The scarecrow is easily my favorite character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for two reasons: 1) I love the irony of his character, and 2) unlike the movie, the scarecrow is not in competition with the cowardly lion for my favor because there are no musical numbers in novels (Fun fact: “If I were king of the forest” is literally my favorite song ever). But the second reason has no literary value so let’s discuss the first point.
Upon his introduction to Dorothy, the first thing we learn about him is that he “has no brains at all.” (37) We then watch on as the scarecrow proceeds to think throughout the rest of the novel. For example, the scarecrow is the one who determines that the Tin Woodman needs oil for his mouth (72), finds nuts and berries for Dorothy to eat (78, 84), and figures out that the Tin Woodsman can cut a tree down to make a bridge for the travel party and later that he can cut the tree again when the Kalidahs are giving chase (81, 82). I could give many more examples of the scarecrow’s irony, but I think we get the point which is that the scarecrow may not have a brain, but he can still think. The scarecrow’s character reminds me of the difference between book smart and street smart. Book smart describes someone who deals with situations from an intellectual direction, using facts or insights from books, education, and structured experiences (i.e. studying and go to school) to make decisions. Street smart describes someone who deals with situations from a more practical direction with more pragmatic considerations. Street smart people have situational awareness with allows them to make decisions based on what environment they are in, who is in it, and the available angles to address the problem.
The relation between book smart and street smart reminds me a lot of the relation between reality and illusion. On the streets, the world/reality is presented to you as it is, and it’s your analysis and interpretation of it that determines how street smart you are. In books, the world is presented to you almost through an illusion, because no matter how good the writer is you’re always one degree removed from reality. It’s the reader’s analysis and interpretation of the world the writer presents that determines how book smart you are. While the scarecrow think he “lacks brains” because he’s not book smart, in my opinion he more than makes up for it in street smarts. Does that mean that the scarecrow is better suited for maneuvering through reality than through an illusions?
