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THE LITTLE PRINCE PRESENTATION

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Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

THE LITTLE PRINCE

10. Contact

8. Characters

7. Analysis

3. More info

2. Information

1. Introduction

The Little Prince is a short story by the French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which tells the tale of a little prince who sets off from his asteroid on a journey through the universe, in which he discovers the strange way adults see life and comes to understand the value of love and friendship.

The Little Prince

Introduction

Due to its simple and direct style, it was considered more of a children's book. However, its deep character and his reflections on life, society, and love make it a story that's of interest to everyone.

For everyone

The Little Prince is considered one of the best books of all time and a contemporary classic of universal literature.

Essential reading

Important information

The book has been translated into many languages and adapted for various different formats, such as theatre, cinema, an animated series, a ballet and an opera.

Languages and formats

It was published in 1943 in the United States as, due to the second world war, it could not be printed in France.

Publication

What is essential is invisible to the eye.

The essential is invisible to the eye.

"One must require from each one the duty which each one can perform."

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

"If, for example, you came at four o'clock in the afternoon, then at three o'clock I shall begin to be happy."

The fox is the first friend the prince meets on his journey.

The flower is the object of the prince's love. But his relationship with it is complicated.

The pilot is the narrator of the story. He meets the little prince when his plane breaks down in the middle of the Sahara desert.

The little prince is the main character. He lives on an asteroid, which he leaves to travel the universe in search of a friend.

Most of his literary output was written during his exile in the United States, to which he was assigned with the mission of convincing the American government to declare war on Germany during the Second World War.

Literary works

He was an aviator and writer. Part of his experience as a pilot inspired him to write The Little Prince.

About Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The author of The Little Prince was born in Lyon, France, in 1900, and died on the island of Riou, France, in 1944.

www.genial.ly

The Literary Edit

Review: The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I often wonder if I’ll ever reach a point in my reading life where I’m satisfied by the amount of books I’ve read; where I can say with confidence that I’ve read the classics and the critically acclaimed that have long haunted my to-be-read pile. Thus far, 2019 has been a good year for books: I read my first Agatha Christie, I read a Russian classic hailed by many as the best book of the twentieth century. I finished thirteen books in January; more in the months that have since passed. I too have read my first book by an Indonesian author, and a couple of contemporary novels I’ve had my eye on for a while. And yet, and yet, there are still many hundred of books I fear I may never get around to reading, unless given a particular reason to do so.

The Little Prince was one of the said unread books until a fortnight ago. While I’m sure I may have read it as a child, as an adult it’s always been a book that had never quite made it to my list of reading priorities until a friend recommended it recently. I had just finished The Master and Margarita when I was queuing for a coffee at my local bookshop in Bondi, Gertrude & Alice, and I saw they had the Penguin Classic edition was on sale. With no plans for the rest of the morning, hot drink in hand, I settled myself down to read, the air infused with coffee beans and the hum of idle chatter.

Beloved by many since its first publication in 1943, Antoine De Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince is an enchanting fable imbued with life lessons that tells the tale of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the intricacies of adult behaviour through a series of unexpected encounters.

A profound and poetic tale, the story is a philosophical one and through its social criticism of the adult world, reminds its readers that we were all children once. Written during a period when Saint-Exupéry fled to North America subsequent to the Fall of France during the Second World War, it is, according to one review, “…an allegory of Saint-Exupéry’s own life—his search for childhood certainties and interior peace, his mysticism, his belief in human courage and brotherhood, and his deep love for his wife Consuelo but also an allusion to the tortured nature of their relationship.”

Rich with timeless lessons that are cushioned behind layers of delightful story-telling. The Little Prince is the sort of book that will inspire wonder and reflection, even in the most cynical, and world-weary adult.

And so, to end, my favourite quote from this poignant and profound novella: “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”

About The Little Prince

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

About Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Antoine De Saint-Exupéry was born in 1900 in Lyon. In 1921, he began his training as a pilot By 1926, he had became one of the pioneers of international postal flight. In 1935 he embarked on a record-breaking attempt to fly from Paris to Saigon. Nineteen hours into the flight, his plane crashed in the Sahara desert. He survived the crash but spent three days battling dehydration, limited food and hallucinations. On the fourth day, the was rescued. In part, this experience was the inspiration for  The Little Prince . He continued to fly until World War II, during which he took self-imposed exile. On 31 July 1944, he disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance mission.

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4 comments on “Review: The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry”

What a lovely post! I am a new subscriber from Sweden. Looking forward to read more reviews from you!

