The Little Prince: Macmillan Collector's Library

Gheorghe Georgiana-Laura a dat nota:

Review for „The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: It’s one of the most well-known and loved novella written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The story begins with the author’s opinions about childhood, art and the seriousness of an adult. While repairing his plane which crashed on the desert, the Aviator meets a little boy with hair as gold as wheat by the name of the Little Prince. The plot mostly tells the story of the main character’s journey to Earth. Although it has a sad ending, the reader can arrive at the conclusion that only after the ones we love left us do we realize how much we miss them. Along the story, we encounter childhood versus adulthood, creativity versus logic, virtues versus sins, freedom versus restrictions and inhibitions and kindness versus strictness. The Little Prince is the symbol of childhood, creativity, also of logical thinking after the way he replied to each of the characters he met during his journey to Earth. A clear example of cleverness and even wisdom is the discussion between the little boy and the Businessman. It is also proof that some kids see things more clearly than the adults whose lives are full of worries, responsibilities and problems which don’t allow them to do that anymore. Innocence, the desire to discover the world and everything around us, naivety are things which each of us experience from early childhood and in some cases even when we grow up. The Little Prince can also be associated with the image of an angel through his kindness, simplicity and purity of the soul which warms even the most serious of men. Just like every child his age, the little boy is bubbly, sometimes persisting, curious, he gets bored quickly and the fact that he doesn’t understand grown-ups makes him consider them strange. What makes him different from normal children are his consideration, wits and his unconditional love which make him bear the Rose’s whims and criticism. His presence makes the Aviator understand what is more important in the world and his determination gives him the hope and strength he needs to overcome the obstacles in the desert and find the well. The Aviator represents the portrait of the adults who are mostly: stern, serious, too busy with work and everyday chores to care for their peers and enjoy the little things in life. The image of the meeting between the Little Prince and the Aviator can be associated with the biblical scenes in which the meeting between men and angels, saints, Jesus or God Himself is included. Along the plot of the story, the reader will discover animals with symbolic meanings like the sheep drawn by the Aviator – purity, but also a dangerous animal since the Little Prince fears that she may eat his Rose; the elephant which is said to have a good memory, the migrating birds which can be considered as messengers to the Heavens above, but who are also making the connection between Heaven and men’s world, the fox – slyness, but in the story she is the symbol of friendship and last but not least, the snake which is the symbol of evil and death. Nature is presented as both beneficial and destructive at the same time. The stars are the angels, the main character’s home (Asteroid B612) can be a representation of paradise. The passing of time is beautifully presented thought the simple flowers while the sunset means the end of a day and the beginning of a new one. The Rose from the Little Prince’s planet can be associated with uniqueness, stylishness, gentleness, vanity, snobbery, hubris, whims, even with Andromeda’s mother, queen Cassiopeia because of the pride they both share. The rose, a flower which is often present in literature is the symbol of love and beauty that protects itself with spines. Sins are also present in Saint-Exupéry’s novella and they are the following: possessiveness, thirst for power, vanity (the Conceited Man), drunkenness (the Drunkard), greed and avarice (the Businessman), fear, asceticism and lie (the Lamp Lighter and Geographer). The Little Prince’s mission is to find out information about his Rose and here we find two of the most important themes, exploration and learning. Simple things like gardening and admiring the environment are presented as the real treasures. „Here’s my secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye” (Chapter XXI), the Fox’s advice is one of the memorable quotes from the whole story from which not only that we learn a valuable life lesson, but it’s also an example of divine wisdom. The scene of the Little Prince’s arrival on Earth can be associated with one of the scenes from Neil Gaimen’s „Stardust” since there are characters who came from outer space. The little boy is a shooting star. Through his literary work, author Antoine Saint-Exupéry reflects on a few things that we all have to ask ourselves if it’s worth putting in extra effort to and wasting our time with. He also encourages us to let our inner child out to the surface from time to time. In my opinion, „The Little Prince” is a heart-warming, educational and exciting story which will captivate its readers from the first page. I highly recommend this work of art to readers of all ages.