Constructed being in The Oz Series
the Gump
Also known as the Gump's head, the queer Thing, the head over the mantle-piece, an antlered head, the finest Flying Machine.
A flying machine assembled by the Tin Woodman from palace rubbish and brought to life by Tip: two upholstered sofas bound edge to edge for a body, four royal palm-leaves for wings, a broom for a tail, and a mounted Gump's head (an antlered elk-like head) as figure-head, animated with the last of the Powder of Life.
Appears in 9 chapters, first in chapter 41, last in chapter 85.
This encyclopedia covers chapters 1 to 100 of the story and shows the world as it stands at chapter 100, so it contains spoilers up to that point. To read it spoiler free, one chapter at a time, open the interactive codex.
What the story establishes
| Affiliation | Newly animated by Tip and serving the escaping party (Tip, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Woggle-Bug, and the Saw-Horse) as their flying machine. (as of ch. 41) |
| Age | Newly alive — brought to life only moments ago in this chapter. (as of ch. 41) |
| Animating lack | Only its wings, sofas, broom, and head were sprinkled; the legs of the sofas were deliberately left un-animated because the powder was nearly gone and a flying creature was judged not to need living legs. |
| Appearance | Its figure-head is a Gump's head resembling an Elk's head with the nose turned up, wiggling chin whiskers, and a broom for a tail; its body is two sofas bound edge to edge, and after its right wings were broken off it flew on its two left wings until all four wings were magically mended and restored, its glass eyes untouched throughout. (as of ch. 43) |
| Being nature | A manufactured, assembled construct — not biologically born — pieced together from furniture and salvage and then brought to life with the Powder of Life. |
| Body conditions | Its eyes are of glass and cannot be injured by pecking; after losing both right wings in the crash it hung helpless with only its two left wings, then was magically restored to perfect repair, as sound and able to fly as when first brought to life. |
| Conflict | Its inexperience at flying is its undoing: unused to the air and unable to judge its own speed, it cannot turn safely, is carried out of Oz, and wrecks itself against the rocks. (as of ch. 42) |
| Construction material | Two upholstered sofas (body), four royal palm-leaves (wings), a broom (tail), and a mounted antlered Gump's head (figure-head/head), all bound together with ropes and clothes-lines. |
| Creation account | Built on the palace roof by the Tin Woodman from a heap of salvaged materials, then brought to life by Tip, who sprinkled it with the Powder of Life and spoke the three cabalistic words with the accompanying hand-gestures. |
| Current goal | To be dispersed — taken apart and freed from its unwanted upholstered servitude, wishing it had never been brought to life. (as of ch. 48) |
| Dialogue style | Speaks in a squeaky voice oddly small for its bulk, in a wry, melancholy, self-deprecating register: it comments philosophically on its own ugliness, poor construction, and servitude with resigned, faintly comic gloom. (as of ch. 42) |
| Equipment | Adorned by the party with several large seal rings placed on the points of its antlers — a decoration the odd creature seemed by no means gratified to receive. (as of ch. 44) |
| Health condition | Fully restored: after being wrecked in the crash, its broken wings are wished mended and it lies 'in perfect repair, and as well able to fly through the air as when it had first been brought to life' — sound and airworthy again. (as of ch. 43) |
| Is alive | yes |
| Maintenance needs | Its palm-leaf wings can be broken off, disabling its flight, and must be mended or replaced before it can fly again — here restored by a Wishing-Pill wish that made its broken wings as good as new. |
| Material vulnerabilities | Its wings are fragile and can be snapped off against a hard edge (it broke off both right wings on the sharp rock), and its sofa-body can be wrecked in a crash; its glass eyes, however, cannot be injured by pecking. |
| Maturation stage | In its very first day of existence — a newly-alive mind with no experience of the world or of its own body. |
| Modular parts | Assembled from separable parts: two sofas forming the body, four palm-leaf wings, a broom tail, and a mounted Gump's head as the head/figure-head. |
| Motive | To do its best to please its masters by carrying them through the air wherever they wish, having accepted its role as their servant. (as of ch. 42) |
| Personality | Wry, melancholy, and resigned, with a dry self-deprecating wit; docile and cooperative, accepting servitude without pride or protest, and candid about its own poor construction and inexperience. (as of ch. 42) |
| Quirks | On coming to life it gave the screeching cry familiar to Gumps, and its furiously flopping wings raise a terrible breeze strong enough to blow bystanders off the roof. (as of ch. 41) |
| Referential profile | neuter (as of ch. 41) |
| Sex profile | nonbiological (as of ch. 41) |
| Skills | Can fly by flopping its four huge wings and steer toward a heading, and can turn its head to speak; but it is wholly inexperienced at flight — its unused legs feel asleep, it rocks and cannot safely turn about in the air, and it cannot judge its landing speed, which causes it to crash. (as of ch. 42) |
| Social status | No longer a flying machine: at its own request it is taken apart, its components returned to household use, and only its antlered head remains, hung over the mantle-piece. (as of ch. 48) |
| Special capabilities | Flight: it flaps its four wings hard enough to raise a terrible breeze and lift its huge bulk into the air, and it can steer and circle in flight; its living head lets it hear and obey spoken commands. |
| Status | Dispersed at its own request: the sofas untied, broom returned to the kitchen, ropes replaced; only the antlered head remains over the mantle-piece, still talking whenever it takes a notion. (as of ch. 48) |
Relationships
- subordinate to → Tip ch. 41As the being who brought it to life, Tip commands the Gump, which obeys his spoken orders — halting its uncommanded ascent and returning to the roof at his word.
