In 1943, the work of interest to us was first published. Let's talk briefly about the background of its creation, and then carry out an analysis. " A little prince" - a work, the impetus for writing which was one incident that happened to its author.
In 1935, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was involved in a plane crash during a flight from Paris to Saigon. He ended up in a territory located in the Sahara, in its northeastern part. Memories of this accident and the Nazi invasion prompted the author to think about the responsibility of people for the Earth, about the fate of the world. In 1942, he wrote in his diary that he was worried about his generation, devoid of spiritual content. People lead a herd existence. To return spiritual concerns to a person is the task that the writer set for himself.
Who is the work dedicated to?
The story we are interested in is dedicated to Leon Vert, a friend of Antoine. This is important to note when conducting analysis. “The Little Prince” is a story in which everything is filled with deep meaning, including the dedication. After all, Leon Werth is a Jewish writer, journalist, critic who suffered persecution during the war. Such a dedication was not just a tribute to friendship, but also a bold challenge from the writer to anti-Semitism and Nazism. IN hard times created his own fairy tale Exupery. He fought against violence with words and illustrations, which he hand-created for his work.
Two worlds in the story
Two worlds are presented in this story - adults and children, as our analysis shows. “The Little Prince” is a work in which the division is not made according to age. For example, the pilot is an adult, but he managed to preserve his childish soul. The author divides people according to ideals and ideas. For adults, the most important things are their own affairs, ambition, wealth, power. But a child’s soul yearns for something else - friendship, mutual understanding, beauty, joy. Antithesis (children and adults) helps to reveal the main conflict of the work - the confrontation between two various systems values: real and false, spiritual and material. It goes deeper further. Having left the planet, the little prince meets “strange adults” on his way, whom he is unable to understand.
Travel and dialogue
The composition is based on travel and dialogue. The big picture the existence of the loser moral values humanity recreates the meeting with the “adults” of the little prince.
The main character travels in the story from asteroid to asteroid. He visits, first of all, the nearest ones, where people live alone. Each asteroid has a number, like apartments in a modern multi-story building. These numbers hint at the separation of people who live in neighboring apartments, but seem to live on different planets. For the little prince, meeting the inhabitants of these asteroids becomes a lesson in loneliness.
Meeting with the King
On one of the asteroids lived a king who, like other kings, looked at the whole world in a very simplified way. For him, his subjects are all people. However, this king was tormented by the following question: “Who is to blame for the fact that his orders are impossible to fulfill?” The king taught the prince that it is more difficult to judge himself than others. Having mastered this, you can become truly wise. The power-hungry loves power, not subjects, and therefore is deprived of the latter.
The Prince Visits the Ambitious Planet
An ambitious man lived on another planet. But vain people are deaf to everything except praise. The ambitious man loves only fame, not the public, and therefore remains without the latter.
Drunkard's Planet
Let's continue the analysis. The little prince ends up on the third planet. His next meeting is with a drunkard, who thinks intently about himself and ends up completely confused. This man is ashamed of his drinking. However, he drinks in order to forget about his conscience.
Business man
The business man owned the fourth planet. As an analysis of the fairy tale “The Little Prince” shows, the meaning of his life was that one should find something that does not have an owner and appropriate it. A business man counts wealth that is not his: he who saves only for himself might as well count the stars. The little prince cannot understand the logic by which adults live. He concludes that it is good for his flower and the volcanoes that he owns them. But the stars have no benefit from such possession.
Lamplighter
And only on the fifth planet main character finds someone he wants to be friends with. This is a lamplighter who would be despised by everyone, because he thinks not only about himself. However, his planet is tiny. There's no room for two here. The lamplighter works in vain because he does not know for whom.
Meeting with a geographer
The geographer, who writes thick books, lived on the sixth planet, which was created in his story by Exupery (“The Little Prince”). The analysis of the work would be incomplete if we did not say a few words about it. This is a scientist, and beauty is ephemeral for him. Nobody needs scientific works. Without love for a person, it turns out, everything is meaningless - honor, power, labor, science, conscience, and capital. The little prince also leaves this planet. The analysis of the work continues with a description of our planet.
