Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

How many of you have read or seen the musical Wicked? It is a great story based on the book Wicked by Gregory Maguire and it tells the story about how the Wicked Witch of the West became wicked. (Or Does It?) This book and musical point out to us the fact that sometimes we judge others without knowing all the facts. It seems that we in our society today, jump on what we have heard instead of learning all the facts.

If we were to take a moment before we jump to conclusions then we might be in a better place to have an opinion about a person, subject, or thing. In the story of Wicked, which is the pre sequel to the Wizard of Oz, we find that Glinda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) are roommates in college. Glinda and Elphaba do not like each other because one is green and the other is ‘Popular’ (a song in the show) and Glinda is trying to change Elphaba by making her popular. They then become good friends by understanding each other and respecting each other. An issue arises in the land of Oz and Elphaba takes up the cause and is then seen as Wicked.

The book was published on September 28, 1996 and the musical debuted on May 28 2003 and has been going strong ever since. What makes this concept so effective is that we see a different side of the Wicked Witch of the West. I saw the musical in last month with a bunch of 5th graders from a lot of the public schools in New York City. I found that the students got the message of not judging others but rather learning about why things happened.  

So many other lines exist like; Beauty is only skin deep, Appearances are often misleading, Looks are deceiving, and so many other quick one lines that tell us not to judge but rather learn the facts. In our society today we are quick to jump on rumor, hearsay, and prejudice. Let’s take a step back and learn the facts before we jump to any conclusion.