Red is the color of the southern country of the Quadlings.
Blue is the color of the eastern country of the Munchkins.
Purple is the color of the northern country of the Gillikins.
Yellow is the color of the western country of the Winkies.
And lastly, Green is the color of the central country wherein the Emerald City can be found.
These colors originally seemed to be like a favorite color of the people living in a certain area. For example, if you lived in the Munchkin country, you would wear blue-colored clothing and paint your houses the same color. But over the course of the books, the color became more than a preference. It became something natural to that area.
The leaves on the trees and the flowers would later grow with their respective color scheme in mind. In some rare books, mainly the ones done by John R. Neill, the skins of each area would be respectively red, blue, purple, yellow, or green, which I always thought was silly and not too much fun to imagine. The way it was done by other authors were more subtle and pleasing to the imagination.
As far as continuity, I like the idea that a favorite color of a people ending up transforming their natural environment. Oz is magical, and sometimes thoughts and feelings make their way into nature somehow. If everyone keeps painting everything blue then the flowers and the trees will naturally follow.
Just thought you might find this interesting. The color-scheming of Oz has always made the visuals of each area very easy to see and understand. Also, if you ever get lost in Oz, it is a good way to figure out where you are and which way you need to go.
This blog was written on January 17, 2023.
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Colors "color" our view of things. For example, we may assume a faction is the villains if their color scheme is red and black or the good guys if it is blue and white. When the original Star Wars came out, people were actually surprised that the Imperial Stormtroopers wore white. It was considered cleverly "subversive" at the time.
ReplyDeleteThey do color our view of things even when the color is arbitrary. It helps with memory at least.
DeleteThat's a really cool map. Interesting that the color of the countries actually affected the natural environment and people. You would always know what country you were in for sure.
ReplyDeleteI like how they made it so you could feel a little more comfortable if you ended up there.
DeleteThe map of Oz almost looks like a flag with its various colors. It makes sense that the Emerald City is in the center. That way it is central to each country.
ReplyDeleteYes, and I think the greenness comes across as a bit more natural there. It's a place that actually looks normal.
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