Why will Dorothy miss Scarecrow the most of all?

Question

Near the end of The Wizard of Oz, after Glinda informs Dorothy she can go back to Kansas, Dorothy says her goodbyes to her traveling companions. When she gets to the Scarecrow, she simply embraces him and cries, "I think I'll miss you most of all."

...Why? She didn't seem to be any closer to him than either of the other Ozites. She knew him for, like, an hour more than she knew the others, and I guess he came up with the apple thing, but I can't see any reason she'd be more endeared to Scarecrow than Lion or Tin Man. And while we're at it, Dorothy says she'll miss him most while her other friends are standing right there! Simply put, why does this line exist?

I presented this question to my mother, and she thought that it was an indication that Dorothy may have had some unstated fondness for Scarecrow's Earthling counterpart--that is, farmhand Hunk. However, this doesn't seem to have any evidence besides after-the-fact reasoning, and besides, I'm not sure Dorothy was meant to have recognized the similarity between the Ozites and Kansans. (A unsourced sentence on the Scarecrow wikipedia page seems to endorse this theory, claiming a scripted but unfilmed scene included Dorothy promising to write a college-bound Hunk.)

Why would Dorothy say she'd miss Scarecrow most of all when there doesn't seem to be any reason behind it?

Answer 1

Based on the movie alone, since I haven't read the book (or any in what would become a series of books), and though it's been a while since I've seen it, I would say that Dorothy will miss the Scarecrow most because he sacrificed the most during her time in Oz.

The most harm that came to anyone, came to the Scarecrow. The Tin Man had to be oiled to join the group, but not much else happened to him. The Cowardly Lion was scared a few times, but didn't suffer any tangible damage. The Scarecrow joined Dorothy from almost the start of her trip, in fact guiding her along from a fork in the Yellow Brick Road. Along the way he was dismembered and unstuffed by the flying monkeys, then set on fire by the Wicked Witch, and I'll even count that run in with the apple trees since he slap fights a tree and gets beaned with an apple.

Throughout this suffering, he stays pretty happy and is devoted to the cause. The Tin Man could have learned a thing or two, because the Scarecrow has heart. That's why Dorothy will miss him most of all- through thick and thin and dismemberment, as well as from end to end, he'll be there, for her and the rest of them.

Answer 2

Because that scared timid scarecrow who was not all that smart represented a portion of her that she felt she no longer had. That innocence was gone, she no longer felt naive. Whereas she still needed courage, and compassion that was represented by the lion and the tin man.

Answer 3

It is because she met him first and they formed a tight bond. There's no other explanation. (Also they had an awesome sing-a-long) :D

Answer 4

I think this is a reference to the parts of the film that were ultimately deleted, as are a few others.

What we didn't see in the finished film were scenes at the beginning, where Hunk and Dorothy are having a conversation which alludes to the true nature of their relationship and where Hunk is tinkering with a windmill-like invention of his. We do, however, hear Auntie Em make a reference to the deleted scene when she scolds Hunk, saying "don't think I didn't see you tinkering with that contraption of yours" (or similar words).

Another reference to a deleted scene is when the Witch, while watching through her crystal ball says to her monkey Dorothy and her friends should be easy to capture, because she sent out "a little insect to take the fight out of them". This, of course, is in reference to the infamous deleted Jitterbug scene with Dorothy and the Scarecrow. So, Dorothy and Scarecrow had been through a bit more together than the others.

However, had the scene at the beginning of the film between Dorothy and Hunk not been deleted, Dorothy telling Scarecrow she was going to miss him most of all would have made perfect sense.

Answer 5

Those words were not in the original script. Judy was allowed to say them as a personal tribute to the man who played the scarecrow (Ray Bolger?). He counseled her and encouraged her during the filming. Judy was under tremendous pressure and almost suffered a nervous breakdown during it all. She probably wouldn't have made it without him.

Answer 6

We all have our favorites in life. Our favorite pet, our favorite sibling,even our favorite child. We may love them all equally but differently at the same time. I think everyone is trying to read more into it than there is. She simply was going to miss him most and that's okay.

Answer 7

Scarecrow, despite his sense of himself as brainless, is the wisest of Dorothy's companions. She meets him first, and he encourages her on her quest. From the moment they meet, he possesses the heart that Tin Man lacks and the courage lacking in Lion, and he is the most selfless and decent of a pretty good bunch of companions. I'm in love with him myself.

Answer 8

Dorothy will miss the Scarecrow the most because the Scarecrow joined Dorothy from almost the start of her trip. In essence, he was her FIRST friend in a scary strange land. Imagine HOW fightening it would have felt to Dorothy, alone except for Toto, in that strange place So after Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, she no longer felt alone. After all, he could talk to her, so she wasn't lonely. And, don't WE all feel a little safer in scary places when we have a friend along?

Answer 9

I think the answer is quite simple. Although I agree with the fact she met scarecrow first, Dorothy, being from Kansas (cornfields and such), a scarecrow is a symbol of familiarity, therefore making her more attached to that character.