By:

Antoine De Saint-Exupery

A Book Report

Presented to

The Faculty of Mother Goose Special School System

Incorporation

Presented by

I. INTRODUCTION

The story “The Little Prince” is deceptively simple and apparently a story for

children, The Little Prince addresses most major social concerns of Saint-Exupery's

day and of modern times. The lack of childlike simplicity in a sophisticated and

materialistic civilization is portrayed from the very first page, when the author shows a

drawing of a boa snake that had eaten an elephant to uncomprehending adults, who

believe it to be a hat. Adults, especially the materialistic generation, continue to judge

by appearances; the Turkish astronomer who discovered B612, the Prince's planet,

is rejected by the scientific community until he appears in Western clothes.

Adults are enamored of statistics and numbers, and prefer to know how much

money a person makes rather than know the sound of his voice. Such adults are

reflected in the businessman who counts stars which he claims to own, to prove his

wealth. Even the problem of drug addiction and alcoholism appears in the drunkard,

who drinks to forget that he is ashamed to drink. The compartmentalization of

knowledge, too prevalent in today's world, is evident in the geographer, who is not an

explorer, and therefore cannot know what is really on the earth's surface. The world

of authority and power comes to life in the king who considers everyone his subject,

a universal image, but only too true in occupied France in 1943.

II. BACKGROUND OF THE AUTHOR

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 to the 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.

Though it is not simply a book for young people, The Little Prince ranks

number five in the world on the list of best-selling children's books of all time. Wind,

Sand, and Stars and Night Flight also remain among the top ten best-selling French

language books of all time.

The Little Prince is a profound and deeply moving book written in riddles and

laced with philosophy and poetic metaphors. The Little Prince's philosophy, "What is

essential is invisible to the eye," is well-known throughout the world. The book is, in

part, autobiographical. Saint-Exupéry did, indeed, crash his airplane in the Sahara

Desert, and like the narrator, he knew how to repair it. More importantly, the book

gives the author's innermost thoughts on life and love.

On the more positive side, Saint Exupery shows the world of love within

people, symbolized by the special flower chosen and protected by the Prince, no

doubt also the classical symbol of feminine beauty in the form of a rose. There is the

story of friendship in the person of the fox who needs to be tamed before he can

become a friend, and who explains to his little friend the necessity of ritual in all

relationships, the importance of the invisible, and of responsibility toward those with

whom one has created a relationship, or "tamed."

The cosmos, the world of outer space, was very important to Saint Exupery,

who in all his works speaks of the splendor of the clouds, the stars, and the sky, of a

new vision of the earth. Little wonder then that his hero would come from another

world. It was to return to his unearthly world that the prince made friends with the

serpent, the eternal symbol of death.

Saint-Exupery points out the importance of the invisible, the world of the spirit

beyond this visible world, where people will live in peace and harmony. A true

humanist, his ultimate concern was with human brotherhood and happiness.

III. 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. 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 conceited man, the tippler, 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. The little Prince leaves his own tiny planet in search of

adventure on a visit to our world. This is a very condensed version of the classic

book Le Petit Prince, just for toddler-sized attention spans. This book, with both

French and English, is ideal for teaching toddlers simple French, especially

identifying objects.The mood is mostly adventurous and mysterious, with a

philosophical overtone. At first the Little Prince does not reveal his identity, creating

an initial sense of mystery. Then as the Little Prince recounts his travels, the mood

becomes adventurous. As he questions the fox and the narrator, the mood becomes

philosophic. At the end, when the Prince arranges to be bitten by the snake, the

mood again becomes mysterious. Although he seems to die from the snake bite, the

narrator cannot find the Prince's body when he looks for it the next morning. He can

only assume that the Prince successfully returns to his star.

Saint-Exupéry explains how all joy and pleasure must be earned, not given or

received. As an example, he shows the joy that the Little Prince and the pilot feel

when they taste the water from the well. Its sweetness comes from their journey

under the stars and the work of the pilot's arms making the pulley sing. In the end,

the Little Prince again experiences a new joy. Leaving his "shell" behind, he has gone

to the most beautiful place he can imagine -- his star, which is his love; he has

returned to his own little heaven. Saint-Exupéry scorns man's obsession with the

wrong things, such as wealth, power, and technology; he uses the King, the

Businessman, and the Lamplighter to highlight this theme. The king puts a great deal

of importance into being obeyed, even though he orders only what would happen

anyway. The businessman takes great pride in owning all the stars, but he is too

busy counting them to gain any pleasure from their beauty. The Little Prince tries to

teach him the pointlessness of his "property." The Little Prince also scorns the

Lamplighter's fascination with science and technology. He is so caught up in the

importance of lighting his lamp, that he misses what is important in life. The need to

have faith is another minor theme in the book. The Little Prince arrives on the Earth

during a spiritually troubled phase and stays until he has resolved his confusions.