Thanks for stopping by Anna and for your lovely words – they made my day! xo

I love the little prince it’s my favourite book

It’s a really lovely, touching tale, isn’t it? xo

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Book Review: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

There are few books in the world literature legacy that equally satisfy the tastes of both children and adults. One of the first masterpieces that come to mind is probably The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This charming story takes the reader on an engaging trip all over the universe; a trip that results in fascinating discoveries and helps to realize true values. Adventures that happen during this intergalactic space investigation keep young readers’ eyes glued to the pages of the book, whereas the novella’s hidden meaning attracts a grown-up audience. For this reason, it is impossible to classify The Little Prince as children’s literature or adult literature: the book sends a relevant message to the readers of both age groups. Moreover, each generation extracts important lessons from the story. Below you will find a review of the book that will help you uncover all the secrets of this charming story.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and The Little Prince history

A wonderful book is usually a product of an extraordinary writer. The author of The Little Prince was truly that kind of man: adventurous, courageous, hopelessly in love with flying. Having turned his lifelong passion into a full-time job, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quickly became known as a remarkable French military pilot who delivered mail across continents. His thrilling and sometimes dangerous trips over the Sahara Desert and the Andes found their display in The Aviator (1926), Southern Mail (1929), Wind, Sand and Stars (1939).

The latter is centered around a horrible autobiographical event: Saint Exupéry’s hazardous attempt to break the speed record, which led to the plane crash in the Sahara Desert. Together with his navigator, he got stuck between life and death with almost no food or water. Their struggle ended thanks to Bedouin coming by and finding them desperately exhausted, dehydrated and hallucinating after four days in a desert. Probably, that accident inspired the setting of The Little Prince : the Sahara Desert, plane crash and its pilot left in the middle of nowhere.

Not only the setting but also the ending of the novella alludes to mysterious events from the author’s past: Saint-Exupéry left our world silently, without any explanation. He literally vanished without a trace. During World War II, he left occupied France and joined French Air Force, flying reconnaissance missions. In 1940 he traveled to the US and had to stay there for long 27 months. For this reason, his magnum opus was published far away from his Motherland.

When was The Little Prince written? It happened in 1942 in Long Island, NY, USA. Silvia Hamilton, his friend, was handed a real treasure: the author’s manuscript and his own watercolor drawings stained with coffee and holed with cigarette burns. The Little Prince illustrations together with original manuscripts were exhibited in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York to honor the story’s 70th anniversary.

Triple genre of The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry skillfully combined the features of three different literature genres, so The Little Prince is considered to be a mix of parable, allegory, and fable. As a parable, it holds significant moral value to the readers, fulfilling a didactic function. Moral lessons about relationship, responsibility, and commitment aim to teach the audience rather than merely entertain.

Being an allegory, the story conveys two meanings: a literal one and a figurative one. Basically, a reader is presented with a story of unexpected travel experiences of a weird boy. However, every event and every dialogue in a book holds deep symbolism and hidden meaning.

Finally, The Little Prince is also a fable, since the author grants inanimate objects the ability to speak and think. Both animals and plants reflect human characters, which appears to be captivating for kids, making the process of reading a pleasure for them. This is why the book is so popular among all age groups: kids perceive it as a story with a thrilling plot, whereas older readers think deeper and try to recognize the core essence of allegories and symbols, enjoying ‘decoding’ the treasures hidden in verbal images.

The Little Prince characters

The story demonstrates an incredibly deep gap between childhood and mature age, illustrating how differently kids and adults perceive life. It is best revealed through the dialogues of two main characters who share their adventures. Apart from them, there are other characters of minor importance, each serving as embodiment of some remarkable feature. So, minor characters from a relevant background help the main hero to grasp the real state of things, hence contributing to the general concept of the story. The Little Prince characters analysis emphasizes the purity of children as opposed to weird and often wrong principles of the adults.

The Narrator

He lands his plane in the desert due to an engine trouble. While repairing it, he encounters a pale boy with curly gold hair who approaches him with a request to draw a sheep. The Narrator then shows him his own childhood drawing of a boa eating an elephant. When he was a kid, adults could never guess what he meant by that sketch and insisted on him quitting drawing. Surprisingly, the curly boy immediately understands the inner meaning. Such an extraordinary acquaintance initiates friendship between these two heroes. Later on, the Narrator feels a strong bond that ties him with his little friend, reminding him of a sincere, naive, optimistic world of childhood and its real values.

The Little Prince

The curly boy was given the name “the Little Prince” by the narrator. He comes from a distant Asteroid B-612 and considers this star to be his home for which he bears full responsibility. The boy takes care of his own little planet grubbing up harmful baobab roots and cleaning out three tiny volcanoes in order to prevent eruptions. Above all, his mind and heart belong to a Rose that once appeared on his planet. She is far too arrogant and demanding, so the Prince comes to the point when he cannot stand her anymore, though he still deeply loves her. He sets off on a long trip investigating five nearby planets aiming to find answers to eternal life questions. Finally, the boy visits the Earth and makes friends with the Narrator. The man becomes the one who is honored with the Little Prince’s trust. Therefore, two of them ponder over the essence of life based on their mutually shared experience. The Little Prince then feels it is high time to come back to his Rose and protect her again. Even though he prepares to leave the Narrator, he wants to be remembered: every time the Narrator looks at the starry sky, he is reminded of the Prince and their friendship.

