NOVEL ANALYSIS

NAME: IQRA SHAHZADI

TEACHER NAME: Syed Muhammad Mujtaba

SUBJECT: Creative writing

ENROLLMENT NO: 05-171182-016

CLASS: BS 4 (A)
 NOVEL:

“THE LITTLE PRINCE”

I. Authors background:

Antoine de saint Exupery (1900-1944)

His friends called him Saint-Ex. In reality, he was named Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. He is one of
the greatest French writers. He is also one of the pioneers of aviation. Here is his story. Antoine
de Saint-Exupéry was born in Lyon in 1900. At an early age, he dreamt of adventure. His
greatest ambition was to be an officer in the Navy. In order to become a naval officer, one had to
pass a very difficult exam. Saint-Exupéry took the exam and failed... there was, fortunately,
another solution – aviation. At this time, aviation was extremely dangerous. Danger, risk – this is
precisely for what Saint-Exupéry wished. During his military service, he learned to pilot
airplanes. Saint-Exupéry had only one idea in his head: to fly.

After his military service, he presented himself to the director of an airline company and
expressed to him his desire to become a pilot. The director told him, “Do like everyone else.
First, you must become a mechanic.” Saint-Exupéry worked to become a mechanic. In 1927, he
finally reached his goal. He was the pilot of a formation. He completed dangerous missions over
the Mediterranean, over the Sahara. He had many accidents over the middle of the desert. Later,
he was named the director of his own aviation company in South America. There also, he
accomplished many dangerous missions over the Andes.

For Saint-Exupéry, flying wasn't just piloting an airplane. It was also meditating, reflecting.
During his missions, Saint-Exupéry thought deeply about solitude, friendship, the meaning of
life, the human condition, and liberty. He published his reflections. His books had immediate
success. Unfortunately, the aviation company for which Saint-Exupéry worked was having
serious financial problems. Saint-Exupéry had to quit the company. He became a journalist. He
went to Spain, Russia, and Germany. He flew when he could. In 1939, France went to war with
Germany. Saint-Exupéry enlisted immediately in the army. Defeat came soon. France was
occupied by Hitler's troops. Saint-Exupéry didn't accept the defeat. He decided to leave France.
He settled in the United States [in the Village of Northport on Long Island], where he continued
to write. It was in [Northport], New York that he [wrote and then] published The Little Prince,
one of his most celebrated books. In 1942, American troops landed in North Africa. Saint-
Exupéry decided to join the American army. At age 42, he volunteered to be a pilot. He was told
that he was too old. He persisted. Finally he obtained satisfaction. He was given an airplane. He
accomplished many missions over occupied France. On the 31st of July, 1944, Saint-Exupéry
left for his last mission. German airplanes destroyed his airplane over the Mediterranean. On that
day, Saint-Exupéry didn't return... in the open sky, he found risk, death, and glory.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry may not be a household name in America, but his most famous
work, The Little Prince, certainly is. As for France, Saint-Exupéry is beloved by readers of all
ages and famed for his other works as well.

Best remembered for his novella The Little Prince, which is one of the best-selling and most
translated books of all time.

II. Summary: (plot overview)

The storyteller, a plane pilot, crashes at intervals the Sahara leave. The crash gravely harms his
plane and leaves the storyteller with very little food or water. As he's action over his bind, he's
drawn nearer by the little prince, a very real little lightweight boy WHO inquires the storyteller
to draw him a sheep. The storyteller obliges, and therefore the 2 gotten to be buddies. The pilot
learns that the little prince comes from a bit planet that the little prince decisions Asteroid 325
however that people on earth call asteroid B-612. The little prince took awe-inspiring care of this
planet, anticipating any unhealthy seeds from developing and creating on the far side any doubt it
had been ne'er overwhelm by monkey-bread tree trees. One day, a mysterious rose fully grown
on the earth and therefore the very little prince fell in care for with it. However once he caught
the rose in a very lie someday, he chosen that he appear not believe her any more. He developed
lonely and chosen to require off. In spite of an unpunctual compromise with the rose, the little
prince kicked off to research different planets and cure his loneliness.

Gradually, the man and the boy “tame” each other. The home from which the little prince has
come is an asteroid, hardly larger than a house; it holds one rose, one baobab tree, and three
volcanoes. The boy hopes to widen his knowledge by visiting much larger places, such as the
planet Earth, and meeting the people, animals, and plants that live in those places. He is inwardly
preoccupied, however, with the safety of his dearly loved rose.

