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| The Little Prince on Asteroid B612 | © Antoine de Saint-Exupéry |
There we have a book that I would like to comment on here: "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which is one of the most famous books in the world. So, what makes it so well-known? This question can be answered by the fascination caused by the events experienced by the main character. His experiences are counted as a common story for children, full of fantasies, therefore, the Little Prince's travel way is metaphorical. His journey is not just full of 'adventures', they have an interpretation associated with human experience.
Those interpretations can be found at various moments in the story, I'm going to analyze some of them below: two famous sections, and one I found admirable. |
| © Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
There is a moment when the main character sits and watches the sunset several times and he says it's good to do it when "it is very sad" (p. 27). I think this is so interesting due to the fact suggest questions to the reader, like: 'do you watch sunsets?' 'why of why not?' 'what d you feel when you see it?'
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| The Fox | © Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
The most famous part of the book is the moment when the Fox appears and teaches the Little Prince what she calls "bond", that means, the Fox shows him how to be captive, how to make friends and how friendship can make people important and irreplaceable. Here we have - like I've said before - the interpretation associated with the human experience, and demonstrated a children's tale. That perspective is very clear when we pay attention to what the Fox says:
"To me, you are nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, the we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in the world. To you, I shall be unique in the world..." (p.68)
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| The Rose | © Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
And regarding the Rose, there's an interesting interpretation of the relationship between the Little Prince and the Rose. Since he arrived at Earth, he found a cluster of roses and then feels disappointed: he thought he had a unique rose and there was no one like her, but now, it seemed wrong. However, he comes to think his rose is unique when understands what a "bond" is, taught by the Fox:
"It's very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye... (...) It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important." (p.72).
Those quotes are so important, so applying them in life is relevant. In the first quote, we have the value of the essence, not the appearance. The appreciation of the feature and personality of the others, for what kind of people they are. It points to a review of prejudice and judgment. The second quote points the matter about the interaction between people and that's what makes them important to us. The appreciation of friendship as an essential feeling for human lives.
See you at the next post!