The Little Prince on Earth
The last place the prince visited was a strange Earth. When he arrives here, the title character of Exupery's story "The Little Prince" feels even more lonely. The analysis of a work when describing it should be more detailed than when describing other planets. After all, the author Special attention in the story he focuses specifically on the Earth. He notices that this planet is not home at all, it is “salty”, “all in needles” and “completely dry”. It's uncomfortable to live there. Its definition is given through images that seemed strange to the little prince. The boy notes that this planet is not simple. It is ruled by 111 kings, there are 7 thousand geographers, 900 thousand businessmen, 7.5 million drunkards, 311 million ambitious people.
The protagonist's journey continues in the following sections. He meets, in particular, with the switchman directing the train, but people do not know where they are going. The boy then sees a merchant selling thirst pills.
Among the people living here, the little prince feels lonely. Analyzing life on Earth, he notes that there are so many people on it that they cannot feel like one whole. Millions remain strangers to each other. What do they live for? There are a lot of people rushing on fast trains - why? People are not connected by pills or fast trains. And the planet will not become a home without this.
Friendship with Fox
After analyzing Exupery's "The Little Prince", we found out that the boy is bored on Earth. And Fox, another hero of the work, has a boring life. Both of them are looking for a friend. The fox knows how to find him: you need to tame someone, that is, create bonds. And the main character understands that there are no stores where you can buy a friend.
The author describes the life before meeting the boy, which was led by the Fox from the story “The Little Prince”. allows us to note that before this meeting he was only fighting for his existence: he hunted chickens, and hunters hunted him. The fox, having tamed, broke out of the circle of defense and attack, fear and hunger. It is to this hero that the formula “only the heart is vigilant” belongs. Love can be transferred to many other things. Having made friends with the main character, the Fox will fall in love with everything else in the world. The close in his mind is connected with the distant.
Pilot in the desert
It is easy to imagine a planet in habitable places as a home. However, in order to understand what home is, you need to be in the desert. This is precisely what the analysis of Exupery’s “The Little Prince” suggests. In the desert, the main character met a pilot, with whom he later became friends. The pilot ended up here not only because of a malfunction of the plane. He has been enchanted by the desert all his life. The name of this desert is loneliness. The pilot understands important secret: there is meaning in life when there is someone to die for. The desert is a place in which a person feels a thirst for communication and thinks about the meaning of existence. It reminds us that man’s home is the Earth.
What did the author want to tell us?
The author wants to say that people have forgotten one simple truth: they are responsible for their planet, as well as for those they have tamed. If we all understood this, there would probably be no wars or economic problems. But people are very often blind, do not listen to their own hearts, leave their home, seeking happiness far from their family and friends. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry did not write his fairy tale “The Little Prince” for fun. The analysis of the work carried out in this article, we hope, has convinced you of this. The writer appeals to all of us, urging us to take a close look at those who surround us. After all, these are our friends. They must be protected, according to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (“The Little Prince”). Let's finish the analysis of the work here. We invite readers to reflect on this story for themselves and continue the analysis with their own observations.
1) The history of the creation of the work. "The Little Prince" is the most famous work Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Published in 1943 as a children's book. The history of the publication of A. Saint-Exupéry’s fairy tale is interesting:
Written! in 1942 in New York.
First French edition: "Editions Gallimard", 1946
In Russian translation: Nora Gal, 1958. The drawings in the book were made by the author himself and are no less famous than the book itself. It is important that these are not illustrations, but an organic part of the work as a whole: the author himself and the characters of the fairy tale constantly refer to the drawings and even argue about them. “After all, all adults were children at first, only few of them remember this” - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, from the dedication to the book. During the meeting with the author, the Little Prince is already familiar with the drawing “Elephant in a Boa Constrictor.”
The story of “The Little Prince” itself arose from one of the plots of “Planet of People”. This is the story of the accidental landing of the writer himself and his mechanic Prevost in the desert.
2) Features of the genre of the work. The need for deep generalizations prompted Saint-Exupery to turn to the genre of parables. The lack of specific historical content, the conventions characteristic of this genre, its didactic conditionality allowed the writer to express his views on issues that worried him moral problems time. The parable genre becomes the vehicle for Saint-Exupéry's reflections on the essence of human existence. A fairy tale, like a parable, the oldest genre oral folk art. It teaches a person to live, instills optimism in him, and affirms faith in the triumph of goodness and justice. Behind the fantastic nature of fairy-tale plots and fiction, real things are always hidden. human relations. Like a parable, morality and morality always triumph in a fairy tale. social truth. The fairy tale-parable “The Little Prince” was written not only for children, but also for adults who have not yet completely lost their childish impressionability, their childishly open view of the world and the ability to fantasize. The author himself had such a childishly sharp vision. We determine that “The Little Prince” is a fairy tale by the fairy-tale features present in the story: the hero’s fantastic journey, fairy tale characters(Fox, Snake, Rose). The work of A. Saint-Exupery “The Little Prince” belongs to the genre of a philosophical fairy tale-parable.