While traveling, the storyteller tells us, the little prince passes by neighboring space

rocks and experiences for the primary time the unusual, narrow-minded world of grown-ups.
On the primary six planets the little prince visits, he meets a lord, an unsuccessful man, a boozer,
a businessman, a lamplighter, and a geographer, all of whom live alone and
are excessively expended by their chosen occupations. Such strange behavior both entertains and
perturbs the little prince. He does not get it there have to be arrange individuals around, to
be valued, and to possess everything. With the release of the lamplighter,
whose stubborn reliability he admire, the little prince does not think much of the grown-ups he
visits, and he does not learn anything useful. However, he learns from the geographer
that blossoms don't final until the end of time, and he starts to miss the rose he has cleared
out behind.

At the geographer’s recommendation, the little prince visits earth, but he lands within

the center of the desert and cannot discover any people. Instep, he meets
a snake who talks in mysteries and clues unclearly that its deadly harm can send the little
prince back to the sky on the off chance that he so wishes. The little prince disregards the offer
and proceeds his investigations, uncertain to conversation to a three-pealed blossom and to climb
the tallest mountain he can discover, where he misperceives the resound of his voice
for discussion. Certainly, the little prince finds a rose cultivate,
which shocks and discourages him—his rose had told him that she was the as it were one of her
kind.

In the Sahara, the prince meets the fox, who reveals to him the major secrets of life. These
secrets cannot be seen by the eyes, unless the heart is involved. When the prince wants to play,
the fox explains that “connecting” takes time and patience; through such connecting, one rose
among thousands becomes special. The fox explains also that one is forever responsible where
love is involved, that words cause misunderstandings; that rites and rituals are significant but
often forgotten, and that crucial matters are often ignored and not appreciated. These lessons help
the little prince understand his own mistakes, and he decides to return home to protect his rose.

It is now the narrator’s eighth day in the desert, and at the prince’s suggestion, they set off to find
a well. The water feeds their hearts as much as their bodies, and the two share a moment of bliss
as they agree that too many people do not see what is truly important in life. The little prince’s
mind, however, is fixed on returning to his rose, and he begins making plans with the snake to
head back to his planet. The narrator is able to fix his plane on the day before the one-year
anniversary of the prince’s arrival on Earth, and he walks sadly with his friend out to the place
the prince landed. The snake bites the prince, who falls noiselessly to the sand.

The narrator takes comfort when he cannot find the prince’s body the next day and is confident
that the prince has returned to his asteroid. The narrator is also comforted by the stars, in which
he now hears the tinkling of his friend’s laughter. Often, however, he grows sad and wonders if
the sheep he drew has eaten the prince’s rose. The narrator concludes by showing his readers a
drawing of the desert landscape and by asking us to stop for a while under the stars if we are ever
in the area and to let the narrator know immediately if the little prince has returned.

III. Analysis of the novel:

Characters:
 The Little Prince
The title character of The Little Prince is a pure and innocent traveler from outer space whom
the narrator encounters in the Sahara desert. Before the little prince lands on Earth, Saint-
Exupéry contrasts the prince’s childlike character with different adult characters by having
the prince hop from one neighboring planet to another. On each planet, the prince meets a
different type of adult and reveals that character’s frivolities and weaknesses. Once on Earth,
however, the little prince becomes a student as well as a teacher. From his friend the fox, the
little prince learns what love entails, and in turn he passes on those lessons to the narrator.

The little prince has few of the glaring flaws evident in the other characters, and he is
immediately shown to be a character of high caliber by his ability to recognize the narrator’s
Drawing Number One as a picture of a boa constrictor that has eaten a snake. Nevertheless,
the prince’s fear as he prepares to be sent back to his planet by a snakebite shows that he is
susceptible to the same emotions as the rest of us. Most notably, the prince is bound by his
love for the rose he has left on his home planet. His constant questioning also indicates that
one’s search for answers can be more important than the answers themselves.
 The Narrator