He is the one who teaches the Little Prince the most valuable lesson: essential things can only be seen by heart, not eyes. That explains everything to the main hero, including his relationship with his Rose. The Fox asks the Prince to tame him as ‘taming’ means surrounding someone with love, kindness, and appreciation.

Being the Little Prince’s property and totally depending on him, she behaves as if she is a master, and the Prince should please her. The Rose claims to be absolutely unique and the most beautiful ever, so everyone must adore her peculiarity. In fact, she is intolerable, capricious, and naughty, which makes her owner exhausted. The Rose represents the woman who is hard to love but whose vulnerability and grace irresistibly attracts others.

The King on Asteroid B-325

Having a rat as his only subordinate, the King assures the Little Prince in his almightiness and power. He believes that even the sun obeys his orders when rising and setting down. The King treats the Little Prince as his new subordinate which seems fairly ridiculous for the latter who sees nothing in such a man but the mindless desire to rule in the adults’ world.

The Conceited on Asteroid B-326

Being the only inhabitant on his small planet, he expects everyone to acknowledge his grandeur in beauty and intellect. Since there is no one to do that, he permanently praises himself. Consequently, the Little Prince realizes how presumptuous and self-centered the adults can be.

The Drunkard on Asteroid B 327

The man keeps drinking in order to forget the shame he feels about being a drunkard. He does not have any aims in life and lives each day in the likewise manner. The Little Prince finds out that he cannot help the desperate man, and leaves with the persuasion of how discouraged and depressed people may become if they lack any inner strength and wish for changes.

The Businessman on Asteroid B-328

Spending busy days and nights counting stars, he considers to be the owner of them. The man does not have any time to think whether dedicating his life to such a business makes sense. The Little Prince tries to persuade him that owning something means doing some favor to others, just as he does to his Rose. However, the man cannot comprehend such ideas, and the Prince leaves, disappointed at adults’ obsession and wrong standards.

The Street Lamp Lighter on Asteroid B-329

As the sunset comes, he lights the lamps on his planet. Day by day, he is doing the same job. With the pace of time, the asteroid’s turning speed is increasing, leaving the Lamp Lighter loaded with work. The Little Prince respects the efforts of this man, though adult’s life seems to be hopelessly busy and monotonous.

The Geographer on Asteroid B 330

His job is collecting important information about the world geography revealed by explorers. He does not bother to discover things on his own, but would rather wait for someone else’s news. The Little Prince is convinced that one should put efforts in order to get knowledge and wisdom, not merely sit and expect others to explain everything. As advised by the Geographer, the Prince decides to visit the Earth where he tells his adventures to the narrator. The diversity of characters in The Little Prince depicts the real world with various people, beliefs, ideas. The reader looks at the world through the eyes of the Little Prince and tries to comprehend together with him the way things should exist.

Themes in The Little Prince

The story depicts bright characters who assist in the reader’s decision-making process towards rediscovering life principles and values. Taking lessons from each episode enables the reader to distinguish important themes of the book, which are definitely worth attention. The key theme is the total contradiction between children’s and grown-ups’ perspectives of life. Sincerity, curiosity, passion, kindness inherent to kids are opposed to obsession, arrogance, apathy of the adults. The author manifests this theme with the help of other subsidiary ones:

• Necessity of enriching one’s knowledge vs. staying ignorant;
• Personal growth through new experiences;
• Acquiring wisdom through learning lessons from other people’s mistakes;
• Pursuit of true values in life;
• Meaningless waste of time;
• Dangers of self-concentration;
• Relationship equals responsibility;
• Love, friendship, and commitment;
• Realization of world’s narrow-mindedness and its impact on a person.
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry raises core questions that need to be answered by everyone. Moreover, not only does he puzzle the audience with them but also prompts on the right decisions.

Analysis of the writing style of the author

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry developed his authentic writing style that can be surely recognized. The story is told from the first-person viewpoint: the narrator is an aviator who got lost in the desert. He lets the reader know only those things that he knows himself. The man recalls some of his childhood memories, then he gets acquainted with the Little Prince and describes their dialogues. Since the Prince appears to be an experienced traveler and adventure-lover, he cannot leave his adult friend without telling him valuable things he has recently learned. Therefore, the narrator listens more than he actually talks, focusing on the extraordinary collocutor.

The author’s tone of writing may be described as ‘mysterious and secret’. The Little Prince unexpectedly appears in the middle of the Sahara desert talking about interstellar travels; animals speak with riddles; asteroids lead their own lives with a single man on each of them; the Little Prince miraculously disappears and no one knows where and how to find him. In addition, the entire story is centered around finding answers to life mysteries that cannot be completely comprehended.

