The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Book Summary Information
Author: Antoine de Saint-ExuperyTranslator: Richard Howard
Edition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2000-06-29
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 96
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of The Little Prince
Book Review: Surprisingly dogmatic attack on dogma
Summary: 3 Stars
What I find remarkable about "The Little Prince" is the discrepancy between how it is generally perceived (or remembered) and much of what it actually says. It is generally treated as a straightforward (if symbolic) plea to the reader to value the open mind of a child and the bonds of mutual care that unite lovers and friends. But in fact, if the book arrives at that point, it does so in a paradoxical way, like a Zen koan. The book actually highlights the dogmatism of children and the irrationality of lovers, and in fact, at least on its surface, suggests that children are superior to adults and should distrust them. As a child, this message disturbed me, but I did not have the mental framework to reject it. As an adult, it still offends me, but I am better able to see why.
In the famous opening sequence, the adult narrator describes, as a child, drawing a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant, an image that adults invariably perceive as a hat. While the idea is whimsical and inventive, Saint-Exup?ry takes the idea in a small-minded direction. Rather than marvelling at the fact that the figure can be seen in two radically different ways, the narrator pouts that adults must be stupid not to see what he drew in the first place, retains that dogmatism even as a "grownup," and is rewarded when he finally meets a kindred soul in the little prince, who can see what the image "really" is.
This pitting of wise children against ignorant adults reaches its nadir when the prince, in the midst of his tour through the planets, meets the drunkard who drinks to forget that he drinks. Grownups are very strange, concludes the supercilious prince. Oh, please, says this adult, who has seen plenty of childish irrationality. Basically, the adult drinker is analogous to every child who has ever been too tired to go to sleep, which basically includes every boy and girl ever born. I am reminded of C.S. Lewis, writing at roughly the same time, who inserted the same kind of heavy-handed "I'm on your side, kids" sentiment into his books, where "grownups" become the easy target of scorn. In one particularly memorable instance from "The Magician's Nephew" in the Narnia series, the protagonist's uncle is infatuated with the witch whom his nephew unwittingly admits from another world, overlooking the havoc she wreaks on London to observe that she is a damn fine woman and imagining that she is equally interested in him. Yet even though Lewis pokes fun at the foolish adult, he is even-handed enough to reflect that children have their own ways of being silly. This insight is beyond Saint-Exup?ry.
Parallel to his battle between the generations, Saint-Exup?ry stokes the war between the sexes. The little prince loves a femme fatale rose who, while pretty, embodies almost every negative stereotypical feminine attribute imaginable: she is demanding, vain, and dishonest. Yet the prince is made to feel guilty for having left her behind; a male is to serve such a lover unquestioningly, even unto death, and thereby prove his worth. I don't mean to take my argument into the realm of unimaginative political correctness to insist that every relationship, even in a 1940s romance between a flower and a prince, be presented as egalitarian and healthy in every way. But dumping the responsibility for a rose who has absolutely nothing to recommend her on a child who is just a wee thing himself seems almost enough to turn a reader off romance for life.
So ultimately, in lovely poetic symbolism with charming childlike drawings, Saint-Exup?ry idealizes what seems to be a double pattern of paternalism: grownups are to admire the children who are encouraged to scorn them, and lovers are to care for the objects of their affection who only make life difficult for them. I believe that adults can recover a worthwhile message from this view of the world because they are experienced enough to see it as an exaggeration, not the full picture. But it's rather a heavy load for a child.
Children's Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Children's Books
Tempted (House of Night)ATOM; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.61
Tempted (House of Night Novels)by P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2009-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.90
Price in other shops:
LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionaryby Simon Beecroft
DK Publishing; Published: 2009-09-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $11.87
Price in other shops:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rulesby Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books; Published: 2008-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Strawby Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books; Published: 2009-01-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.15
Price in other shops:
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmasby Jane O'connor
HarperCollins; Published: 2009-11-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.38
Price in other shops:
House of Danger (Choose Your Own Adventure #6)by R. A. Montgomery
Chooseco; Published: 2006-05-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.47
Price in other shops:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Daysby Jeff Kinney
Amulet Books; Published: 2009-10-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.25
Price in other shops:
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teensby Sean Covey
Fireside; Published: 1998-10-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.21
Price in other shops:
Where the Wild Things Areby Maurice Sendak
HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS; Harper Collins; Published: 1988-11-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Saint-Exupery: A Biographyby Stacy Schiff
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 2006-02-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
The Sacraments: Rites of Conversionby William J. O'Malley
Tabor Pub; Published: 1995-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.00
Price in other shops:
Introducing the Little Prince: Board Book Gift Setby Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry
Harcourt Children's Books; Published: 2003-04-01; Board book; Book
Best price: $12.95
Jonathan Livingston Seagullby Richard Bach
Scribner; Published: 2006-01-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.95
Price in other shops:
Night Flightby Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry, Stuart Gilbert
Mariner Books; Published: 1974-03-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.91
Price in other shops:
The Little PrinceParamount; Release date: 2004-04-06; DVD
Best price: $7.57
Price in other shops:
Wind, Sand and Starsby Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Mariner Books; Published: 2002-12-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.63
Price in other shops:
The Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Princeby Consuelo de Saint-Exupery
Random House Trade Paperbacks; Published: 2003-01-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.93
Price in other shops:
Le Petit Prince (French Language Edition)by Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry
Mariner Books; Published: 2001-09-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.48
Price in other shops:
A Guide for Grown-ups: Essential Wisdom from the Collected Works of Antoine de Saint-Exup?ryby Antoine de Saint-Exup?ry
Harcourt Children's Books; Published: 2002-05-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.40
Price in other shops: