The Marvelous Land of Oz · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Tip
major
Also known as the Fugitives Tip, So Tip, A Nickel-Plated Emperor Tip, Suddenly Tip, Tin Woodman Tip
Tip is a practical, unimpressed boy raised in the North Country on chores he dodges whenever Mombi isn't watching, and he has never known his parents. He hates his guardian's magic but has quietly learned to imitate it, which is how Jack Pumpkinhead comes to exist. His habit of noticing what adults miss—like the palace being surrounded before anyone else looks—makes him the accidental engine of the story's escape and upheaval.
Scarecrow
major
Also known as the Scarecrow, The Scarecrow, the Woodman
As reigning monarch of the Emerald City, the Scarecrow presides over a court in which his standing army runs at the first sign of trouble and his crown gives him a headache. When a regiment of girls deposes him, he takes the news with philosophical calm, more concerned for his companions than his throne. His cheerful willingness to abandon power for friendship—and his habit of pausing to reflect in a corner—sets the whole fugitive journey in motion.
Tin Woodman
major
Also known as the Tin Woodman, Tin Woodman, a Tin Woodman, Nick Chopper, Nick, friend Nick
Nick Chopper rules the Winkies from a palace hung with portraits of his own past adventures, and his first instinct on seeing the Scarecrow is to embrace him so hard the paint transfers. He is generous, sentimental, and slightly vain about his engraved oilcan, and he believes firmly that kindness can conquer anyone. His court becomes the travelers' first real refuge, and his loyalty to the Scarecrow anchors the group as it flees the Emerald City.
Jack Pumpkinhead
major
Also known as Jack, old Pumpkinhead, the Pumpkinhead, the smiling Pumpkinhead, Presently the Pumpkinhead, a Pumpkinhead, Meantime Jack
Jack is Tip's homemade creation, a wooden body topped with a carved pumpkin that smiles no matter what he feels, and he arrives in the Emerald City speaking only Gillikin. His constant fear is spoiling—his life is measured in days, not years—which makes him both comically anxious and oddly brave. His brief, borrowed existence gives the quest an unexpected tenderness, and his loyalty to Tip shapes how the boy is seen by everyone they meet.
Mombi
major
Also known as old Mombi, Old Mombi, the real Mombi, Old Mombi The Witch, the old Witch, the Witch, clearly old Mombi, Mombi the Witch
Mombi is a witch by ambition if not by license, feared by her neighbors and hated openly by the boy she was given to rear. She works magic she isn't supposed to know, keeps her secrets close, and meets Glinda's interrogation with pure defiance even with a golden thread around her throat. What she knows about the vanished Princess Ozma is the hinge on which the entire search turns, and her refusal to speak is the wall the heroes must break.
Sawhorse
supporting
Also known as the Sawhorse, The Sawhorse, Sawhorse, And the Sawhorse, this Sawhorse, the still vigorous Sawhorse
The Sawhorse is a humble construction of wood and wishing-powder, but he becomes the party's most reliable mount, carrying riders where no living horse could. He has no vanity and no fear, only an awkward amble and inexhaustible speed, and he follows the group indoors without any notion that horses wait outside. His endurance is what makes the final pursuit of Mombi possible, turning a toy into the story's quiet workhorse.
Glinda
supporting
Also known as Glinda the Good
Glinda rules the South from a throne of wrought gold, and nothing in Oz escapes her notice — she knows the Scarecrow's petition before he speaks it. Rather than simply granting aid, she turns the request back on him: by what right does anyone hold the Emerald City's throne? That quiet cross-examination reframes the whole adventure, shifting it from a fight to reclaim a crown into a search for the true heir.
Mr. H. M. Woggle-Bug
supporting
Also known as the Woggle-Bug, Woggle-Bug, The Woggle-Bug, the Bug, the Educated Woggle-Bug, the educated Woggle-Bug, Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug
Once an ordinary bug crawling under stones, the Woggle-Bug was enlarged by a schoolhouse magnifying glass and emerged convinced he is owed curiosity and admiration. He announces his degree with a condescending smile, delivers his own history as a formal recital, and treats every occasion as an audience for his erudition. His pompous self-regard makes him the party's comic counterweight — and a running test of whether education without sense is worth much in Oz.
Gump
supporting
Also known as the Gump, Gump, The Gump
Assembled in haste from whatever the palace offered, the Gump is a patchwork Thing with a monarch's antlers and a broom for a tail, forced to fly though his legs are useless. He carries the fugitives through the air while quietly resenting his upholstered condition, and his plea to be taken apart is granted once the journey is done. The head, hung back over the mantelpiece, keeps talking anyway — an odd afterlife that makes him linger in memory.
General Jinjur
supporting
Also known as Queen Jinjur, Jinjur, So Jinjur, Queen, poor Jinjur
Jinjur marches on the gates demanding surrender, and when the Guardian laughs her off, her girls pull their needles and jab him into handing over the keys. The city falls without a drop of blood, its royal army fleeing rather than face women — and the rebels pause mid-conquest to pry emeralds from the paving stones. Her revolt is both a genuine coup and a joke about it, and the throne she seizes turns out to rest on a claim even she cannot defend.
Princess Ozma
major
Also known as Ozma, little Ozma, Princess Ozma of Oz, the Princess Ozma, Queen Ozma
Ozma is the missing piece in every argument about who should rule — the daughter Pastoria left behind, whose existence Glinda forces the Scarecrow to confront. Her fate is tangled with Mombi's transformations and the Wizard's three visits, secrets the old witch refuses to surrender even under threat of death. The search for her turns a squabble over a stolen throne into a question of legitimacy, and the answer reshapes Oz entirely.
Jellia Jamb
minor
Also known as Jellia
A maid in the Emerald City palace who assists the Scarecrow.
Wizard of Oz
minor
Also known as Oz, the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard, the Wizard of Oz
The former ruler of Oz, mentioned but not appearing in person.
Guardian of the Gate
minor
Also known as the Guardian
The keeper of the Emerald City's gates.
Jackdaws
minor
Also known as the Jackdaws, The Jackdaws, the mischievous Jackdaws, the chattering Jackdaws
A flock of thieving birds that steal the Gump's tail feathers.
Dorothy
minor
Also known as little Dorothy
A girl from Kansas mentioned as a past visitor to Oz.
Winkies
minor
Also known as the Winkies
The people of the western land ruled by the Tin Woodman.
Griffin
minor
Also known as the Griffin, Griffin
A mythical creature encountered during the journey.
Pastoria
minor
Also known as The former King of this City, who was named Pastoria
The former king of the Emerald City, father of Ozma.
Munchkins
minor
Also known as the Munchkins
The people of the eastern land of Oz.
Gillikins
minor
Also known as the Gillikins
The people of the northern land of Oz.
Winged Monkeys
minor
Also known as the Winged Monkeys, Winged Monkeys
Flying monkeys who serve the Golden Cap's owner.
Professor Nowitall
minor
Also known as Professor Nowitall
A learned character briefly mentioned in the story.
Dr. Nikidik
minor
Also known as Nikidik
The inventor of the Powder of Life and Wishing Pills.