During his stay, he teaches the narrator the importance of having faith and belief.

Many critics have called the Little Prince a Christ-figure, for he is described as being

free of sin. He also believes in a life after death. At the end of the book, he returns to

his star, his heaven.

The story is not set in a particular period or in one specific place. In the first

chapter the narrator writes about his childhood experiences with drawings and about

his low opinion of adults. In the second chapter the narrator starts narrating a

particular series of incidents. He writes of the time when his plane crashed in the

desert of Sahara six years ago. Most of the narrative after the second chapter is set

in the desert. The other places that function as settings include the asteroid where

the Little Prince has his home and the planets that the Little Prince visits, including

asteroids 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, and 330. The last planet that he visits is the Earth,

where he meets the narrator in the Sahara Desert.

In the book, the fox teaches that one can see only what is important in life by

looking with the heart. Because of this lesson, Saint-Exupéry leaves the desert as a

different person. He has accepted the Little Prince's thought that "'the stars are

beautiful because of a flower that cannot be seen." In essence, the fox's lesson is

about how to love, a most important lesson for everybody to learn. The fox points out

that it is the time that one "wastes" on someone or something that makes it important.

The fox also tells the readers that love can overcome existentialism: "One only knows

the things that one tames.... Men buy things already made in the stores. But as there

are no stores where friends can be bought, men no longer have friends." A human

must earn a friendship, not buy it.

The protagonist of the short novel is the Little Prince. He is a simple, yet

mystical, creature from asteroid B-612. One day a seed arrives on his planet and

blooms into a beautiful flower. Though the flower is lovely, it is vain and irritates the

Prince. Finally he leaves his planet, to escape the flower. After visiting several

asteroids, the Little Prince reaches Earth, where he meets the narrator in the Sahara

Desert.

The problem, or antagonist, of the Little Prince is his thirst for answers. He

visits many planets and meets many people, whom he questions about life. In

particular, he wants to understand the existence and pastimes of adults on Earth. He

tries to find his answers from a snake, a fox, and the narrator.

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. 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 rose.

IV. CHARACTER ANALYSIS

Major Characters

The Narrator

The narrator speaks for himself. The narrator is present throughout the book

to tell the story of his friendship with the Little Prince and comment on what he has

learned from him. He is very attracted to the Prince, largely because he is childlike,

innocent, and pure. The narrator admits that he prefers the openness, honesty, and

naiveté of children to the pretensions and blindness of adults, who cannot see

beyond the surface of life. The narrator feels very close to the Little Prince because

he is able to see the truth and importance of things. Even after six years, he

remembers everything about this little man from another planet; as a result, he writes

the book in memory of him.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince is the main character and protagonist of the novel. The book

is the story of his search for answers about what is important in life.

The novel is named after the Little Prince, who is a mystical and loveable

person. He is the sole inhabitant of a small planet, which the narrator refers to as B-

612. The Prince leaves his planet to visit other places and finally lands on Earth. In

the Sahara Desert, he meets the narrator and befriends him. The narrator tells of his

encounter with the Prince and also relates the adventures of the Prince on the other

asteroids that the latter has visited.

Many critics see the Little Prince as a Christ figure. Like Jesus, the Prince

descends to earth to live for a short while. Also like Christ, he is good and pure; he

also has the ability to know things before they happen. During his stay, the Little

Prince, like Jesus, teaches others the value of love and seeing beneath the surface

to the real worth of things. In addition, the Little Prince shares a "last supper" of water

with the narrator before he dies. After his death, the Little Prince's body is resurrected

to ascend to his star, his own little heaven.

The Fox

The fox is another important character, for he teaches the Little Prince the

most important lesson in the book. The fox meets the Prince when the latter is

disappointed and lonely. He has just seen the garden of roses and realized that his

flower is common, not unique and valuable as he had imagined. The fox, however,

teaches the Prince that one cannot judge another by seeing with the eyes; instead,

one has to see and judge with the heart. As a result, the Little Prince realizes that his

flower is really very special, for he has loved and cared for it.

Minor Characters

The Turkish Astronomer

The narrator mentions the Turkish astronomer in the fourth chapter. The

narrator believes that the planet from which the Little Prince has come is the asteroid

known as B-612. A Turkish astronomer first sees this asteroid through the telescope

in 1909.