Together with the writing itself, the original book contains Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s illustrations that complete the narration. Such a skillful technique makes the author’s writing style really unique.

The Little Prince literary devices

The masterly style demands a dexterous usage of literary devices. The Little Prince offers a variety of them:

• Allegory (literal and figurative, inner meaning: through the demonstration of the Prince’s travels the author shows the process of searching for life answers);
• Climax (the Fox shares his main secret with the Little Prince, which results in the boy’s decision to return to his Rose);
• Foreshadowing (the Prince asked the pilot what planet he belongs to, hinting that the story has something to do with planets, and the boy is not a usual one; the snake told the Prince that if he wanted to come back to his planet, he would need to get bitten by her);
• Imagery (engaging description of extraterrestrial worlds);
• Paradox (in the Prince’s opinion, adults should grow wiser with years, but they seem to be getting ignorant, so one has to explain every single detail to them);
• Personification (the Rose is pictured as a beautiful lady constantly dressing up and enjoying herself).

The Little Prince symbolism

Each character of the story is deeply symbolic. Moreover, even inanimate objects convey allegorical meanings. For instance, stars: the aviator navigates thanks to them, but when he meets the Little Prince, the stars acquire new meanings. When the Narrator looks up at the stars, he now knows they hold his dear friend and is reminded of eternal life mysteries and worlds not yet discovered. Therefore, stars stand for life secrets and hidden treasures.

• The desert symbol represents hostile place without means for life, just as the narrator’s state of mind at that time. The Little Prince’s optimism was like finding the well in the desert for the pilot – it guaranteed survival.
• The water symbol in The Little Prince describes the spiritual food necessary for one’s life. Like water nourishes a thirsty traveler’s body, spiritual fulfillment feeds our souls. The human spirit is what feels thirst the most, not our body. Moreover, people should not take things like a gulp of cool water for granted, but appreciate life in its details.
• Baobab trees in The Little Prince is another bright symbol in the story. Baobab seeds sprout and soon become fatal to the planet if they are not uprooted in time. The same happens with any harmful habit that leads to inevitable outcome if not given up before it’s too late.
• Planet symbolism lies in reminding us we are the only ones responsible for the well-being of our own little planets (aka lives). Each of us has a choice: whether to follow the Little Prince’s example and make the planet protected from dangerous ‘roots’, spread care, kindness, and love, or turn our life into a cramped space centered around egotistical desires, obsessive tasks, routine, spending time meaninglessly, like asteroid inhabitants.
• The narrator told the story of his parents discouraging him after he had drawn the picture of a snake eating elephant . Adults saw merely a hat while the child’s imagination pictured something much greater. People perceive things differently but if you have a dream, protect it from the discouragement by all means.
• The symbolism of fox manifests itself through a famous saying about responsibility and essence of things. The Fox is like a life teacher who once appears and impacts on the way one sees the world. In fact, the Fox did not say anything sophisticated. On the contrary, his wisdom lies in the simplicity: the only thing needed is to stop rushing and listen to what the heart speaks.
• The Prince symbol meaning is revealed in two dimensions: as a pure-hearted child with optimistic ideas who lives in his own positive bright world, and as an open-minded person who strives to lead meaningful life devoting himself to people around.

Thus, symbolism of The Little Prince is one of the book’s crucial features. Each reader may find more symbols or reveal new tints in the already mentioned ones. Symbols give us an opportunity to think critically, and this is exactly what attracts open-minded audience.

The Little Prince quotes

The Fox appeared in the story for a short while only but no other character expressed the core essence of the story as eloquently as he did. His advice to the Little Prince is quoted worldwide, “Here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” The Little Prince fox quotes cannot leave the reader indifferent, as they deal with the deepest spheres of human life. What the fox once said was later on repeated by the Little Prince and the narrator proving his true point of view:

• “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
• “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”
• “You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed.”
• “The eyes are blind. One must look with the heart.”
• “Only the children know what they are looking for.”
• “One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets oneself be tamed.”
• “No one is ever satisfied where he is.”

Books like The Little Prince deserve eternal acknowledgment and attention. As long as people refer to them, they make a pause in their busy lives in order to think about the most important things like love, responsibility, and life goals.

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The Little Prince

Antoine de saint-exupéry.

Ask LitCharts AI: The answer to your questions

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Little Prince: Introduction

The little prince: plot summary, the little prince: detailed summary & analysis, the little prince: themes, the little prince: quotes, the little prince: characters, the little prince: symbols, the little prince: theme wheel, brief biography of antoine de saint-exupéry.

Historical Context of The Little Prince

Other books related to the little prince.

