTJ, standing in contrast to Auntie Em’s more balanced, caring ESTJ, demanding order and control over as many people as she can just so they’ll leave her garden alone.

ISTJ: Billina, “Return to Oz”

The Inspector

She’s not warm and fuzzy like Toto, but Billina the hen plays a similar role as he did, acting as Dorothy’s tie back to her home in Kansas. She also enjoys the distinction of being able to talk (one wonders what held Toto back). And although Billina doesn’t end up returning with Dorothy, her running commentary provides a sensible outsider’s perspective on the weird and wonderful land of Oz.

Dominant Function – Introverted Sensing/Si, “What Was”

Billina’s not terribly impressed with Oz. The first glimpse she gets of it is the Deadly Desert, which would creep anyone out. After seeing the wrecked Yellow Brick Road and the petrified Emerald City, she doesn’t understand Dorothy’s enthusiasm for the place.

“Why don’t we just fly back to Kansas?” she sighs, after they escape on the flying Gump. She wants to return home, but not for the sentimental reasons that Dorothy had in the first movie. It’s just safer and more predictable there. For instance, there’s not an entire race of evil Nomes in Kansas who want to destroy her just for being a chicken.

However, by the end of the movie, Billina decides to stay in Oz. As a talking animal, she now has free agency to live her own life. And of course, no one’s going to stew her up for supper if she can’t lay an egg. It’s her best and most sensible option.

ISFJ: Jack Pumpkinhead, “Return to Oz”

The Protector

Brian Henson, son of the famous Jim, got his first big puppeteering gig as Jack Pumpkinhead. Not to be confused with another lanky Halloween-inspired Jack, he’s that strange combination of a sweet nature mixed with what could be seen as a scary face, staying true to the charming weirdness that is this version of Oz. And though he’s a young creature, discovered much like the Scarecrow having not had much life experience yet, Jack proves to be a pretty healthy, developed personality.

Dominant Function – Introverted Sensing/Si, “What Was”

Jack doesn’t have much of a past to draw from—he’s only been alive a few years at most, and he’s spent those years locked away alone in a castle tower—but he’s completely devoted to his Mom, the girl who constructed him. His greatest wish is to find her, and when he first meets Dorothy, he perks up with hope that she’s the one. His Mom’s identity and fate turns out to be one of the story’s key mysteries.

Jack also has a highly detailed memory, on display when he recounts the story of how he came to life. He recalls that when Princess Mombi trapped him in the tower, she was wearing Head #22, and must not have worn it since, because she’s forgotten about him. His knowledge of the Powder of Life comes in handy when Dorothy needs to figure out a way to escape, and he remembers all about the Ruby Key and what Dorothy will need to do to get at it. He’s also sensibly concerned with making sure that his head hasn’t spoiled, and asks Dorothy to check it for him.

Like many Si-doms, once Jack finds himself part of a group, he connects with them as his own people and acts to preserve and protect them. When the group makes it to the Nome King’s Mountain, Billina hides away in Jack’s head. It’s never addressed directly in the dialogue, but it seems that Jack and the others all wordlessly agree to keep Billina safe, since the King has a thing against chickens.

As one does.

Auxiliary Function – Extraverted Feeling/Fe, “What We Need”

Jack attaches himself to Dorothy right away. He knows instinctively that she can be trusted. He follows her dutifully and depends on her for approval. “May I call you Mom, even if it isn’t so?” he begs of her. She nods yes, and he gasps with happiness.

Later, when Jack is about to take his turn in the Nome King’s guessing game to save the Scarecrow, he grows sad. But he isn’t sad for himself. He understands that if he gets turned into an ornament, he won’t be missing much. It’s Dorothy he’s worried about, because as a being who is actually alive, she’ll miss getting to eat and sleep, “and other such activities.” Jack’s feelings are directed toward his travelling companions and their needs, not so much his own.

INTJ: Tik-Tok, “Return to Oz”

The Mastermind, The Strategist, The Futurist

My twin sister and I were not allowed to see Return to Oz when it debuted in 1985. Reports were it was way too scary for kids. Not that the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys didn’t inspire a few nightmares in their day, but Return to Oz tapped into some of the darker reserves of L. Frank Baum’s imagination.

Jim Henson and his crew were really a perfect match for this style of Oz. When we’d last paid a visit in the 1939 MGM version, Oz was more glitzy and glamorous. Now we saw headless witches, screaming Wheelers, grasping gnomes, a creepy mental asylum, a deadly desert, and a bad guy death scene that makes the Wicked Witch of the West’s passing look like a gentle, compassionate affair.

Needless to say, when I finally saw it, I was hooked, and I became one of those 80s kids that makes up the cult following of Return to Oz.

In the middle of all this fantastical scariness, however, stands one bright and brave figure. Calm, collected, and always thinking—at least when he’s wound up—Tik-Tok marches into the scene to save the day, joining Dorothy as her first new companion in this round of her journey. According to his Wikipedia entry, Tik-Tok is “widely considered to be one of the first robots…to appear in modern literature, though that term was coined after Baum’s death.”

So not only is Tik-Tok a great robot character, he’s also one of those rare INTJ heroes in fiction. And his wind-up mechanisms make great metaphors for the cognitive functions of the Mastermind. Let’s take a look and see what makes him tick.

Dominant Function—Introverted Intuition/Ni, “What Will Become”

When Dorothy finds Tik-Tok, the first thing she winds up is his Thinking. It’s a sensible decision, since he won’t be able to do anything with his Speaking and Action if he can’t think first. It also reflects the way all Introverts start with their dominant function—be it Sensing, Intuition, Thinking, or Feeling—before they interact with the rest of the world (hi, I’m an INFP!).

In this story, the mechanism is called Thinking, but I believe it’s best described as Intuition in this case. Tik-Tok isn’t designed so much to offer careful analysis of a situation as he is to strategize. He’s called “The Army of Oz.” And as the only member of that Army, he has to figure out what to do for himself.

Dorothy winds him up, and he immediately sizes up the situation. He takes Dorothy’s lunch pail and uses it as a weapon against the Wheelers. Later, Tik-Tok easily grasps Dorothy’s inventive plan to build a flying creature to escape Princess Mombi. When Jack Pumpkinhead asks him if he understands it, he says, “I understand it better than you.”

Near the end of the movie, Tik-Tok comes up with a clever strategy to help them beat the Gnome King. They’re tasked with entering a room full of knick-knacks and trying to guess which one is the lost Scarecrow. If they fail, they turn into an ornament themselves. One by one, Dorothy’s friends enter the room and are transformed. Tik-Tok, however, pretends to wind down so that Dorothy will have to enter the room to wind him up. As she pretends to do so, he tells her that if he guesses incorrectly, she’ll be able to see what kind of knick-knack he’s turned into, and from there figure out how to find the Scarecrow.

Not a bad plan, although the Gnome King cheats and ruins it. But still, that’s Introverted Intuition at work. Tik-Tok dismisses the rules of the Gnome King’s game, and re-works them in his favor.