Realism, SF and F.

William H. Ansley · 02 May 1999, 00:20 · from urth-v0026.mbox · original

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From: "William H. Ansley" <wansley at warwick.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) Re: Realism, SF and F.
Date: Sun, 2 May 1999 00:20:33
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On Fri, 30 Apr 1999 David Duffy <davidD at qimr.edu.au> wrote:

>Jonas's knowledge seems to date him to a
>much earlier period (perhaps conventional relativistic processes have
>brought him so far forward in time).  If he is the Tin Man, who's the
>Cowardly Lion?

Because I have more or less posed as an Oz expert on this list, I'll take a
crack at this (especially since it seems likely to have been intended as a
rhetorical question--I really like answering those <g>).

If Jonas is the Tin Man, I have no idea who the Cowardly Lion might be. But
if Sidero is the Tin Man (and I think he is a much better candidate, being
literally hollow and heartless as well lacking the kindly emotions that a
loving, sawdust-stuffed* heart in his chest cavity would no doubt supply)
then Zak is the Cowardly Lion.

The Cowardly Lion is a seemingly craven creature when we first see him (in
the movie and the book) who becomes the King of Beasts (by the end of the
book although not the movie).

Zak is a craven (well, at least he is running away) featureless blob when
we first see him who becomes the captain of the ship, among other things.

William Ansley

*This is what the Wizard of Oz gives to the Tin Man in the book, rather
than a heart-shaped watch.

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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