It makes me a little sad that we are all so silly. How often do we go in search of material things to make us happy (he asked, writing this on black Friday)? We get so locked onto the idea of some thing making us better — a new computer, a new TV, a new job, a new car — that we can't see the good things we already possess. From a certain point of view, I think you can read this whole story as a warning against rampant materialism. Even if the fixation is intangible though, I think Baum is telling us that the start of real change, real happiness, must begin at home. It is only by taking careful stock of who and what we are, can we decide if the journey through change is really worth all the trials and tribulations. After all, had Dorothy taken the time to find out more about the silver slippers, she would have gotten home a lot sooner. Then again, we wouldn't have had much of story is she did.
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