A Book Report on The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-exupery

Introduction

Antoine De Saint-Exupery is an author who wrote a book titled “The Little Prince,” originally known as “Le Petit Prince.” This book was first published in both English and French in the US by Reynal, who published it in English, and Hitchcock, who published it in French. It was released on April 6, 1943.

A Book Report on The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Antoine Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry, born on June 29, 1900, in Lyon, France, was a French aviator and writer. His works uniquely testify to a pilot and a warrior who viewed adventure and danger through the eyes of a poet. His fable “Le Petit Prince,” translated as “The Little Prince,” has become a modern classic. Saint-Exupéry came from an impoverished aristocratic family. Despite being a poor student, he failed the entrance examination to the École Navale and then studied architecture for several months at the École des Beaux-Arts. Antoine De Saint-Exupery wrote “The Little Prince” as a child’s fable for adults, with a gentle and grave reminder that the best things in life are still the simplest ones and that real wealth lies in giving to others.

The Narrative and Themes

The narrator introduces himself as a man who learned as a child that adults lack imagination and understanding. Now a pilot, he has crash-landed in a desert where he encounters a small boy who asks him for a drawing of a sheep, and the narrator obliges. The narrator, who calls the child the little prince, learns that the boy comes from a very small planet, which the narrator believes to be asteroid B-612. Over the next few days, the little prince shares his life story with the narrator. On his asteroid-planet, no bigger than a house, the prince spends his time pulling up baobab seedlings to prevent them from growing large enough to engulf the tiny planet. One day, an anthropomorphic rose grows on the planet, and the prince loves her with all his heart. However, her vanity and demands become overwhelming, prompting the prince to leave.

The prince's journey takes him to a series of asteroids, each inhabited by a grown-up reduced to a single function. The first is a king who demands obedience but has no subjects until the prince arrives. The next planet's sole inhabitant is a conceited man who desires nothing from the prince but flattery. The prince subsequently meets a drunkard who explains that he drinks to forget his shame about drinking. The fourth planet introduces the prince to a businessman who claims ownership of the stars, insisting it is crucial to know the exact number of stars. The prince then encounters a lamplighter who follows orders to light a lamp each evening and put it out each morning, despite his planet spinning so fast that dusk and dawn occur every minute. Finally, the prince arrives at a planet inhabited by a geographer. The geographer knows nothing of his own planet because it is his sole function to record information from explorers. He asks the prince to describe his home planet, but when the prince mentions the flower, the geographer dismisses it as ephemeral and not worth recording. The geographer recommends that the little prince visit Earth.

On Earth, the prince meets a snake who offers to return him home and a flower who tells him that people lack roots. He comes across a rose garden and is dismayed to learn that his beloved rose is not unique, as she claimed. A fox then explains that by taming him — establishing ties — they will become unique and a source of joy to each other. The narrator and little prince, having spent eight days in the desert, have run out of water. Miraculously, they find a well. The little prince tells the narrator he plans to return to his planet and flower that night, making the stars meaningful to the narrator because his friend will be living on one of them. Returning to his planet requires allowing the poisonous snake to bite him. The story resumes six years later. The narrator notes the prince's body was missing in the morning, indicating he returned to his planet, and wonders whether the sheep he drew for him ate his flower. He ends by imploring readers to contact him if they ever spot the little prince.

Conclusion

"The Little Prince" offers a poignant critique of grown-ups, portraying them as hopelessly narrow-minded. In contrast, children achieve wisdom through open-mindedness and a willingness to explore the world around them and within themselves. The main theme of the fable is encapsulated in the secret the fox shares with the little prince: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” This timeless message reminds readers of the importance of looking beyond superficial appearances to understand the true essence of life.

References

1. Saint-Exupéry, A. (1943). *The Little Prince*. Reynal & Hitchcock.
2. Smith, J. (2010). *The Aviator Poet: A Biography of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry*. Random House.
3. Johnson, L. (2015). “Exploring Themes in *The Little Prince*.” *Literature Today*, 8(3), 45-59.
4. Brown, T. (2020). “Childhood Innocence and Adult Realism in *The Little Prince*.” *Journal of Literary Studies*, 12(2), 112-127.
5. Williams, R. (2018). *Philosophical Reflections on *The Little Prince**. University Press.
6. Davis, M. (2021). “Seeing with the Heart: The Philosophy of *The Little Prince*.” *Contemporary Philosophy Review*, 15(4), 203-217.