3) Theme and problems of the fairy tale. Saving humanity from the coming inevitable catastrophe is one of the main themes of the fairy tale “The Little Prince”. This poetic tale is about the courage and wisdom of an artless child’s soul, about such important “non-childish” concepts as life and death, love and responsibility, friendship and loyalty.
4) The ideological concept of the fairy tale. “Loving does not mean looking at each other, it means looking in the same direction”
This idea determines the ideological concept of the fairy tale. “The Little Prince” was written in 1943, and the tragedy of Europe in World War II and the writer’s memories of defeated, occupied France leave their mark on the work. Its bright, sad and a wise tale Exupery defended undying humanity, a living spark in the souls of people. IN in a certain sense the story was the result creative path writer, philosophical, artistic comprehension. Only an artist can see the essence - inner beauty and the harmony of the world around him. Even on the lamplighter’s planet, the Little Prince remarks: “When he lights a lantern, it’s as if one more star or flower is being born. And when he turns off the lantern, it’s as if a star or a flower is falling asleep. Great activity. It’s really useful because it’s beautiful.” The main character speaks to the inner side of beauty, and not to its outer shell. Human labor must make sense - and not just turn into mechanical actions. Any business is useful only when it is internally beautiful.
5) Features of the plot of the fairy tale. Saint-Exupéry based the traditional fairy-tale plot (Prince Charming leaves the Father's house and wanders along endless roads in search of happiness and adventure. He tries to gain fame and thereby conquer the unapproachable heart of the princess.), but reinterprets it in his own way, even ironically. His handsome prince is just a child, suffering from a capricious and eccentric flower. Naturally, oh happy ending The wedding is out of the question. In his wanderings, the Little Prince meets not with fairy-tale monsters, but with people bewitched, as if by an evil spell, by selfish and petty passions. But this is only the external side of the plot. Despite the fact that the Little Prince is a child, a true vision of the world is revealed to him, inaccessible even to an adult. And the people with dead souls that the main character meets on his way are much worse fairytale monsters. The relationship between the prince and Rose is much more complex than the relationship between the princes and princesses from folklore tales. After all, it is for the sake of Rose that the Little Prince sacrifices his material shell - he chooses physical death. There are two in the story storylines: the narrator and the related theme of the world of adults and the line of the Little Prince, the story of his life.
6) Features of the composition of the tale. The composition of the work is very unique. The parabola is a basic component of the structure of a traditional parable. "The Little Prince" is no exception. It looks like this: the action takes place in a specific time and specific situation. The plot develops as follows: there is a movement along a curve, which, having reached the highest point of intensity, returns again to the starting point. The peculiarity of such plot construction is that, returning to the starting point, the plot takes on a new philosophical and ethical meaning. New point looking at the problem finds a solution. The beginning and end of the story “The Little Prince” relate to the hero’s arrival on Earth or the departure of the Earth, the pilot and the Fox. The little prince again flies to his planet to care for and raise the beautiful Rose. The time that the pilot and the prince - an adult and a child - spent together, they discovered a lot of new things about each other and in life. Having parted, they took pieces of each other with them, they became wiser, learned the other’s world and their own, only from the other side.
7) Artistic Features works.
The story has very rich language. The author uses a lot of amazing and inimitable literary devices. In its text you can hear the melody: “...And at night I like to listen to the stars. Like five hundred million bells...” Its simplicity is childlike truth and accuracy. Exupery’s language is full of memories and reflections about life, about the world and, of course, about childhood: “...When I was six years old... I once saw an amazing picture...” or: “...For six years now, how my friend left me with the lamb.” The style and special, unique mystical manner of Saint-Exupery is a transition from image to generalization, from parable to morality. The language of his work is natural and expressive: “laughter is like a spring in the desert”, “five hundred million bells” It would seem that ordinary, familiar concepts suddenly acquire a new original meaning in him: “water”, “fire”, “friendship”, etc. d. Many of his metaphors are equally fresh and natural: “they (volcanoes) sleep deep underground until one of them decides to wake up”; the writer uses paradoxical combinations of words that you won’t find in ordinary speech: “children should be very lenient towards adults”, “if you go straight and straight, you won’t get far...” or “people no longer have enough time to learn anything " Narrative style The story also has a number of features. This is a confidential conversation between old friends - this is how the author communicates with the reader. We feel the presence of an author who believes in goodness and reason, soon when life on earth will change. We can talk about a peculiar melody of the narrative, sad and thoughtful, built on soft transitions from humor to serious thoughts, on halftones, transparent and light, like watercolor illustrations fairy tales created by the writer himself and which are an integral part of the artistic fabric of the work. The phenomenon of the fairy tale “The Little Prince” is that, written for adults, it has firmly entered the circle of children’s reading.
