Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s bestseller, ‘The Little Prince’ tells the story of a young man who, while trapped in a desert in Africa, meets a peculiar character that learns from him and teaches him much more in return. The protagonist, the little prince, helps him retrace his steps and rediscover himself, lest he quickly starts becoming what he hates.

Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more.

The quote above is the fox’s words. To understand, one must first tame, and to tame, and one must be patient and observe. Powerful. We’ll take a look at this bestseller of Antoine de Saint-Exupery that has been translated into more than 300 languages. With me, please.

Humor in The Little Prince

‘The Little Prince,’ not the little prince (I find the little prince funny anyway) is one book I find particularly humorous. The humor may not be so glaring, and this makes most of the events there even more hilarious. The characters from ‘The Little Prince‘ down to the snake- all of them, hilarious.

The Little Prince Language Journey So Far

Originally titled ‘Le Petit Prince’, and primarily set in a desert in Africa, the story of ‘The Little Prince‘ has been translated- apart from English to German, Spanish, and Latin.

A Recap of The Little Prince and the Major Lesson Therein

The little prince, on his way, spends time on about seven other planets, including the Earth- where he spends his time in a desert. Part of the story also takes place where the boy lives. This place is, however, not described explicitly by the author like he did, the other planets and the desert on Earth.

It is a story, quite short, but with many lessons. It takes us on a journey with a boy who becomes friends with a voyager, the little prince. It tells a story about friendship, love, the value of memories, what should be matters of consequence and what should not, and how the grown-ups get it wrong a lot of the time, but excuse themselves, because, well, they are grown-ups.

The Little Prince Structure

The author writes in very simple English. I only found one word unfamiliar in the course of reading this book. Don’t get me wrong, books should make people open their dictionaries to learn, and books should enrich one’s vocabulary. However, it is a complete turn-off, having to check the dictionary at every turn. It interrupts communication, and an impatient reader would likely shove the book aside without finishing it. The English used is English of the modern times. With twenty-seven chapters, some chapters contain just a few sentences. The book is concise and heavy with lessons.

Characterisation in The Little Prince

The characterization took a turn, one different from what I thought it would be. From chapter one, one would think the boy to be the main character, alas, the prince comes along and assumes that role. The boy narrates. Both are the two main characters in the book, but, the little prince is the protagonist.

Vividness of the Events in The Little Prince

The use of imagery in the book is commendable, and so is the use of illustrations, though obviously not the expert standard (because the boy himself admits that he really never did develop his drawing skills because that potential was stifled before it could bloom). The author’s use of adjectives gives a clearer picture of things- how each character looks, talks, and dresses. It makes the reader live in the story.

More on Lessons

‘The Little Prince‘ shines a light on the things society ignores, chasing after shadows instead. An instance I already used about two or three times- people buying pills in order not to drink water, only to spend the time saved, by the spring- means that grown-ups have lost touch with reality. At best, it is hilarious, a thing to do, and at worst, is a very foolish thing to do.

The book makes one reflect. The little prince learns to love his possessions a little more, on meeting the fox, agreeing to tame him, understanding him, and therefore becoming his friend.

We learn to lift our focus from the shell and focus a little more on the invaluable things, the things we cannot see. They distinguish us from inanimate things.

Character Development in The Little Prince

I like how every character is given life, some much more than the world, as it is, would allow them to have- the fox, the snake, the flowers. Even the characters who were only talked about, are given more ‘personalities’ than they would otherwise not have- the sheep, the baobabs, the boa constrictors.

Another thing I found quite funny, is the dedication. The author pleads that we indulge him and try to understand why he would dedicate this story, not to the grown-up but to the child that grew up.

I like that it exposes grown-ups for what most of them are- ignorant, worse still, comfortably so.

Wrapping Things Up

The curtains are drawn when the ovation is at its loudest. Things get quite tense towards the end of the book (not the story, because we would not want the story to end there) when the little prince is bitten by a snake and has to leave at the same spot he appeared in, exactly a year ago. The goodbyes. Very difficult. It reminds us of what happened with the fox. The goodbyes to beloved ones are always a hard pill to swallow. The little prince tries to deflect so many times- he cracks dry jokes and laughs, but nothing seems to be working. The boy is worried, still. He was only leaving his shell behind, he promises. The little prince transforms in the most glorious way. The stars are always there to remind the boy of the little prince. The beauty is, the boy cannot tell which star exactly his friend is, so he would have to love all the stars equally. So, sometimes, he looks up to the sky and begins to laugh. Of course, people would think him crazy, especially the grown-ups, the grown-ups! But, that won’t matter, because he would only be looking out for his friend, and happiness is all that matters. What a beautiful story!