Everyone has a book they remember fondly from childhood. Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry’s �The Little Prince� has been a vanguard in children’s literature for over 60 years, since it’s publication in 1943.
Originally written in French, �The Little Prince� has been translated into countless languages and is well known throughout the world. The author’s illustrations add a childlike ingenuousness and show a lack of concern for what is deemed acceptable by society.
Although it is thoroughly enjoyed by children, it also has an important message for grown-ups and should be revisited on numerous occasions in a lifetime.
By Athena Singer,
Staff Writer
Everyone has a book they remember fondly from childhood. Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry’s �The Little Prince� has been a vanguard in children’s literature for over 60 years, since it’s publication in 1943.
Originally written in French, �The Little Prince� has been translated into countless languages and is well known throughout the world. The author’s illustrations add a childlike ingenuousness and show a lack of concern for what is deemed acceptable by society.
Although it is thoroughly enjoyed by children, it also has an important message for grown-ups and should be revisited on numerous occasions in a lifetime.
At first glimpse, Saint-Exup�ry’s quaint story relates the interplanetary adventure of an innocent little prince. However, upon revisiting this humbly illustrated 84-page book, a much deeper and even philosophical meaning becomes apparent.
Having crash-landed in the Sahara, the narrator tells of his meeting with a small boy who is the only inhabitant of Asteroid B-612. Before his arrival on planet Earth, the little prince traveled from planet to planet, each time meeting an adult; flawed and unhappy. The innocence and purity of the little prince is sharply juxtaposed with the adults.
After traveling across the galaxy by way of a �migration of wild birds,� the little price finds himself on the planet Earth, the likes of which were previously unknown by this wayward traveler. Here, he finds himself student as well as teacher as he travels around the globe. He learns a great deal about the simple things in life, which he then passes onto the narrator.
The narrator as well is forever changed by his short encounter with the golden-haired boy.
He begins the story by telling of himself as a small boy who excitedly tried his hand at drawing only to have his creativity thwarted by the grown-ups.
Now, as an adult he finds that he has lost that special sparkle and relentless courage of a child.
The little prince incites a spark in his soul that changed how he viewed the world. The manner of frivolity in which the story is told keeps the reader enthralled.
Although the little prince is not without flaws himself as shown by his abandonment of his beloved rose, he shows a simple unpretentious acumen. His continuous questioning throughout the narration shows the importance of the question itself elevated above the answer.
Antoine de Saint-Exup�ry’s is a man of many talents. As a successful French author, poet, aviator, inventor, philosopher and diplomat, he has interlaced this simple fairy tale with a multifaceted message.
Along with �The Little Prince,� his accomplishments include, �Southern Mail,� �Night Flight,� �Wind, Sand and Stars,� �Letter to A Hostage� and �Flight to Arras.�
In 1944, while on a reconnaissance mission for his French air squadron, Saint-Exup�ry, disappeared over the Mediterranean.
Each character is dynamic yet forthright. Through the candid eyes of the little prince, the world seems to make sense again as it did as a child. Upon meeting and taming a wild fox, the little prince is taught that, �It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.�
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