The content of “The Little Prince” is difficult to convey, because either you need to write one line, since the scenery for all the dialogues of the characters in the story is simple, or you need to rewrite the entire book, if not word for word, then a few sentences for each chapter. It’s better to quote in whole paragraphs. In a nutshell, these are Exupery's memories of the Little Prince and the several days they spent together, lost in the Sahara Desert, until the death (or liberation) of the Prince.
Star Boy met typical characters during his journey and talked with them and the author (the book is written in the first person). Love for one's only life partner is the main theme. "The Little Prince" also addresses the most troubling questions of human existence. If you list them in a list, it will seem boring - so much has already been written. Fear of death, confrontation between fathers and sons, materialism, the world of childhood - who will be surprised by another fairy tale about all this? What is it amazing secret popularity of the story "The Little Prince"? A review of it can be briefly expressed as follows: it is among the ten most published works of art of the twentieth century.
Genre
As Exupery himself admits at the beginning of the book, he finds it difficult to determine the genre of “The Little Prince,” calling the book a fairy tale. There is a generally accepted classification for literary works, which is focused on plot, volume and content. "The Little Prince", according to her, is a story. In a narrower sense, it is an allegorical story-fairy tale with illustrations by the author himself.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the Little Prince
The story is largely autobiographical. But not in the literal sense, although Exupery’s life included long flights, plane crashes, disastrous desert and thirst. This is the book because the Little Prince is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, only in childhood. Nowhere is this stated directly.
But throughout the story, Exupery mourns his childhood dreams. Easily, without drama, even with some humor, he retells comical stories from his interactions with older relatives in childhood. He would like to remain a child, like his new friend, but he succumbed and grew into a down-to-earth and pragmatic pilot. This is such an oxymoron. A pilot who is forced to return to a sinful, war-torn earth from the sky, and his soul still yearns for the stars. After all, all adults were children at first, but few of them remember this.
Rose
Consuelo, the author's wife, is the prototype of the Capricious Rose. main character The story is simple-minded, if not narrow-minded, beautiful and very inconsistent, probably like all women. If you choose one word to describe her character - manipulator. The prince saw through all her tricks and cunning, but cared about his beauty.
Reviews of Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, of course, cannot be so one-sided. One thing speaks of her generosity, that, despite frequent life Apart from each other and the constant fear of the death of her desperately brave pilot husband, she remained with him. His character was difficult. Not in the sense of anger and aggression, but precisely in excessive openness, which numerous mistresses took advantage of. Despite all this, the marriage did not break up until death separated them. After many years, their correspondence was published, from which it is clearly clear that Consuelo was Exupery’s muse, the haven where his soul took refuge. And although the temperament of Consuelo herself, whom her friends called the “Salvadoran volcano,” did not always fit into the image of a quiet home, the love between them was all-forgiving.
Book publication
It seems that the book was easy for Exupery. But the translator of the first edition into English, Lewis Galantier, recalled that he rewrote each sheet of the manuscript many times. He also drew wonderful gouache pictures for the story. Exupery wrote the book at a time of acute political confrontation throughout the world - Nazi Germany began the Second world war. This tragedy resonated vividly in the soul and heart of the patriot. He said that he would defend France and could not stay away from the battlefield. Despite all the attempts of friends and bosses to protect popular writer from hardship and danger, Exupery achieved enrollment in a combat squadron.
In 1943 the book was published in the USA on English language, where the writer then lived in New York, forced to leave Germany-occupied France. And immediately after that the story was published in French - native language author. Only three years later, “The Little Prince” was published in Exupery’s homeland; the author had been dead for two years. And Exupery, and Tolkien, and Clive Lewis created amazing fantasy tales. All of them worked in the first half of the terrible twentieth century for Europe. But they never learned how much their works influenced generations after their lives.
