a planet, a sheep, a boy, an elephant and a lesson on life (The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

Member Name: pontecaille

Product:	The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Date:	03/11/01 (360 review reads)
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Here should be the bedside book of any human being concerned not to miss its passage on Earth. There is the Bible and there is the Little Prince.

It is often said that the main sentence of this book is "the essential is invisible for the eyes". It is true, but to my opinion, we don’t grant to this sentence the direction the author wanted to give.
Saint-Exupery doesn’t give instruction or rule of life. He notes and helps us to do so. He notes that our perception of the world depends entirely on our heart.
Each page, each line repeats us this report in different words: the elephant in the boa, the sheep in the box, the flower and the garden, not the laughing cow but the laughing stars. You’ll see what I mean once you’ll start the reading.

And Saint-Exupery managed to write a simple tale and to communicate us his treasure of simple and deep wisdom he accumulated during the years. It is purely wonderful to enter his thoughts and in a way being part of his life for a short while.

It is a story touching reality nobody wants to admit. Written like a story for children, the Little Prince is a message of Saint-Exupery impregnated of bitterness but fully addressed to the adults.

It’s well known story. It is about a naïve and innocent walking from planet to planet and meeting different people. Progressively, the Little Prince learns how to appreciate what he sees in each one of these people, either good or bad. Something many of us still find difficult to do. Approaching people is one thing but truly value them for what they are or what they do is another deal.

What is also interesting is the fact Saint-Exupery wrote this book when going through a depression. Apparently his editor advised him to write a tale for children. However, after having written the Little Prince, Saint Exupery made apologies to the children because he had not written a story for them but a warning for a
dults.

The Little Prince has no name or first name. He is a Little Prince like the title of the book says. He is a Prince with little importance reigning on a planet made up to his dimensions. It is however difficult to draw a line in the case of this book. I mean that I would be tempted to refer it as a myth and not a tale but it is actually a bit of both:
A tale is about the destiny of one individual, the myth is about the destiny of humanity. So if we try to put this into a sensitive and evident order, this is what will come out and I hope something clear to your eyes:
#The hero of a tale – in this case the Little Prince – has no name, because he is common and so that each one can identify to him
#The hero of a myth is clearly defined, it’s a singular being


>The hero of the tale gains a microscopic and familiar victory
>The mythical hero gains a triumph to a universal level: he brings back from his adventures a general message addressed to the whole world.

Here is the main difference between tale and myth. The no name Little Prince treats great existential questions; then he takes cosmic dimensions; and finally he bathes in an indefinable and unspecified atmosphere, worrying and distressing.

The Little Prince is attached to the tale by his microscopic side and to the myth by the great lessons he delivers.

For me definitely a 5*.

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