Silver Shoes on a Yellow Brick Road

One important note is that the Ruby Slippers from the 1939 movie was originally a silver set of slippers. The film made them ruby because they would look more extravagant with the new color film. Once we understand that, one of the most powerful and obvious metaphors becomes clear. The yellow brick road and the silver shoes are metaphors for the silver and gold standard issues which were a big debate raised in the 1890s. The background behind the metaphor is that in the 1896 presidential election Bryan ran on the platform that by including silver with the gold standard it would help the many farmers and poor. The significance of the silver shoes are they are walking on the golden road and hence overcoming the road, and gold standard.

The shoes also protect Dorothy from the Wicked Witch of the West. The shoes are also the only thing powerful enough to return Dorothy home to Kansas.

“The allegory is abundantly clear. On the next to last page of the book Baum has Glinda, Witch of the South, tell Dorothy, ‘Your Silver Shoes will carry you over the desert.....If you had known their power you could have gone back to your Aunt Em the very first day you came to this country.’. Glinda explains, ‘All you have to do is knock the heels together three times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go.’ William Jennings Bryan never outlined the advantages of the silver standard any more effectively.”

Thus the silver shoes are the most powerful thing in Oz. They are more powerful then the Wizard, who fails to bring her back, or any of the witches.