<P> Many of the characters , props , and ideas in the novel were drawn from Baum 's experiences . As a child , Baum frequently had nightmares of a scarecrow pursuing him across a field . Moments before the scarecrow 's `` ragged hay fingers '' nearly gripped his neck , it would fall apart before his eyes . Decades later , as an adult , Baum integrated his tormentor into the novel as the Scarecrow . According to his son Harry , the Tin Woodman was born from Baum 's attraction to window displays . He wished to make something captivating for the window displays , so he used an eclectic assortment of scraps to craft a striking figure . From a washboiler he made a body , from bolted stovepipes he made arms and legs , and from the bottom of a saucepan he made a face . Baum then placed a funnel hat on the figure , which ultimately became the Tin Woodman . John D. Rockefeller was the nemesis of Baum 's father , an oil baron who declined to purchase Standard Oil shares in exchange for selling his own oil refinery . Baum scholar Evan I. Schwartz posited that Rockefeller inspired one of the Wizard 's numerous faces . In one scene in the novel , the Wizard is seen as a `` tyrannical , hairless head '' . When Rockefeller was 54 years old , the medical condition alopecia caused him to lose every strand of hair on his head , making people fearful of speaking to him . </P>
where did the idea for the wizard of oz come from
drawn from Baum 's experiences