‘There is no place like home’: A Comparative Study of the Meaning of Home in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Peter and Wendy

Abstract

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Peter and Wendy present universal ideas that exist in all times, despite being written in the beginning of the 20th century. Among the most significant ones is the concept of “home”. The article discusses the essentiality of the idea of “home” where the identity of an individual shapes, and where one’s spiritual, psychological, and physical being develop. It also studies the attitudes of each protagonist towards the concept of ‘home’ based on their understanding of it and according to their gender differences. The characters in both stories tread on the path of perplexity between leaving their homes and returning to them. Peter’s world is the world of imagination while Dorothy laments and longs to return to Kansas wherein her family is and her roots were cultivated. Nonetheless, both character’s inner being is aware of the necessity of home and family to attain the settlement and security.