The Little Prince's flower

On the Little Prince's planet, the flowers are usually very simple; but one day,

from a seed blown from afar, a new flower comes up that is very beautiful, but also

very vain. The Prince begins to doubt the flower's credibility and finally leaves his

planet to escape the company of the flower.

The King

The king is the sole inhabitant of asteroid 325, which the Little Prince visits

after leaving his own planet. The king insists upon his authority being respected and

does not tolerate disobedience; however, since he is a very good man, he makes his

orders reasonable. Just before the Prince leaves the king's planet, the latter makes

the former an ambassador.

The Conceited Man

He is the inhabitant of asteroid 326. Totally conceited, he insists that everyone

else admire him. He does not listen to anything but praise and expects the Little

Prince to praise and admire him.

The Tippler

The tippler lives on asteroid 327. When the Prince asks him what he is doing,

the tippler replies that he is drinking to forget that he is ashamed of drinking.

The Businessman

The businessman sits and counts stars on asteroid 328. He thinks that he

owns the stars, making him rich. The Little Prince explains to the businessman that

he is of no use at all to the stars that he owns.

The Lamplighter

The lamplighter lives on asteroid 329 and does the job of lighting and then

putting out the lamplight. The lamplighter thinks that his is a terrible profession,

because once every minute he has to light the lamp, for his planet makes a complete

turn every sixty seconds. The Prince feels that the lamplighter is the only one who

could have been his friend.

The Geographer

The geographer lives on a planet that is ten times larger than the lamplighter's

planet. He explains that he is a scholar who knows the location of all the seas, rivers,

towns, mountains, and deserts. He is the one who advises the Prince to visit the

planet Earth, as it has a good reputation.

The Snake

The first living thing that the Prince encounters on the planet Earth is a snake.

The snake tells him that it gets a little lonely among men. The Prince thinks that the

snake is very weak, but the snake tells him that he can kill a person. The snake also

says that he can solve all kinds of riddles.

The Desert Flower

The Prince meets a flower in the desert. It tells him that there are only six or

seven men in existence and that one never knows where to find them. According to

the flower, the wind blows the men away.

Garden of Roses

The Prince meets a garden of roses on the planet Earth. He is overcome with

sadness on seeing them because there are five thousand of them in a single garden.

His flower has told him that it was the only one of its kind in the universe. He cries

when he realizes that his flower has lied to him.

Railway Switchman

The Prince meets the railway switchman on Earth. The switchman tells the

Prince that he sorts out travelers and sends off the trains that carry them. The

switchman also says that no one is ever satisfied with his position. During his

conversation with the switchman, the Prince tells him that only the children know

what they are looking for.

Merchant

The Prince asks the merchant why he sells pills that quench thirst. The

merchant answers that he sells them because they save a lot of time. The Prince

feels that he would rather use that time to walk at leisure toward a spring of fresh

water.

Since the story of The Little Prince is written in the form of a fable, or allegory,

the characters do not have names, but are rather "I" and "he." Others are generic: the

astronomer, the geographer, the king, the businessman, the lamplighter, and so on.

As in allegory, they represent one phase of human life. The king is authority; the

lamplighter, devotion to duty; the businessman, greed. The flower is a coquettish

woman, nevertheless beloved by the Prince; the serpent is death; the fox, true to his

literary image, represents ruse. Most of the secondary characters are. Simplicity and

immediacy are the characteristics that endear this short story to all readers. There is

a great deal of dialogue, with many repetitions, especially on the part of the Prince,

who as a true child never lets go of an idea once he has taken hold of it. His words

reveal him to be a child, yet a child who has the wisdom of unaffected simplicity. The

various scenes in which animals, flowers, and people interact with him are brief and

to the point. Often satiric of abuses in society, the passages stand on their own,

without any need of explanation.

V. PLOT ANALYSIS

Other than the first and last chapters, which serve as an introduction and

epilogue, the plot of The Little Prince is unified mainly by character and theme. The

novel begins with an introduction to the main idea of the book. The narrator explains

the drawings of boa constrictors that he made as a young boy. None of the adults

who viewed the pictures were able to see the meaning of the drawings. As a result,

at an early age, the narrator discovered that most people do not look beneath the

surface to see the real message, beauty, or importance of a thing. This becomes the

central theme of the entire book.

