In the film The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy goes on a journey to a new land in search of the wizard that will help her return home. Throughout the film, Dorothy learns many things about her home and her family that she loves and is anxious to get back to. When she finally does return home, she is changed by the experience. In this analysis, I will explore if and how this experience has changed Dorothy's view of the concept of home. I will focus on what it was specifically that changed her mind, and why it affected her views.

During Dorothy's journey, she meets many people and sees many things that are new to her. Many of these things have an affect on her, but none as much as the three friends she makes who journey to the Emerald City with her, the Scarecrow in search of a brain, the Tinman in search of a heart, and the Cowardly Lion in search of courage.

Each of these characters in her dream represents one of her friends from home (Hunk, Hickory and Zeke). The Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion each possess the good qualities of Hunk, Hickory and Zeke, respectively, but amplified to make them more obvious to Dorothy. Dorothy doesn't realize that deep down she already knows her three friends, but she knows there is something familiar about them that she can't quite put her finger on. She comes to love them all for who they are, despite any flaws they feel they have. After meeting the wizard, they learn that what they really wanted to change about themselves didn't need to be changed at all.

Dorothy's new friends also teach her that no matter how much you feel you are missing something and no matter how far you travel to look for it, you can usually find it by looking inside yourself. Each of the characters learns this from the wizard who tells them that what they were looking for (a brain, heart, and courage) were inside of them the whole time. Even Dorothy had the power within her to return home. Before she leaves Oz, she tells everyone there that she learned that if you think you've lost something, you shouldn't look any further than your own backyard, and if you don't find it there, it was never lost to begin with.

When Dorothy returns home, because of the lessons she has learned in Oz, it makes her see things in a different way. She realizes how much she really cares for her friends. She also realizes that you should love your friends for good and bad, but focus mainly on the good. Everyone has flaws but if you love someone enough you should be willing to overlook them. This helps Dorothy to appreciate her home more. It teaches her that absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.

Dorothy's journey to Oz also makes her realize how much she really loved her home in general. Before her dream, she wanted to leave Kansas and visit places 'over the rainbow' where things would be better for her (or so she thought). When she gets to Oz, it is a beautiful magical place where she makes new friends and becomes a hero. Despite all of this, she wants nothing more than to be back in Kansas.

When Dorothy finally does return home, it is the same place as when she left, but she sees it through new eyes. It is truly as though she is awakening, and not just from her dream. She had learned that "home" is not just a house (if this were the case she could have stayed in Oz, because after arriving there, her house remained in Munchkinland). She learned that "home" was the people she left behind. She missed her family and friends, and was willing to give up her dream of the magical, beautiful place over the rainbow to be with them.