If I try here to describe it, it is in order not to forget it. It is sad to forget a friend. Everyone did not have a friend. by Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince).
Six years ago (the current date is never specified), my plane crashed in the Sahara desert. The question of life and death prepared me to try to succeed, though, I hardly had food and water to survive. My ordeal continued for eight days. I was waiting for the worst of time ahead but the so-called nightmare magically turned out to be a beautiful dream which I have painted in the form of a book called ’The Little Prince’.(written in 1942).
The first evening, I thus fell asleep on sand completely isolated. But to my surprise a funny voice awoke me. I jumped on my feet in astonishment and saw a little child. As he asked me to draw a sheep, I made and re-made 4 sheeps, yet he was unsatisfied. Than I drew a case and showed it to him saying: The sheep that you want is inside. And I was quite surprised to see the illuminated face of my young judge.
This is how this Little Prince became the central character of my dream and my friend too. I learnt from him that he comes from a small planet as he calls it Asteroid 325. He took great care of the planet. One day, a mysterious rose sprouted on the planet. He fell in love with it instantly. One day he caught the rose in a lie, so he leaves the planet as he could not trust her anymore. He decided to explore other planets and cure his loneliness.
The journey begins with the first six planets he visits. He meets all different kinds of characters like a king, a drunkard, a businessman, a lamplighter, and a geographer. All of whom are self-centered and their strange behavior perturbs him. He only admired the faithfulness of lamplighter. He does not learn anything useful from others. However, he learns from the geographer that flowers do not last forever. This made him miss the rose he has left behind. The geographer suggests him to visit the planet Earth.
Here he meets a snake and a fox. The wise fox teaches him what is more important in life. The knowledge that fox instills in his heart makes a strong impact in taking decisions.
I realised that its our eighth day in the desert. We together shared a moment of bliss agreeing that too many people do not see what is truly important in life. However, his mind is fixed on returning to his rose. Therefore, he begins to make plans with the snake. I too, by that time fixed my plane. We both were sad to depart. The snake bites the prince, who falls noiselessly on the sand.
Next day when I didn’t find my Little Prince’s body, I was confident that the prince has returned to his asteroid. I could hear the tinkling of my friend’s laughter in the stars, who seem to be comforting me. Often, I wonder if the sheep I drew has eaten the prince’s rose. I conclude my ordeal here with the request to all of you to stop for a while under the stars. If you ever see my Little Precious Star, do let me know immediately if the little prince has returned.
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In-depth Analysis: Major Characters:
The Little Prince: He is pure and natural, curious to know everything. He symbolizes the hope, love and a child’s innocence. At times he becomes a student as well as a teacher. What he learns from the wise fox, he passes it on to the narrator. He is thirsty for answers, always searching for something.
The Narrator: He learns from the fox that we must explore our surroundings for personal growth which can’t be learnt from books or other’s teachings. The only difference between the two characters is that the narrator is a human being who grows with time and the prince is mystical and superficial figure.
The Rose: Rose’s nature is another symbolic character. The proud, she holds makes the prince desert her. It is said that the author here relates his own life with that of the prince and the rose. Hence, the question of true love, sharing, importance comes from his personal life.
The Fox: The lessons of taming, that fox teaches, sounds to be the sole purpose of the character. The fox makes the prince understand why his rose is so important to him. It displays an ideal type of friendship as the departure of the
prince is painful for his friend-fox still encourages the prince to act in his own best interest.
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Frequent use of Themes, Motifs and Symbols make readers understand the Narrator well.
Themes used in the novel:
-Narrow-mindedness and its losses: In the opening pages, he shows how differently adults and children view the world. In his eyes grown-ups are dull, superficial, unimaginative and have limited perspectives. The children, on the contrary, are imaginative and sensitive to the mystery and beauty of the world.
-Enlightenment through exploration is important for him. The spiritual growth for him involves active exploration of the world around us.
-Relationships Teach Responsibilities. The story of the prince and the rose is associated with the relationship between a man and a woman. The sense of responsibility towards the other is the source of love. Giving is more important than thinking what the other person is offering.
Motifs in the form of secrecy - the fox’s statement that ’’Anything essential is invisible to the eye’’. Than Snake’s riddles and hints, narrator’s drawings also are the beliefs that everything can’t be explained in mere words. Through imaginations we go back to the lost innocence of our youth. Taming, fox explains, means ’’creating ties’’ with others. It is important to observe certain rites and rituals to remain well-connected to the world around us.
Symbols like Stars, Desert, Water describe the association of man’s navigating through the mysteries of the outer space. It symbolises the absence of the Prince and the loneliness of the narrator. The desert represents the narrator’s mind. It seeks more experience and guidance from others for transformation through learning. In the end, the drinking water indicates the spiritual fulfillment.
The Author
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a well-known French writer and the pioneer of aviation. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1900. Flying was his passion, during the flight he used to meditate and it was more of a time for reflection. While in the air, he would often think deeply about solitude, friendship, the meaning of life, the human condition and liberty. It is then he decided to publish his reflections into a book. His novel ’The Little Prince’ is, in part, autobiographical and belongs to the category of fantasy literature, that is expressed in Voltaire’s ’Candide’ as well. On July 31, 1944, Saint Exupéry left for his last mission. His plane was destroyed by the Germans over the Mediterranean.
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