The plot of the book really begins in the second chapter when the narrator

meets the Little Prince. The airplane of the narrator crashes in the desert. As he

works on repairing it, the Prince approaches him, seemingly out of nowhere, and

asks him to draw a picture of sheep. He also asks the narrator to draw a picture of a

muzzle for the sheep. The Little Prince goes on to explain that he is worried that the

sheep on his planet will eat his special flower, which he judges to be unique and

beautiful.

From the second chapter onward, the book focuses on the Little Prince and

his search for answers about life. Although the story is told chronologically, it is

repeatedly interrupted by flashbacks as the Prince tells of his adventures after

leaving his star. He visits five planets, and on each he learns something new about

life. He shares these visits and lessons with the narrator. Even though much of the

rising action of the novel jumps back and forth between past and present, the plot of

the story is easy to follow, for the focus is always upon the Little Prince.

Once he lands on Earth, the Prince meets two important creatures: the snake

and fox. The snake assures him that whenever the Little Prince is ready to return to

his star, he can be of assistance. At the end of the novel, the Prince seeks out the

help of the snake, drawing the end of the novel to the beginning into a tight unity.

After meeting the snake, the Prince encounters the fox, who teaches him a most

important lesson. Just when the Prince has realized that his special flower is really a

common one, and therefore not of great value, the fox explains that a person must

look beyond the surface to see the real value of a thing. If one looks with one's heart,

not just with one's eyes, a person can see the hidden beauty of an object. He

convinces the Prince that his flower is, indeed, very valuable, because it has been

loved and tamed by the Little Prince.

By the time the Little Prince meets the narrator, he has learned the important

lessons about life; but it is in telling the narrator about them that the lessons take on

a real meaning for the Little Prince. After reviewing all that he has learned, the Prince

accepts that he must return to his star in order to take care of his special rose; his

acceptance of responsibility is the climax as the plot.

At the end of the book, the Little Prince goes to find the snake, which can bite

him and return him to his planet. Before he makes the journey home, the Little Prince

lets the narrator know he is departing. He tells him to look up at the stars and think of

them as laughing. The Little Prince knows that when he looks at the stars, the

narrator will also think about him. In truth, the narrator has grown very fond of the

Prince and hates to see him go. When he is bitten by the snake and dies, the

narrator is grieved to have lost a friend; but he feels certain that the Little Prince has

returned home to his own little heaven. The end of the novel, therefore, helps to unify

the plot, which has come full circle. The Little Prince has accepted responsibility and

returned to his star to care for the flower, which had originally driven him away.

In the last chapter, serving as the conclusion and epilogue, the narrator

explains how he looked for the body of the Little Prince on the next morning;

however, it was no where to be found. In this brief falling action, the narrator

convinces himself and the reader that the Prince has returned to his star. The

narrator also explains that he has written the story of the Little Prince six years after

he met him. Even though it has been a long time since the Prince's departure, the

narrator's friendship with the mystical man from another planet has had a profound

affect on him; therefore, he finally decides to write the novel in memory of and as a

tribute to the Little Prince.

VI. CONCLUSION

The story ends in comedy. The Little Prince finds the answers to his questions

about what is important in life. When he realizes his love for the flower, he accepts

that he must return to his star to care for the rose. He makes arrangements with the

poisonous snake to bite him, which will insure his safe passage back home. Before

he departs, the Little Prince makes a profound impression on the narrator. One must

turn to the Bible and medieval sources to find the direct precedents of The Little

Prince. As a parable, the story recalls Biblical style and imagery. The serpent is the

symbol of death. The pilot, like the Israelites of old, is lost in the desert. The memory

of the Prince will be for the fox like golden wheat fields. About to die, the pilot and

Prince seek for water, and find a well, a true fountain of living water. Trees, such as

those in the Garden of Paradise, are found throughout the book. The Prince will

return home by the light of his star.

VII. REACTION

It's nice to have a book with like this, the structure and presentation offer

parents an opportunity to take a classic story like this. Language absorption is perfect

with story-telling, particularly for books that get read over and over again. I learned

that what is essential is invisible to the eye. This book is, in part, autobiographical.

Saint-Exupéry did, indeed, crash his airplane in the Sahara Desert, and like the

narrator, he knew how to repair it. More importantly, the book gives the author's

innermost thoughts on life and love. And at one level, the novel is really a children's

book, its language and style are simple. Because the plot and dialogue are easy to

follow, a young person will find the book easy to understand. A child can also hear or

read about the adventures of the blond-haired Little Prince and enjoy its meaning at

an uncomplicated level. Beneath the simplicity, however, there is a sophisticated tale

that deals with the important lessons of life. Just as the Little Prince finds answers to

his questions, the reader like me also learns the answers to what is most important in

everyday existence.