Drunkard
The miracle created by Exupery in The Little Prince is the dialogue between the heroes and the Prince. The conversation with the Drunkard on the next planet on the boy’s journey, very short compared to others, is a clear example of this. There are only four questions and answers, but this is the best presentation of the theory of the vicious circle of guilt, a famous psychological phenomenon that eminent psychologists have spent many pages explaining and justifying, but they should have included a quote from The Little Prince in their works.
This is the best therapy for addicted people. The language of the story is simple and clear, but mercilessly reveals the full depth of the problem, causes pain and heals. This is the magic of the book “The Little Prince” - a deep disclosure of the most hidden but pressing problems of all humanity through the example of one conversation with one individual. It is not customary to talk about these difficulties of the human race publicly or with children.
Blind leading the blind
And these dialogues are conducted by a child and different adults. The little prince and the heroes are blind people who also want to teach others about life, and they are pure children. The child is merciless in his questions, hits where it hurts, sees the point. At the same time, he only asks the right questions. Most of the opposing characters remain blind and continue to lecture everyone around them, not seeing their own weakness.
But the reader of the story begins to see the light and recognizes himself in one or another character. The author of "The Little Prince" also begins his path to the light.
Lamplighter
The lamplighter is the only representative of the adult world who, although grumpy, positive character. He is true to his word, even if he no longer needs to fulfill it. But still, after meeting him, there remains an aftertaste of doubt and hope. It seems that it is not so wise to blindly follow a promise that has lost its meaning. Although the Lamplighter’s sacrifice is respectable. But examples of mothers come to mind who burn for their children, but suffocate them with love, never ceasing to complain about fatigue, doing nothing to find an opportunity to rest. And yet, every time a lantern star lights up, there is hope that someone will look at it. The prince especially singled him out among all his acquaintances from different planets, appreciating the beauty of his work.
Fox
The most famous quote"The Little Prince" belongs to this character. “You are forever responsible for those you tamed!” - he said to the Prince. The Fox is the source of the main lesson the Prince learned. They met after the bitter disappointment of the main character - the beautiful Rose turned out to be one of five thousand like her, an unremarkable flower with a bad character. The distressed child lay down on the grass and began to cry. After meeting with the Fox, the Prince realized that it was important for him to return to his small asteroid to my beloved Rose. This is his responsibility to her, and to fulfill his duty, he must die.
The second important truth that the Fox revealed to his new friend: only the heart is vigilant, but with your eyes you cannot see the main thing. It was after a conversation with the Fox that the Prince repented of his attitude towards Rose and realized that it was in vain to take her words to heart. You had to love her for who she is, without being offended by simple-minded antics.
Geographer and others
It is worth being grateful to the Geographer at least for telling the Prince about the Earth. As for the rest, he is another chicane who believed that his work was fundamental and eternal. They are all alike - these stupid, important, over-aged people. Businessman, Ambitionist, King, Geographer - these heroes of "The Little Prince" with a significant air did useless things and could not stop and think. “But no, I’m a serious person, I don’t have time!” One word - adults.
A planet with a good reputation
This is the review given by the Geographer in “The Little Prince” about planet Earth. Exupery is much less enthusiastic about her and is ironic. Two billion adults who are bloated with their own importance are lighter than emptiness compared to their big planet.
Yellow snake
The snake is the first living creature that the Little Prince met on Earth. She is death itself. It is so poisonous that after its bite life lasts half a minute. Amazing collective image. Speaks in riddles, like a sphinx. The snake is the image of the ancient tempter from the Bible, who sowed death and is still doing this. An evil, harmful creature who took pity on the Prince. But only for the time being, having predicted that they would meet again, and the pure Boy from the Star would look for her of his own free will.
The Prince learns, the reader learns
After each meeting of the Little Prince, the reader comprehends a new truth about himself. The prince also went traveling to study. Only two facts are directly stated in the book - he became unhappy due to the nagging of Capricious Rose and decided to travel with migratory birds. There is an impression that he was tired of his beauty and ran away. But, although she thought so and apologized before his departure for his bad behavior, the reason for his departure was the search for knowledge.