- animates ← Tip (ended) ch. 41Tip brings the assembled flying machine to life, sprinkling it with the last of the Powder of Life and speaking the magic charm, whereupon the Gump shudders alive, cries out, and flaps its wings.
- creates ← Tin Woodman (ended) ch. 41The Tin Woodman builds the flying machine (the Gump) on the palace roof from salvaged materials, binding two sofas together for a body, fastening the antlered Gump's head as a figure-head, adding four palm-leaves as wings and a broom as a tail.
- repairs ← Woggle-Bug (ended) ch. 43The Woggle-Bug wishes the Gump's broken wings mended and as good as new; the wish is granted instantly, leaving the Gump in perfect repair and able to fly as when first animated.
- provides service → Dorothy's Traveling Party (ended) ch. 42–48The Gump serves as the party's flying steed. After its crash broke off its right wings and grounded it, its transport service is restored in the Jackdaws' nest when the Woggle-Bug's wish mends its wings 'as good as new', leaving it once more able to fly the whole band through the air.
- defeats → Jackdaws (ended) ch. 43The Gump frees itself from the peg of rock and, wildly waving its two remaining left wings, so terrifies the Jackdaws that the whole flock flees screaming over the mountains, breaking the attack.
- destroys ← Ozma (ended) ch. 48At the Gump's own request as its reward, Ozma orders it taken apart: its antlered head is hung over the mantel, the sofas untied, the broom returned to the kitchen, and the ropes replaced — ending it as a flying machine.
- commands ← Tip (ended) ch. 41When the newly-alive Gump rises uncontrolled from the roof, Tip commands it to come back at once, and the Gump turns its head and obeys, settling back onto the roof.
- communicates with ← Dorothy (ended) ch. 85Dorothy is startled to hear the mounted Gump's Head speak to her from the wall, and it explains to her its history as the animated Head of the Flying Machine before being taken apart and hung up again.
- located in → Palace of Oz (ended) ch. 41–42The Gump has been taken apart; only its stuffed antlered Head remains, mounted on the wall over the fireplace in the palace hall, where it still occasionally talks.
- commands ← Tip (ended) ch. 42Tip directs the Gump's flight, ordering it to fly south and low, then commanding it to turn back and to stop at the first level place when they realize they have left Oz.
- commands ← Tip (ended) ch. 46Eager to follow Glinda's chase, Tip orders the Gump to fly and mount into the air so the party can spot which way the Sorceress has gone.
- animates ← Ozma (ended) ch. 85The mounted, antlered head recounts that it was once part of the Gump, a Flying Machine that Ozma brought to life with the Powder of Life; the Gump performed many feats before being taken apart, and the head was returned to hang on the wall.
From the text
Please take me to pieces. I did not wish to be brought to life, and I am greatly ashamed of my conglomerate personality.Chapter 48
the Gump gave the screeching cry that is familiar to those animals, and then the four wings began flopping furiouslyChapter 41
“This,” said the Gump, in a squeaky voice not at all proportioned to the size of its great body, “is the most novel experience I ever heard of.”Chapter 42