The narrator of The Little Prince is an adult in years, but he explains that he was rejuvenated
six years earlier after he crashed his plane in the desert. He was an imaginative child whose
first drawing was a cryptic interpretation of a boa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant.
Eventually, he abandoned art for the grown-up profession of pilot, and he lives a lonely life
until he encounters the little prince. He serves as the prince’s confidant and relays the
prince’s story to us, but the narrator also undergoes transformations of his own. After
listening to the prince’s story about the knowledge the prince has learned from the fox, the
narrator himself learns the fox’s lessons about what makes things important when he
searches for water in the desert. The narrator’s search for the well indicates that lessons must
be learned through personal exploration and not only from books or others’ teachings.
Both the narrator and the prince are protagonists of the story, but they differ in significant
ways. Whereas the prince is mystical and supernatural, the pilot is a human being who grows
and develops over time. When the narrator first encounters the prince, he cannot grasp the
subtle truths that the prince presents to him, whereas the prince is able to comprehend
instantly the lessons his explorations teach him. This shortcoming on the narrator’s part
makes him a character we can relate to as human beings more easily than we can relate to the
otherworldly, extraordinarily perceptive little prince.

 The Rose

Although the rose appears only in a couple of chapters, she is crucial to the novel as a whole
because her melodramatic, proud nature is what causes the prince to leave his planet and
begin his explorations. Also, the prince’s memory of his rose is what prompts his desire to
return. As a character who gains significance because of how much time and effort the prince
has invested in caring for her, the rose embodies the fox’s statement that love comes from
investing in other people. Although the rose is, for the most part, vain and naïve, the prince
still loves her deeply because of the time he has spent watering and caring for her.

Much has been written comparing the little prince’s relationship with his rose to the
relationship between Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his wife, Consuelo, but the rose can also
be read as a symbol of universal love. In literature, the rose has long served as a symbol of
the beloved, and Saint-Exupéry takes that image in good stride, giving the prince’s flower
human characteristics, both good and bad. Because of the rose, the prince learns that what is
most essential is invisible, that time away from one’s beloved causes a person to better
appreciate that love, and that love engenders responsibility—all of which are broad morals
that obviously extend beyond the author’s personal history.

 The Fox

The fox appears quite suddenly and inexplicably while the prince is mourning the
ordinariness of his rose after having come across the rose garden. When the fox immediately
sets about establishing a friendship between himself and the prince, it seems that instruction
is the fox’s sole purpose. Yet when he begs the little prince to tame him, the fox appears to
be the little prince’s pupil as well as his instructor. In his lessons about taming, the fox argues
for the importance of ceremonies and rituals, showing that such tools are important even
outside the strict world of grown-ups.
In his final encounter with the prince, the fox facilitates the prince’s departure by making
sure the prince understands why his rose is so important to him. This encounter displays an
ideal type of friendship because even though the prince’s departure causes the fox great pain,
the fox behaves unselfishly, encouraging the prince to act in his own best interest.

 The Snake

Even though the snake the little prince encounters in the desert speaks in riddles, he demands
less interpretation than the other symbolic figures in the novel. The snake also has less to
learn than many of the other characters. The grown-ups on the various planets are too
narrow-minded for their own good, and the prince and the narrator edge closer to
enlightenment, but the serpent does not require answers or even ask questions. In fact, the
snake is so confident he has mastered life’s mysteries that he tells the prince he speaks only
in riddles because he can solve all riddles. In a story about mysteries, the snake is the only
absolute. His poisonous bite and biblical allusion indicate that he represents the unavoidable
phenomenon of death.

 The Baobabs

Baobabs, harmless trees on Earth, pose a great threat to smaller planets like the prince’s if
left unchecked. They can squeeze whole planets to pieces with their roots. Although baobabs
have no malicious opinions or intentions, they represent the grave danger that can befall
people who are too lazy or indifferent to keep a wary eye on the world around them.

 The King

On the first planet the little prince visits, he encounters a king who claims to rule the entire
universe. While not unkindly, the king’s power is empty. He is able to command people to do
only what they already would do.

 The Vain Man

The sole resident of the second planet the little prince visits. The vain man is lonely and
craves admiration from all who pass by. However, only by being alone is he assured of being
the richest and best-looking man on his planet.

 The Drunkard

The third person the little prince encounters after leaving home is a drunkard, who spends his
days and nights lost in a stupor. The drunkard is a sad figure, but he is also foolish because
he drinks to forget that he is ashamed of drinking.

 The Businessman
A caricature of grown-ups who is the fourth person the little prince visits. Too busy even to
greet his visitor, the businessman owns all the stars. Yet he cannot remember what they are
called and contributes nothing to them. Although the little prince comments on the oddity of
the grown-ups he meets, the businessman is the only character the prince actively chastises.