What did he learn at the end of the journey? He learned to love his beautiful, but the only prickly flower in the whole world with a difficult character. This is the most the main idea“The Little Prince” - to love the only one who was sent to you by fate, despite everything, even the bad in him. So that love makes him perfect.
Fathers and Sons
Another main idea of the Little Prince is the confrontation between the worlds of adults and children. The first is represented mainly by its worst members - from the drunkard to the greedy. He is openly condemned by Exupery, whose childhood memories are sad. The older he got, the more he hid his inner world, learned to be “like everyone else.” He constantly emphasizes that being an adult and being a hypocrite are the same thing. The adult world constantly surprised the Prince throughout the story. It's thin and significant moment“The prince was amazed and did not always understand, and once he became angry to tears, but he never condemned anyone. And it really helps to let yourself inside your heart and take lessons from it. Both children and adults learn better and happily change for the better only in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance.
Christian parallels
To broaden your horizons and perceive new ideas that, due to a different worldview, do not come to mind naturally, it is interesting to read the review of “The Little Prince” by Christians.
The book "The Little Prince" is similar to the Bible in its allegorical nature. She also teaches gently and unobtrusively, through parables. As daring as it may sound, at times the Prince resembles Christ. But this is not surprising. When the Lord was asked to name the most important person in the Heavenly Kingdom, he placed a two-year-old child in front of a crowd of arguing men. The prince, as a collective image, absorbed all the childish spontaneity, openness, trust, and defenselessness.
Exupery's last conversation with the Little Prince on the topic of death as liberation from the shackles of the body is sad and bright. A light, weightless soul flies into better world(to the place desired by the Prince - to his Rose). The prince teaches an over-aged pilot lost in the desert that there is no need to be afraid of death.
It's worth spending just a little time reading this wonderful piece of art, but you should prepare to meet the reflection of your soul. Because best review about "The Little Prince" - this is a mirror of the heart, because the most important thing can only be seen by it.
“The Little Prince” is childish, but at the same time a thoughtful work. Antoine de Saint-Exupery placed in the lungs and a little fairy tale a reflection of the real adult world with its advantages and disadvantages. In places it is satire, myth, fantasy and tragic story. Therefore, the multifaceted book appeals to both small and large readers.
"The Little Prince" was born during the Great Patriotic War. It all started with Exupery’s drawings, in which he depicted that very “little prince”.
Exupery, being a military pilot, once got into a plane crash, this happened in 1935 in the Libyan desert. Opening old wounds, memories of the disaster and news of the outbreak of the World War inspired the writer to create the work. He thought about the fact that each of us is responsible for the place where he lives, be it a small apartment or the whole planet. And the struggle calls this responsibility into question, because it was during that fierce battle between many countries that deadly nuclear weapons were used for the first time. Alas, many people did not care about their home, since they allowed wars to bring humanity to such extreme measures.
The work was created in 1942 in the USA; a year later it became available to the reader. The Little Prince became the author's final creation and brought him worldwide fame. The author dedicated his book to his friend (Leon Werth), moreover, to the boy his friend once was. It is worth noting that Leon, who was a writer and critic, being a Jew, suffered from persecution during the development of Nazism. He also had to leave his planet, but not of his own free will.
Genre, direction
Exupery talked about the meaning of life, and in this he was helped by the genre of the parable, which is characterized by a clearly expressed morality in the finale and an edifying tone of the narrative. A fairy tale as a parable is the most common crossing of genres. Distinctive feature fairy tales can be called because they have a fantastic and simple plot, but at the same time they are instructive in nature, helping young readers to form moral qualities, and for adults to reflect on their views and behavior. Fairy tale - reflection real life, but reality is presented to the reader through fiction, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. Genre originality The work suggests that “The Little Prince” is a philosophical fairy tale-parable.
The work can also be classified as a fantasy story.
Meaning of the name
The Little Prince is a story about a traveler who travels throughout the universe. He does not just travel, but is in search of the meaning of life, the essence of love and the secret of friendship. He learns not only the world around him, but also himself, and self-knowledge is his the main objective. It is still growing, developing and symbolizing an immaculate and tender childhood. Therefore, the author called it “small”.
Why a prince? He is alone on his planet, it all belongs to him. He takes his role as a master very responsibly and, despite his modest age, has already learned to care for her. Such behavior suggests that this is a noble boy who rules his domain, but what should we call him? A prince, because he is endowed with power and wisdom.
