George Michael R.

Espenilla 4PHL
An Analysis of Tin Woodman in light of Platonic Virtues
Plato conceives of the soul as having (at least) three parts: a rational part (the part that
loves truth, which should rule over the other parts of the soul through the use of reason), a
spirited part (which loves honor and victory), and an appetitive part (which desires food, drink,
and sex), and justice will be that condition of the soul in which each of these three parts “does its
own work,” and does not interfere in the workings of the other parts 1.In watching the Wizard of
Oz (1939) three characters represent each of these parts. This section will discuss on Tin
Woodman.
The Wizard of Oz (1939) Tin Woodman is the second companion Dorothy encounters in
her quest to meet the Wizard of Oz; the first is the Scarecrow, and the third is the Cowardly
Lion. The Character Tin Woodman first seen stationary and rusted near a cottage surrounded by
tree stumps and trees, holding his axe. The character design of the Tin Woodman can be
associated by the cold feeling one feels upon touching metal and the expression that someone is
cold and warmth is usually associated to emotions and love. His personality is quite
contradictory to his claim of not having a heart since he is the most passionate in the party. The
character Tin Woodsman or Tinman stays true to book save for the fact that his origin wasn’t
explained and the only hint of it is his mention of the Tinsmith forgetting about giving him a
heart.
The Tin Woodman journeys with Dorothy and the Scarecrow to the Wizard of Oz to
obtain a heart. He longs for a heart for he feels that he is hollow inside. During their journey
along the yellow brick road, Tin Woodman expresses a lot of compassion for his companions;
Suggesting that he does not lack a heart but simply doesn’t realize that he does. True love is the
daughter of temperance, and temperance is utterly opposed to the madness of bodily pleasure.
Enough has been said of music, which makes a fair ending with love. 2 The Tin Woodman longs
for a heart even though his whole body is made of metal. He pursues the heart the symbol of
emotion but doesn’t long for the sense of touch. In a sense he practices the Virtue of Temperance
or Moderation as he pursues to gain the ability to love and be loved (even though he is already

1
" Plato [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." [The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
July 2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/plato/>.
2
The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Republic, by Plato (Translated by Benjamin Jowett) p. 50
capable of doing so) yet doesn’t even utters the need to regain his original or a human body; A
body that can enjoy the earthly pleasures.