 The Lamplighter

The fifth and most complex figure the prince encounters before landing on Earth. At first, the
lamplighter appears to be yet another ridiculous character with no real purpose, but his
selfless devotion to his orders earns him the little prince’s admiration. Of all the adults the
little prince encounters before reaching Earth, the lamplighter is the only one the prince
thinks he could befriend.

 The Geographe

The sixth and final character the little prince encounters before he lands on Earth. Although
the geographer is apparently well-read, he refuses to learn about his own planet, saying it is a
job for explorers. He recommends that the little prince visit Earth, and his comments on the
ephemeral nature of flowers reveal to the prince that his own flower will not last forever.

 The Railway Switchman

The railway switchman works at the hub for the enormous trains that rush back and forth
carrying dissatisfied adults from one place to the other. He has more perspective on life than
the unhappy, thoughtless passengers his trains ferry. He agrees with the prince that the
children are the only ones who appreciate and enjoy the beauty of the train rides.

 The Salesclerk

The salesclerk sells pills that quench thirst on the grounds that people can save up to fifty-
three minutes a day if they don’t have to stop to drink. He symbolizes the modern world’s
misplaced emphasis on saving time and taking shortcuts.

 The Roses in the Rose Garden

The sight of the rose garden first leads the prince to believe that his flower is not, in fact,
unique. However, with the fox’s guidance, the prince realizes that even so many similar
flowers cannot stop his own rose from being unique.

 The Three-Petaled Flower

The three-petaled flower lives alone in the desert, watching the occasional caravan pass by.
She mistakenly informs the prince that there are only a handful of men in the world and that
their lack of roots means they are often blown along.

 The Little Prince’s Echo

The little prince’s echo is not really a character, but the little prince mistakes it for one. When
he shouts from a mountaintop, he hears his echo and believes that Earth people simply repeat
what is said to them.

 The Turkish Astronomer

The first human to discover the prince’s home, Asteroid B-612. When the Turkish
astronomer first presents his discovery, no one believes him on account of his Turkish
costume. Years later, he makes the same presentation wearing Western clothes, and his
discovery is well received. The scientific community’s treatment of the Turkish astronomer
reveals that ignorance propels xenophobia (a fear or hatred of foreigners) and racism.

Protagonist

The protagonist of the short novel is the Little Prince. He is a simple, yet mystical, creature
from asteroid B-612. One day a seed arrives on his planet and blooms into a beautiful flower.
Though the flower is lovely, it is vain and irritates the Prince. Finally he leaves his planet, to
escape the flower. After visiting several asteroids, the Little Prince reaches Earth, where he
meets the narrator in the Sahara Desert.

Antagonist

The problem, or antagonist, of the Little Prince is his thirst for answers. He visits many
planets and meets many people, whom he questions about life. In particular, he wants to
understand the existence and pastimes of adults on Earth. He tries to find his answers from a
snake, a fox, and the narrator.

Climax

The climax of the plot occurs when the Little Prince decides to return to his planet and care
for his special flower. He has learned from the fox that the important things in life cannot be
seen with the eye, only felt with the heart. This lesson eventually makes the Little Prince
realize that the flower from which he has fled is really very special. After meeting the
narrator and explaining all that he has learned since he left his planet, the Prince accepts that
he really loves the flower because she is his responsibility, and he has invested time and
trouble in her survival. As a result, he decides that he must go back to his star to take care of
his special rose.
 Outcome

The story ends in comedy. The Little Prince finds the answers to his questions about what is
important in life. When he realizes his love for the flower, he accepts that he must return to
his star to care for the rose. He makes arrangements with the poisonous snake to bite him,
which will insure his safe passage back home. Before he departs, the Little Prince makes a
profound impression on the narrator.

Synopsis

The narrator begins the tale with an explanation of his dislike of adults; he claims he does not
enjoy them, for they are much too practical. Instead, he prefers the company of children, who
are natural and curious.

The narrator next tells of how his plane crashed in the desert, where he met the Little Prince,
a mystical creature from another planet. The narrator tells why the Prince left his planet and
where he visited before coming to Earth. His adventures on six different planets are
recounted, including the encounters with the king, the conceited man, the tippler, the
businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer, the snake, and the desert flower, the garden of
roses, the railway switchman, the merchant, the fox, and the narrator.

