He, or at least his pieces, actually belonged to Mombi, but Tip (before becoming Ozma) brought him to life and used him to escape the witch with Jack Pumpkinhead. Oh, and he can run extremely fast. He may actually be the fasted creature in Oz, unless I am forgetting something.
The Sawhorse comes across as egotistical with an internalized personality. He speaks in very plain terms and doesn't over elaborate on anything. He just sort of says how he feels if he says anything at all. Originally he would brag about how fast he was, but later he would be a bit more subtle about it since people would often complain. It didn't seem to really effect his opinion about himself though; he simply stopped talking about it because nobody wanted to hear it.
By design, the Sawhorse is supposed to feel uncanny in both looks and in social interaction. Just seeing him will put you off. His eyes are, after all, knotholes that can move somehow. But his internalized personality makes it a chore to really connect with him in any substantial way. You can get answers out of him, but he usually won't go any further than you do. Once you stop talking, so will he. It can be a bit unnerving.
It makes you consider what the personality of wood would be if wood could talk and interact with people. As it stands, wood doesn't do much of anything but just sit there. The Sawhorse does a lot of quiet standing unless he is needed. He really is just a living piece of wood and it shows.
As the canon stands now, he is the official steed of Princess Ozma. He pulls a red wagon wherever she needs to go, and he can do so at breakneck speeds. Other than that... he's just sort of there. Even so, I do like him and consider him to be one of the most interesting characters in the Oz universe.
This blog was written on November 3, 2023.
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Characters are often humans in non-human forms or silly for the sake of easy laughs. It seems this character was crafted with the serious question, "What personality would wood have, it it was a person?"
ReplyDeleteHahaha. Yes. It's a bit off-putting but it's still very entertaining.
DeleteA very interesting character indeed. A bizarre idea taken seriously for sure. Also pretty awesome that he became the official steed of Princess Ozma. He is super fast after all.
ReplyDeleteYes, and I think she gets a thrill from it.
DeleteThe Sawhorse is creepy, but useful. He is content to stand around until needed. Still if you need to get somewhere fast, then that is your best option.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered if Baum intended him to be creepy. It's an odd thing to do back then.
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