The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

L. Frank Baum's book The Wizard of Oz is never taken for granted in Midworld. The colors of the rainbow have been tranformed into the Bends o' the Rainbow and also Called Maerlyn's Rainbow. The significance is that Character's are always talking about Midworld not being Kansas, yet they too arrive in Topeka, Kansas of The Stand. There is a scene in Wizard and Glass, which relied heavily on the Wizard of Oz references, has a castle made of green glass like the Emerald City and The Wastelands has a character named the Tick-Tock Man. These were the first inklings of what King was planning on bringing to the world of the Dark Tower. He was not just bringing in other literature, but pop culture as well.
The use of the Ruby slippers in the Wizard of Oz, was for protection for Dorothy. In Wizard and Glass, the red shoes/boots are used to enter the immense glass structure.
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