• Full Title: The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince )
• When Written: 1942
• Where Written: New York
• When Published: 1943
• Literary Period: Existentialism
• Genre: Fable/Novella
• Setting: Sahara Desert
• Climax: The fox teaches the little prince the value of his rose
• Antagonist: Grown-ups
• Point of View: First person

Extra Credit for The Little Prince

The Tale of the Rose. The character of the rose in Saint-Exupéry's novella is likely based on his real-life wife, Consuelo Suncin—herself a writer and artist—who wrote a memoir about her life and relationship with Saint-Exupéry, entitled The Tale of the Rose . The manuscript was found and published two decades after her death, in 1979.

Desert Crash. As a pioneering aviator, Saint-Exupéry had a brush with death when he crashed in the Sahara desert with his mechanic-navigator, André Prévot, in 1935. This crash is referenced in The Little Prince , with the narrator's opening dilemma, and Saint-Exupéry writes about it in more detail in his memoir, Wind, Sand, and Stars .

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The Little Prince

By antoine de saint-exupery.

‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is an interesting children's novel which tells the story of the little prince through the eyes of a young man.

In a nutshell...

"The Little Prince" tells the story of a pilot who crashes in the desert and meets the little prince, who recounts his journey across planets and teaches the pilot valuable lessons about love, responsibility, and the human condition.

Key Moments

• The Little Prince meets the Fox : The fox teaches him the meaning of taming and love.
• The Little Prince’s decision to return home : He accepts the snake’s bite to return to his planet/die.
• The Prince’s realization about his rose : He learns that love makes it special, not a rarity.

Main Characters

• The Little Prince : A curious little boy from asteroid B-612, on a space voyage.
• The Narrator : A pilot who crashes in the desert and meets the prince.
• The Fox : Another character the little prince meets that teaches him about love and relationships.

The desert symbolizes isolation and reflection, creating a perfect backdrop for the pilot and the little prince to explore deeper philosophical themes. The prince's travels through various planets emphasize the contrast between childlike wonder and adult absurdities.

Continue down for the complete summary to The Little Prince

Article written by Chioma Julie

Degree in M.C.M. Awarded Best Graduating Student in Literature-in-English at UNISEC.

Published originally in April 1943, ‘ The Little Prince ’ is categorized as a children’s book, but it is also popular among grown-ups. The simplicity of the language makes it suitable for both demographics. This novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry tells the story of a man who crashes his aircraft into a desert, where he meets someone that would go on to change his life forever- the little prince.

The novel begins with a little biography of the boy who became a young man . From there, the author takes us to the desert, where the young man encounters a peculiar character, the little prince. As a flashback, away from the desert now, the young man recalls the little prince’s story and his too, consisting of the time the little prince spent on some planets- including his, before visiting Earth, where they meet.

The narrator first introduces himself when as a boy who tries to draw a snake that swallowed an elephant. All the adults to whom he shows the picture assume he drew a hat, and the boy concludes that the adults are not very perceptive and does not attempt to engage them in his fancies any more.

Years later he crashes into the desert as a fighter pilot , which sets up the story’s rising action . His very first encounter with the little prince is a request for him to draw him (the little prince) a sheep. He tries to draw the sheep, but he after several unsuccessful attempts, owing to his lack of practice, he draws a crate and tells the little prince the sheep in in the crate. The prince is satisfied and says that this what exactly as he wished.

The story revolves around the little prince’s internal struggle to understand love, relationships, and responsibilities, particularly toward his rose, and it manages to drive this message home without being overly didactic.

The little prince goes on to tell him why he needs the sheep. He lives in a plant far away known as B612 with three volcanoes, two active and one dead. He used to clean out the volcanoes and cut the weeds that threaten to overrun his planet. He finds the baobabs particularly difficult to manage and would like the sheep to get rid of the boababs.

Continuing his story, the little prince tells the narrator about a rose flower he owns and tends to, because he loves her. He thinks she does not appreciate him enough and she has a habit of playing up her issues to get him to pay her much attention. He even builds her a glass shelter to keep her safe. When he can’t bear her troubles, he decides to go on an expedition to see the vast universe. The little prince leaves them behind on his little planet on a mission, one that ends up being bigger than he anticipated, a mission in which he teaches creatures a lot of lessons and learns from them in return. T he story’s central conflict, the tension between the simplicity of a child’s world and the complexity of adult thinking, is revealed through the little prince’s adventures on his voyage.

The little prince travels through about five planets before arriving at Earth. On each planet, he meets one being (except on Earth, where he meets many beings). On one planet–this one has to be the smallest of them all–all the planets. He meets the little king, living in his bubble. The king is fond of giving orders, such as ordering the sun to rise in the morning and set in the evening. The little prince learns something valuable from him, though–that only reasonable orders are expected to be obeyed.

