Le Petit Prince

In honor of present graduations, I would like to recommend a novel to all those who are continuing on in life, be it pursuing higher education or entering the adult world through an abundance of other ventures.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry.

This unassuming children's book was a staple of my childhood. My grandmother used to read it to me in English and French until I began to read on my own. The story was full of adventure and magic, from talking plants and animals to interplanetary travel.

The novella begins with the Prince meeting the narrator in the middle of the Sahara. He asks the narrator to draw him a sheep, and, after many failed attempts, the narrator draws a box which, he explains, houses the sheep. The Prince is finally satisfied. Over the next eight days, the Little Prince entertains the narrator with tales of his adventures.

The Prince hails from the asteroid B-612. He spends most of his time eradicating the baobab trees which threaten to turn his planet to dust if not removed. One day he meets a rose and grows to love it, though the rose is unable to express her love in return. He decides to leave to see what the rest of the universe is like.

Along the way he meets a King, a Conceited Man, a Drunkard, a Businessman, a Lamplighter, and a Geographer. Each person he encounters teaches him very valuable life lessons.

Eventually, the Little Prince travels to Earth on the advice of the Geographer. He is continually disappointed by Earth. He climbs to the top of a mountain hoping to see people and places but sees only a desolate landscape. He expresses distaste over how people on Earth simply repeat everything he says to them. Later, the Prince happens upon an entire row of rosebushes, and becomes upset because he believed his rose was the only one in the entire universe. He begins to be ashamed of himself and his planet, which only has one of a seemingly common flower and three tiny volcanoes.

He continues on to meet a fox, who he tames, and a merchant, who explains the absurdity of the human condition to him. The fox assures him that his rose is special because she is the one he loves. All his adventures lead him to a better understanding of himself and his planet.

This story commands an entirely new perspective and interpretation from adults. The lessons learned by the Prince are profound and untainted reflecting the naive wisdom of childhood. He constantly berates adults for losing their understanding of life and praises children for their simple and true worldview. It is filled with beautiful proverbs for everyone to live by, including those who are only young at heart. It is definitely a must-read for anyone starting on a new chapter in life or simply continuing on a journey.

Memorable Quotes:

"Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to have to explain things to them always and forever."

"I should never have listened to her," he confided to me one day, "One should never listen to the flowers. One should simply look at them and breathe their fragrance."

"It is truly useful since it is beautiful."

"Language is the source of misunderstandings."

"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."

"What makes the desert beautiful," says the little prince, "is that somewhere it hides a well."

"All grown-ups were children first. (But few remember it)."

"That is the hardest thing of all. It is much harder to judge yourself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself, it's because you're truly a wise man."

"You're lovely, but you're empty," he went on. "One couldn't die for you. Of course an ordinary passerby would think my rose looked just like you. But my rose, all on her own, is more important than you altogether, since she's the one I've watered. Since she's the one I put under glass. Since she's the one I sheltered behind a screen. Since she's the one for whom I killed the caterpillars (except for two or three for butterflies). Since's she's the one I listened to when she complained, or when she boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing at all. Since she's my rose."

"You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed."

À bientôt,

M