What do raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens have in common?
That’s easy, they relay the personality type that Oscar Hammerstein II was establishing for Maria to the audience! Let’s explore this a bit more:
First off, why do we have favorite things? Personally, I think people pick a favorite something-or-other for the same reason that they wear certain types of clothing: they want to establish ‘style’ to help define themselves for others. Now, hear me out on this one. If a man were stranded alone on a dessert island, there would be no need for him to firmly establish his ‘favorite’ anything. He would simply decide which items were best for which situations – This palm tree is best to sit under when it’s sunny, but this palm tree is best for climbing when the tiger comes into camp. Favorites only come into play when you are interacting with other people and someone asks you “What is your favorite ____?” And depending on your answer, you are helping the other person understand you a little better.
Secondly, what do our favorite things say about us? This one is easy, our favorite things say exactly what we want them to about us. For instance, Dick asks Jane what her favorite color is. Under no circumstances would Jane ever answer a simple ‘Yellow’ and leave it at that. Jane would say ‘Yellow. It always reminds me of the sunflower fields my mother took me to as a child.’ And that second part is the important bit. That’s what we want people to know about us when we decide a favorite. A favorite is never a favorite by itself, it is carefully chosen along with a memory, or a personality trait that we cherish, and wish to relay to others.
What about when someone doesn’t have a favorite? Well, that’s just as easy to answer. Say Jane replies to Dick’s question ‘And what is your favorite color?’ Dick responds ‘I don’t have a favorite, I hate being constrained by society to have only one favorite thing when they’re all good.’ Well, Dick is simply expressing that he does not want to be forced into something because of societal pressure.
And last, what does it mean when we change our favorite thing? It means that we are maturing. Every year, every single one of us knows more about life than we did a year ago. We each have had different experiences, have new memories, new friends, etc. And now we have decided that we have a new ‘face’ to show the world. Perhaps Jane has now started dating Dick, and loves his beautiful green eyes. Well, Jane is going to tell any person that asks, her favorite color is green, and do you know why? So she can immediately hijack the conversation and tell that unfortunate soul every wonderful thing about Dick that she can think of.
As for me? Well, I love having favorite things. I’ve kept track of them my whole life. I remember all of my favorite colors from when I was a child. I remember the year I decided to pick my favorite song. I remember how hard it was to change my favorite movie. I’ll update this page occasionally and tell you all about my wonderful favorites.