The narrator and the Prince share a rewarding relationship on the desert, and when the Little
Prince departs, the narrator misses his company. He writes the novel in memory of the Little
Prince.

Major Themes

In The Little Prince, Saint-Exupéry explains the importance of seeing the whole truth in
order to find beauty. He believes that visible things are only shells that hint at the real worth
hidden inside. He points out that man has not learned to look beneath the surface, or perhaps,
has forgotten how to do so. Because adults never look inside, they will never know
themselves or others.

All his life, Saint-Exupéry thought that grown-ups cared mostly about inconsequential
matters, such as golf and neckties. When they talked about important matters, they always
became dull and boring. They seemed afraid to open up their hearts to the real issues of life;
instead, they chose to function on a surface level.

In the book, the fox teaches that one can see only what is important in life by looking with
the heart. Because of this lesson, Saint-Exupéry leaves the desert as a different person. He
has accepted the Little Prince's thought that “'the stars are beautiful because of a flower that
cannot be seen.” In essence, the fox’s lesson is about how to love, a most important lesson
for everybody to learn. The fox points out that it is the time that one “wastes” on someone or
something that makes it important. The fox also tells the readers that love can overcome
existentialism: “One only knows the things that one tames.... Men buy things already made in
the stores. But as there are no stores where friends can be bought, men no longer have
friends.” A human must earn a friendship, not buy it.

Finally, Saint-Exupéry explains how all joy and pleasure must be earned, not given or
received. As an example, he shows the joy that the Little Prince and the pilot feel when they
taste the water from the well. Its sweetness comes from their journey under the stars and the
work of the pilot’s arms making the pulley sing. In the end, the Little Prince again
experiences a new joy. Leaving his “shell” behind, he has gone to the most beautiful place he
can imagine -- his star, which is his love; he has returned to his own little heaven.

Minor Themes

Saint-Exupéry scorns man’s obsession with the wrong things, such as wealth, power, and
technology; he uses the King, the Businessman, and the Lamplighter to highlight this theme.
The king puts a great deal of importance into being obeyed, even though he orders only what
would happen anyway. The businessman takes great pride in owning all the stars, but he is
too busy counting them to gain any pleasure from their beauty. The Little Prince tries to
teach him the pointlessness of his “property.” The Little Prince also scorns the Lamplighter’s
fascination with science and technology. He is so caught up in the importance of lighting his
lamp, that he misses what is important in life.

The need to have faith is another minor theme in the book. The Little Prince arrives on the
Earth during a spiritually troubled phase and stays until he has resolved his confusions.
During his stay, he teaches the narrator the importance of having faith and belief. Many
critics have called the Little Prince a Christ-figure, for he is described as being free of sin. He
also believes in a life after death. At the end of the book, he returns to his star, his heaven.

Mood

The mood is mostly adventurous and mysterious, with a philosophical overtone. At first the
Little Prince does not reveal his identity, creating an initial sense of mystery. Then as the
Little Prince recounts his travels, the mood becomes adventurous. As he questions the fox
and the narrator, the mood becomes philosophic. At the end, when the Prince arranges to be
bitten by the snake, the mood again becomes mysterious. Although he seems to die from the
snake bite, the narrator cannot find the Prince’s body when he looks for it the next morning.
He can only assume that the Prince successfully returns to his star.

The reason for choosing the author and novel:

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a French writer and pilot. He wrote many stories that became
famous, including The Little Prince (original: Le petit prince, 1943), Night Flight (original:
Vol de nuit, 1931), and Wind, Sand and Stars (original: Terre des homeland of People, 1939).
His novels is very fascinating and interesting especially for the kids. There always a lesson
for the audience in his novels.

I choose this novel because it give us a moral that Trust in unusual characters — you might
learn something. And it is the fox who bestows upon the little prince three important life
lessons: "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
"It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important." The story enabled
him to express that there are much more important things, such as the humankind itself, and
that humanity is a non-political category.

Character I choose for myself:

I choose the character ROSE because it is the symbol of love, grace, beauty and purity. Rose
gave the lesson that sometimes we didn’t see the beauty and love that were invisible. We
only gave preferences to those that we can see. Always show respect and love for the one
who is important for us. Gave importance to those who loves you, gave importance to you.
Sometimes whatever we see is not the reality, sometimes we feel it. So yeah I loved this
character.