ENGLISH 10

Book Review: The Little Prince

Introduction
“The Little Prince” is a contemporary fairytale whose plot is surreal and made up, but has real
characters. Antoine De Saint-Exupery

wanted to show us the problems of modern ages. He talks about the lack of love and finding of it as well
as the loneliness of people.

Thesis
We can see the story as an allegory that leads us to the moral of the story. The author’s
message can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on the reader.  The story is
primarily written for grownups as a leader to the children’s opinion of the world. It talks about
human power thirst and greed. Nothing matters to the people living on the planets but power
and making themselves look busy and important. They lost all sense and meaning of love.

1. While World War II raged in Europe and his homeland had been conquered by
the Nazis, Saint-Exupéry penned The Little Prince in New York. Are there any
symbols that conjure up images of conflict and exile in your mind?
Although it is hard to know what was going through the author's mind when he penned The
Little Prince, some features of the story can be interpreted as reflection on the traumatic
World War II period. The baobab trees, in particular, can be interpreted as a warning of what
can happen when danger is not closely monitored. The story of a Turkish astronomer whose
work is originally ignored due to his ethnic clothing is told in Chapter IV, and it confronts
racial prejudice and discrimination.
Nonetheless, the story's ambiguity allows for a variety of interpretations, and not everything
has to do with conflict. Many of the topics discussed by Saint-Exupéry in the book—for
example, contemporary civilization's misdirected goals and lack of spirituality—are discussed
in the book.

2. In The Little Prince, what distinguishes adults from children? Is the distinction
made only on the basis of age, or is there another factor at play?

Saint-Exupéry portrays children as innocent and truthful throughout The Little Prince,
whereas adults are corrupt and uninteresting. As the tiny prince travels from world to planet,
he encounters adults who lack originality and imagination, such as the businessman and the
geographer. They can only describe the world in the most mundane ways. On the other
hand, the young prince recognizes that the most significant traits in life are unseen and
mysterious. He asks more questions than he answers, and the pursuit of spiritual truth
appears to be his main focus. Above all, he realizes that the most important thing in life is
 connections, and that no one requires a full well or rose garden when a single drop of water
or a single rose may suffice.

Unlike most grownups, the tiny prince understands exactly what he wants and how much of it
he need. Even if he periodically wanders into a grown-up mindset, the narrator realizes the
truth of the childlike perspective. However, at the end of the story, the narrator had regained
some of his childlike enthusiasm, demonstrating that children's clear perspectives are not
limited by their age.

3. When the narrator and the prince go looking for a well, the narrator appears to
finally grasp the teachings the prince has taught him. What does this imply about
the novel's morals?

True comprehension cannot be obtained without real-world experience, according to one of

the story's themes. This concept is exemplified by the narrator's experiences in the desert.
Despite the fact that the narrator gains a lot from listening to the prince's story, it's clear that
learning the prince's lessons personally gives them a clarity that they wouldn't have
otherwise. The narrator discovers the well on his own, but his companion, the prince, falls
asleep and must be carried throughout the night. Finally, the prince's story serves as a
model for the narrator to understand how much he has been missing. He must take action on
his own to find the fulfillment he craves. As a result, Saint-Exupéry teaches us that we must
take action in order to learn the lessons in his story, although thus moral is never made
exactly clear.

Body
‘The little prince’ tells the story of a pilot stranded in the desert fixing his aeroplane, until one day he
meets a little boy – the Little Prince. The Little Prince tells the pilot many stories of his magical
journey from his little planet and of his encounters with different grown-ups. The story focuses on
how grown-ups are only interested in figures or matters of very little importance in life, in which the
Little Prince cannot understand. The story highlights how most grown-ups miss out on the simple
things in life, such as friendship, love and the beauty of the world because they are too occupied
with gaining wealth and power. They are tricked into believing that figures or having money is
important, but their life has no meaning.

The little prince learned a lot of thing from his friend the fox. It is important to put afford into someone
and to do it out of love and if we cry out of love those tears will do us good. We should only see love
because that is the only way we’ll ever be happy.

The little prince, through his love for the rose, found out what love is and how important it is. The
afford we put into someone and the responsibility we feel is love. When The little Prince realized that
he could die in peace because he knew he will be back with his rose again.

All of that is very important in today’s world of fake bliss where only pleasure is of matter.
“’It’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. People
have forgotten this truth’ the fox said, ‘But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible
for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.’”

The fox teaches the Little Prince about friendship: what it is, how it develops, and how it
manifests. In truth, the fox permits the prince to tame him, but he also warns him that "taming"
comes with risks that adults have overlooked. Responsibility comes with taming. The Little Prince
has invested himself in the rose without even realizing it, and now he owes himself to her because
he accepted, even created, the obligation of caring for her. He is now obligated to her for the rest
of his life and must eventually return. Character faults of the rose are unimportant.

“Goodbye,” said the fox. “Here is my secret. It’s quite simple: One sees clearly only with
the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

This quote right here is what I most like, it serves as a key message to all readers. It teaches the
reader that it is important to look beneath the surface to truly understand something, which most
people fail to do as they are only interested in the face-value of something, as demonstrated at
the very beginning of the story. This is a very important message for any child or grown-up to
understand, in which the book demonstrates very beautifully.

“When he lights his street lamp, it is as if he brought one more star to life, or one flower.
When he puts out his lamp, he sends the flower, or the star, to sleep. That is a beautiful
occupation. And since it is beautiful, it is truly useful.”

The book highlights the inherent beauty found in ordinary life in this quote. Even the seemingly
insignificant act of lighting a street lamp is not judged respectable, despite the fact that the act
itself is lovely. Beautiful goods, on the other hand, are "really beneficial." There is a connection
between the useful and the lovely.

Conclusion
Overall, I would suggest 'The Little Prince' to all youngsters above the age of eight, although
younger readers may struggle to understand some of the language or the central concept. They may
also find the book to be too serious, lacking in any sense of joy or humor, but older readers will
appreciate the great message included in this timeless tale.

Final Book Ratings:

Imagination: 10/10
Illustrations: 8/10
Writing: 7/10
Message: 10/10
Overall Rating: 9/10