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The Scarecrow is a (Oz) character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He appears as a main character in Baum's classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). The Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely ignorant. Throughout the course of the story, he demonstrates that he already has the brains he seeks and is later recognized as "the wisest man in all of Oz," although he continues to credit the Wizard for them. He is, however, wise enough to know his own limitations and all too happy to hand the rulership of Oz, passed to him by the Wizard, to the true heir of the throne, the child Queen Princess Ozma. He becomes one of her trusted advisors, though he typically spends more time playing games and having fun than doing any serious advising. ==In ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)''== When the Scarecrow is introduced in the ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', he is encountered upon by a lost little farm girl from Kansas named Dorothy Gale who is the main protagonist and heroine of Baum's novel. She is accompanied by her pet dog Toto as they are on the yellow brick road while traveling to Oz's imperial capital called Emerald City. The following is an excerpt from the third chapter of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', titled ''How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow'', in which Dorothy comes across the Scarecrow : "''Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back.''" (One of his eyes is said to be slightly larger than the other). *The Scarecrow wears all blue because he is from Oz's eastern quadrant called Munchkin Country. Blue is the Munchkins' favorite colour. Dorothy is quite startled at first when seeing the Scarecrow wink. But after being acquainted she liberates him off the wooden pole from which he is hanging on. He tells the girl about his creation by the Munchkin farmer only two days prior, and of how he was at first put in the cornfield to scare away the crows. This worked until an older and wiser crow was not fooled like the rest, and realized he was a mere straw man, causing the other crows to start eating away at all the ripe corn. The old crow then told him about the importance of owning brains. Scarecrow's longing for brains motivates him to join Dorothy on her quest in hopes that the great and powerful Wizard will give him some, thus becoming wise like the old crow who saw through him. At first, Scarecrow does not understand why Dorothy wants to return to her homeland when she describes the setting as being so mundane and gray. It is then when Dorothy tells him that he cannot comprehend her desire to go home because he has no brain. Therefore he is simply unable to grasp the concept of yearning to return to where one belongs, no matter how beautiful or appealing any other place may seem to be. The two are later accompanied by the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, both of whom also intend to ask the Wizard for his help in gaining a heart and courage. After having several adventures throughout the land, the group of comrades reach the city and are sent by the Wizard to the Winkie Country to kill the Wicked Witch of the West to prove themselves worthy of the Wizard's assistance. During this time the Scarecrow defeats the witch's flock of black crows (one pack of the many hostile creatures she possesses) that she sicks on them by twisting all their necks. However, he is eventually taken apart by the Winged Monkeys who are the eternal slaves of the Golden Cap the Wicked Witch used to control them. The monkeys unsuff the Scarecrow and rip him to shreads, scattering his straw and throwing his clothes high up in the braches of a tree. When Dorothy finally kills the Wicked Witch by slaying her with a bucket of water, the Winkies are freed from her bondage and help Dorothy retrieve his clothes and mend him back together again until he is as good as new. The Winkies even give the Scarecrow a solid gold cane to walk with, lessening the chance of him falling (as he has a tendency of being naturally very clumsy). After Dorothy becomes the new owner of the Golden Cap and her friends have completed their mission, she orders the Winged Monkeys to fly them all back to the Emerald City. To their dismay, the companions learn the Wizard is actually a mortal humbug by the name of Oscar Diggs. After a small confrontation, they see that Oscar isn't such a bad man after all, just a very bad Wizard. The Wizard then gives the Scarecrow brains (made out of bran, pins and needles – in reality a placebo, as he has been the most intelligent of the travelers all along). Before he leaves Oz in his hot air balloon, the Wizard appoints the Scarecrow to rule the Emerald City and its residents in his stead. He then accompanies Dorothy and the others to the palace of Glinda the Good in the land of the southern Quadlings. After Dorothy is sent back to Kansas by the power of the charmed Silver Shoes she wore, Glinda uses the Golden Cap to summon the Winged Monkeys yet again, and orders them to take the Scarecrow back to the Emerald City to rule there wisely. His desire for a brain notably contrasts with the Tin Woodman's desire for a heart, reflecting a common debate between the relative importance of the mind and the emotions. Indeed, both believe they have neither. This occasions philosophical debate between the two friends as to why their own choices are superior; neither convinces the other, and Dorothy, listening, is unable to decide which one is right. Symbolically, because they remain with Dorothy throughout her quest, she is provided with both and need not select.〔L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, The Annotated Wizard of Oz, p 141, ISBN 0-517-50086-8〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Scarecrow (Oz)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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