On another planet, he meets the lamplighter who prefers to sleep but who feels he has to put the light off and on, signifying night and day; therefore, to him, that means no rest. On the lamplighter’s planet, there are thousands of sunsets in just one day. The little prince finds this incredible, and he wishes to witness it all. The lamplighter is also rigid because he decides to continue with his monotonous and tiresome work, even though the little prince has already suggested a better alternative for achieving the same results to him.

Planets here can easily be identified as asteroids, smaller rock-like masses that orbit the solar system. There are certainly billions of them in our solar system. It makes no difference what they are, though; our story is a fantasy, and we suspend our disbelief while we encounter its fanciful elements.

On yet another planet, the little prince meets a merchant who is so engrossed in counting the stars that he is aloof and barely takes notice of what is happening around him. He is counting the stars to sell them.

On another planet, the little prince meets the geographer who does no fieldwork and only waits for the explorers to research or do the fieldwork and bring back information for scrutiny. The geographer persuades him to go to Earth.

On another planet, he meets the conceited man. The man who thinks himself to be the “most handsome” around, even though it was only him on his planet.

On yet another planet, he meets the depressed man who keeps gulping and gulping drinks and who can’t get more drunk than he already was but who also can’t stop gulping. This man continues to grow sadder as a result.

All the people mentioned are adults without much understanding, grown-ups who are much more delusional than they think others are.

By describing these eccentric adults through the eyes of a child, the author subtly critiques modern society with all its follies. People are consumed by concerns and activities that have no value and do not benefit them, which either satisfies their ego or has social approval.

On earth, he meets the fox, and from the fox, he learns to love and appreciate all he has, and what they mean to him. This is the story’s turning point, helping the prince resolve his how he feels about the rose. He learns that contentment can coexist with admiration for other things and others’ things and that contentment can coexist with healthy ambition. He also meets the snake, which is so full of itself.

He sees a lot of roses and realizes that his rose is not so unique, and is disappointed for having spent so much time in adoring her. However, from his relationship with the fox, he learns how taming a thing makes it special to you and you become special to the fox. The fox suggest that by favoring the rose, it becomes special to him and he become special to the rose. The fox asks the little prince to tame it, too.

In the little prince’s travel around the earth, it meets two other important characters; a railway switchman, who tells him of trains full of men in a hurry to get from one place to another and never satisfied to be in one place, and a merchant who sells pills that eliminate the need for drinking water. The little prince is appalled at how the things that adults did made little sense.

Eight days after the narrator’s crash, he and the little prince are nearly dying of thirst. The prince locates a well, and this saves them. Shortly after, the narrator finds the prince talking to the snake about returning to his planet, suggesting that the snake’s bite would transport him back. The little prince is worried about the rose and wonders how she is faring. To the man’s alarm, he reassures him that this was the only way to return, as his body is too heavy to take with him back. In the story’s climax , the snake bites the little prince.

This is one of the writer’s masterful strokes, making the work readable by both young and old, with each gaining an understanding appropriate for their age. It is not apparent to young readers that the snake’s bite is fatal to the little prince, and they would get the impression that the little prince actually travels. But older readers see that the little prince means voyage metaphorically.

Just as it was difficult, his parting with the fox from whom he learned a great deal, at the end of his physical life, after having been bitten by a snake, things become quite tense between and for the little prince and his friend. The little prince tries to joke about it, and he also tries to make the narrator see the bright side of all that, but the he is too distraught to care. The little prince ignores all that and continues to promise and assure his friend that he will always be there, that all he has to do is to look up to the stars. This section marks the story’s falling action.

Six years later, the man reminisces. He doesn’t mind being thought crazy as he looks up to the sky and smiles and even laughs, maybe knowing that his dear friend would most likely be smiling back. In the resolution, he tells the readers to watch out for the little prince if they are ever in the vicinity of his plane crash, the place where they met.

The Little Prince Quiz

Unleash your heart and wisdom—our ' The Little Prince ' Trivia Quiz awaits! Do you possess the insight to explore the whimsical worlds and profound lessons of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's enchanting tale? Accept the challenge now and demonstrate your mastery over the timeless adventures of the Little Prince!

1) What does the lamplighter do on his planet?

2) How many times a day does the Little Prince watch the sunset on his planet?

3) What does the Little Prince's flower symbolize?

4) Why does the Little Prince leave his planet initially?

5) Who does the Little Prince meet on the first planet he visits?

6) What is the first drawing that the narrator shows adults?

7) What does the businessman on the fourth planet claim to own?

8) Which character teaches the Little Prince about taming and relationships?

9) What happens to the Little Prince at the end of the book?

10) What is unique about the rose on the Little Prince's planet?

11) What is the Little Prince's relationship with the rose?

12) What is the Little Prince searching for during his travels?

13) What does the narrator suggest people should look for to know the Little Prince is alive?

14) What does the Little Prince ask the narrator to draw?

15) What is the Little Prince's home planet called?

16) Who does the Little Prince meet on Earth that he finds wise?

