The Balloon

The Balloon is the central mechanical contrivance of Oz the humbug, a silk-and-glue hot-air vessel that represents both his last, failed promise to Dorothy and his own means of vanishing from the Emerald City. Conceived as a substitute for the cyclone that brought Dorothy to Oz, the Balloon is built from strips of green silk sewn together by Dorothy herself, filled with hot air from a wood fire, and launched before a crowd of the Wizard's subjects. Its failure to carry Dorothy home and its success in carrying Oz away mark the turning point at which the travelers must abandon hope of easy return and seek help from Glinda the Good Witch instead.

Construction and Design

Oz, having admitted he cannot create another cyclone, decides that a balloon is the best way to cross the desert that surrounds Oz. He explains that a balloon is made of silk coated with glue to hold gas, and though no gas exists in Oz, hot air can serve as a substitute. Dorothy helps by sewing the strips of silk together: first a strip of light green, then dark green, then emerald green, for Oz has a fancy to make the balloon in different shades of the color that dominates the city. The work takes three days, and when finished the bag is more than twenty feet long. Oz paints the inside with thin glue to make it airtight, then fastens a large clothes basket to the bottom with ropes.

The Launch and Oz's Departure

Oz announces to his people that he is going to visit a great brother Wizard who lives in the clouds, and the news spreads rapidly. The Tin Woodman chops a big pile of wood, and Oz holds the bottom of the balloon over the fire so that the hot air rises into the silken bag. Gradually the balloon swells and rises until the basket just touches the ground. Oz climbs into the basket and commands the people to obey the Scarecrow as their ruler during his absence. The balloon tugs hard at its rope, and Oz calls for Dorothy to hurry. But Dorothy cannot find Toto, who has run into the crowd to bark at a kitten. By the time she picks up the dog and runs back, the ropes snap and the balloon rises into the air without her. Oz calls out "Good-bye!" and rises farther and farther into the sky, never to be seen again in Oz.

Consequences and Significance

Dorothy weeps bitterly at the loss of her hope to get home, though she later admits she is glad she did not go up in the balloon. The Balloon's failure forces the travelers to seek another way across the desert, leading them to consult the soldier with the green whiskers, who suggests Glinda the Good Witch of the South. The Balloon thus becomes the catalyst for the final leg of the journey. For Oz himself, the Balloon is his escape from exposure: having been revealed as a humbug, he is tired of being shut up in his palace and prefers to return to the circus. The people of the Emerald City grieve for him but remember him lovingly, saying he built their beautiful city and left the Wise Scarecrow to rule over them. The Balloon, a makeshift and ultimately failed vehicle, embodies the theme that genuine solutions cannot be manufactured by deception alone—Dorothy must rely on the true magic of the Silver Shoes, not on the Wizard's mechanical trickery.