17) What does the Little Prince find on Earth that makes him realize his rose is unique?

18) What does the Little Prince ask the pilot to draw at the end of the story?

19) Who is the author of ' The Little Prince '?

20) What is the reaction of the Little Prince when he sees the rose garden on Earth?

21) What does the snake offer to the Little Prince?

22) What is the main theme of ' The Little Prince '?

23) What does the fox say is invisible but essential?

24) Where does the narrator meet the Little Prince?

25) Why does the geographer not know much about his own planet?

26) How does the narrator describe adults in ' The Little Prince '?

27) What is the lesson the Little Prince learns from the fox?

28) What is the pilot’s final drawing in the book?

29) What is the profession of the narrator?

30) What is the occupation of the man the Little Prince meets on the fifth planet?

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About Chioma Julie

Chioma is a graduate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She has a passion for music, movies, and books. Occasionally, she writes to unwind.

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The Little Prince

Jul 17, 2014

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The Little Prince. Antoine de Saint- Exupéry. The Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint- Exupéry , has been translated into some 220 languages and dialects so far. The Little Prince Mały Książę El Principito Küçük Prens Il piccolo principe Micul Prinţ Ο μικρός Πρίγκιπας.

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The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, has been translated into some 220 languages and dialects so far. The Little Prince MałyKsiążę El Principito KüçükPrens Il piccolo principe MiculPrinţ Ο μικρόςΠρίγκιπας

KeyFacts • full title  ·The Little Prince (in French, Le Petit Prince) • author  · Antoine de Saint-Exupéry • type of work · Children’s story, novella • genre  · Fable, allegory • language  · French • time and place written  · The summer and fall of 1942, while Saint-Exupéry was living in Long Island, New York • date of first publication  · First published in English translation in 1943. The first French edition did not appear until 1946. • publisher  ·Reynal & Hitchcock, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. (U.S. edition, both French and English); Gallimard (French edition)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry(1900-1944)BIOGRAPHY Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is both a pioneer of aviation and a well-known French writer. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1900. At an early age, he dreamed of a life of adventure and wanted to become a naval officer. Unfortunately, he failed the exam to qualify him for naval officer training school. As a result, he turned his attention tothe field of aviation.

Even though flying was dangerous and risky in Saint-Exupéry’s time, he joined the military and trained to be a pilot. After his military service, he presented himself to the director of an airline company and expressed his desire to become a commercial pilot. The director told him he must first become an airplane mechanic. Finally, in 1927, after serving as a mechanic, Saint-Exupéry became a pilot, opening up new air routes over the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and the Sahara Desert. Because of the danger of flying, he had a number of accidents, but he escaped any major injuries. Later Saint-Exupéry became the director of his own aviation company in South America, where he often flew dangerous routes over the Andes Mountains. For Saint-Exupéry, flying was not just piloting an airplane; it was a time for meditation and reflection. While in the air, Saint-Exupéry would think deeply about solitude, friendship, the meaning of life, the human condition, and liberty. He decided to publish his reflections into a book, which was successful. When his aviation company failed, Saint-Exupéry decided to pursue writing as a career. He first became a journalist, traveling to Spain, Russia, and Germany. He also wrote two philosophical books based on aviation: Night Flight (1932) and Wind, Sand, and Stars (1939). Still in love with piloting an airplane, Saint-Exupéry continued to fly whenever he had the opportunity.

In 1939, when France went to war with Germany, Saint-Exupéry immediately enlisted in the army, hoping to become a military pilot in the war effort. France, however, was soon defeated and occupied by Hitler's troops. Saint-Exupéry decided to leave his homeland, settle in the United States, and pursue his writing career. It was in New York that he published The Little Prince, his most celebrated book, in 1943. Since its first publication, more than 25 million copies have been sold in 75 different countries. In 1942, when American troops landed in North Africa, Saint-Exupéry decided to join the U.S. Army as a pilot. Since he was 42 years of age, he was initially considered too old to be a pilot and was not allowed to fly; however, Saint-Exupéry persisted and was finally given an airplane. He accomplished many missions over occupied France. On July 31, 1944, Saint-Exupéry left for his last mission. His plane was destroyed by the Germans over the Mediterranean.

SHORT SUMMARY The narrator begins the tale with an explanation of his dislike of adults; he claims he does not enjoy them, for they are much too practical. Instead, he prefers the company of children, who are natural and curious. The narrator next tells of how his plane crashed in the desert, where he met the Little Prince, a mystical creature from another planet, asteroid B-612. The narrator tells why the Prince left his planet and where he visited before coming to Earth. His adventures on six different planets are recounted, including the encounters with the king, the vainman, the drunkard, the businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer, the snake, the desert flower, the garden of roses, the railway switchman, the merchant, the fox, and the narrator. The narrator and the Prince share a rewarding relationship on the desert, and when the Little Prince departs, the narrator misses his company. He writes the novel in memory of the Little Prince.

Characterlist The Narrator The LittlePrince The Rose TheBaobabs The King TheVain Man TheDrunkard The Businessman TheLamplighter TheGeographer The Snake The Fox

The Narrator A lonely pilot who, while stranded in the desert, befriends the little prince. They spend eight days together in the desert before the little prince returns to his home planet. Although he is discouraged from drawing early in his life because adults cannot understand his drawings, the narrator illustrates his own story and makes several drawings for the little prince. The narrator is a grown-up, but his view of the world is more like a child's than an adult's. After the little prince departs, the narrator feels both refreshed and saddened. The Little Prince One of the two protagonists of the story. After leaving his home planet B – 612 and his beloved rose,the prince journeys around the universe, ending up on Earth. Frequently perplexed by the behavior of grown-ups, the prince symbolizes the hope, love, innocence, and insight of childhood that lie dormant in all of us. Though the prince is sociable and meets a number of characters as he travels, he never stops loving and missing the rose on his home planet.

The Rose A coquettish flower who has trouble expressing her lovefor the little prince and consequently drives him away. Simultaneously vainand naïve, she informs the little prince of her love for him too late topersuade him to stay home and not to travel. Throughout the story, sheoccupies the prince's thoughts and heart. The Baobabs Baobabs, harmless trees on Earth, pose a greatthreat to smaller planets like the prince's if left unchecked. They cansqueeze whole planets to pieces with their roots. Although baobabs haveno malicious opinions or intentions, they represent the grave danger thatcan befall people who are too lazy or indifferent to keep a wary eye on theworld around them. 

The King Onthe first planet the little prince visits, he encounters aking who claims to rule the entire universe. While not unkindly, the king'spower is empty. He is able to command people to do only what theyalready would do. The Vain Man  The sole resident of the second planet the littleprince visits. The vain man is lonely and craves admiration from all whopass by. However, only by being alone is he assured of being the richestand best-looking man on his planet. 

TheDrunkard Thethird person the little prince encountersafter leaving home is a drunkard, who spends his days and nights lost in astupor. The drunkard is a sad figure, but he is also foolish because hedrinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking. The Businessman Acaricature of grown-ups who is thefourth person the little prince visits. Too busy even to greet his visitor, thebusinessman owns all the stars. Yet he cannot remember what they arecalled and contributes nothing to them. Although the little princecomments on the oddity of the grown-ups he meets, the businessman isthe only character the prince actively chastises. 

The Lamplighter Thefifth and most complex figure theprince encounters before landing on Earth. At first, the lamplighter appearsto be yet another ridiculous character with no real purpose, but his selflessdevotion to his orders earns him the little prince's admiration. Of all theadults the little prince encounters before reaching Earth, the lamplighter isthe only one the prince thinks he could befriend. The Geographer Thesixth and final character the littleprince encounters before he lands on Earth. Although thegeographer isapparently well-read, he refuses to learn about his own planet, saying it is a job for explorers. He recommends that the little prince visit Earth and hiscomments on the ephemeral nature of flowers reveal to the prince that hisown flower will not last forever.

The Snake The first character the prince meets on Earth, whoultimately sends the prince back to the heavens by biting him. A constantenigma, the snake speaks in riddles and evokes the snake of the Bible,which incites Adam and Eve's eviction from Eden by luring them into eatingthe forbidden fruit. The Fox Although the fox asks the little prince to tame him, the foxis in some ways the more knowledgeable of the two characters, and hehelps steer the prince toward what is important in life. In the secret the foxtells the little prince before they say their good-byes, the fox sums up threeimportant lessons: only the heart can see correctly; the prince's time awayfrom his planet has made him appreciate his rose more; and love entailsresponsibility.

ENDING The climax of the plot occurs when the Little Prince decides to return to his planet and care for his special flower. He has learned from the fox that the important things in life cannot be seen with the eye, only felt with the heart. In essence, the fox’s lesson is about how to love, a most important thing for everybody to learn. This lesson eventually makes the Little Prince realize that the flower from which he has fled is really very special. After meeting the narrator and explaining all that he has learned since he left his planet, the Prince accepts that he really loves the flower because she is his responsibility, and he has invested time and trouble in her survival. As a result, he decides that he must go back to his star to take care of his special and belovedrose.

The Little Prince Quotes • “Goodbye, said the fox. And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” • “All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.” • “People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. „But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.” • “ I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.” • “But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.” • “You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.” • “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”

TheEnd Thankyou Prepared: Kamila Błaszczyk Justyna Wcisło Daria Szewczyk Ewelina Szewczyk Marlena Łęcka Patrycja Kręgiel Katarzyna Miśtal Sylwia Wylot Karolina Nowak Katarzyna Prusek Roksana Pabian Poland,15.01.2013

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