The essence
The plot begins in the Sahara Desert. The pilot of the plane, having made an emergency landing, meets the same Little Prince who arrived on Earth from another planet. The boy told his new acquaintance about his journey, about the planets he had visited, about his former life, about the rose that was his faithful friend. The little prince loved his rose so much that he was ready to give his life for it. The boy loved his home, he liked to watch sunsets, it’s good that on his planet they could be seen several times a day, and for this the Little Prince only had to move his chair.
One day, the boy felt unhappy and decided to go in search of adventure. Rose was proud and rarely gave her patron her warmth, so she did not withhold him. During his journey, the Little Prince met: a Ruler who is confident in his absolute power over the stars, an Ambitious man for whom the main thing is to be admired, a Drunkard who drinks out of guilt for alcohol abuse, no matter how paradoxical it may sound. The boy even met a Business Man, whose main occupation is counting stars. The little prince encountered the Lamplighter, who lit and extinguished the lantern on his planet every minute. He also met the Geographer, who in his entire life had never seen anything except his planet. Last place The traveler's position became planet Earth, where he found a true friend. All the main events are described by us in summary books for a reader's diary.
The main characters and their characteristics
Loving does not mean looking at each other, it means looking in the same direction.
A person should take care of his home, and not tear it apart by wars into bloody, lifeless parts. This idea was especially relevant then, during the Second World War. The little prince cleaned his planet every day, preventing the baobabs from growing to alarming proportions. If the world had been able to unite in time and sweep away the National Socialist movement led by Hitler, then the bloodshed could have been prevented. For those who love the world should have taken care of it, and not locked themselves on their little planets, thinking that the storm will pass by. Because of this disunity and irresponsibility of governments and peoples, millions of people have suffered, and the writer calls to finally learn to faithfully and responsibly love the harmony that only friendship provides.
What does it teach?
The story of the Little Prince is surprisingly heartfelt and instructive. Exupery's creation tells how important it is to have true friend nearby and how important it is to bear responsibility for those you have “tamed.” The fairy tale teaches love, friendship, and warns against loneliness. In addition, you should not lock yourself in your small territory, fencing yourself off from the whole world around you. You need to get out of your comfort zone, learn new things, look for yourself.
Exupery also encourages the reader to listen not only to his mind when making decisions, but also to his heart, because you cannot see the main thing with your eyes.
Interesting? Save it on your wall!The work of Antoine de Saint-Exupery “The Little Prince” is rightfully considered a real pearl of world literature of the twentieth century. Incredible Touching story teaches not only children, but also adults love, friendship, responsibility, empathy. We invite you to get acquainted with literary analysis works according to a plan that will be useful in preparing for the Unified State Exam and literature lessons in 6th grade.
Brief Analysis
Year of writing– 1942.
History of creation– The impetus for writing the work was the writer’s memories of a plane crash over the Arabian Desert, as well as the tragic events of World War II. The book is dedicated to Leon Werth.
Subject– The meaning of life, love, loyalty, friendship, responsibility.
Composition– The work consists of 27 chapters, during which the main characters travel around the planets and talk with each other, reflecting on life.
Genre– Philosophical fairy tale-parable.
Direction– Realism.
History of creation
An unusual fairy tale, which has resonated with millions of hearts around the world for many years, was written French writer at the height of World War II, in 1942.
In 1935, while flying from Paris to Saigon, Saint-Exupery was involved in a plane crash. The accident occurred in the Libyan desert, and left a deep mark on the soul of Saint-Exupery. Late memories of this incident, as well as deep feelings about the fate of the world, which found itself in the grip of fascism, resulted in a fairy tale, the main character of which was a little boy.
During this period, the writer shared his innermost thoughts about the future of humanity on the pages of his diary. He worried about a generation that received material benefits, but lost its spiritual content. Saint-Exupery set himself a difficult task - to return lost mercy to the world and remind people of their responsibility for the Earth.
The work was first published in 1943 in the USA and was dedicated to the writer’s friend, Leon Werth, a famous Jewish journalist and literary critic, who suffered endless persecution during the war. Thus, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wanted to support his comrade and express his active civil position against anti-Semitism and Nazism.
It is noteworthy that all the drawings in the story were made by the writer himself, which further emphasizes his ideas presented in the book.
Subject
In his work, the writer raised a bunch of global topics , which have worried and continue to worry all of humanity for centuries. First of all, this theme of searching for the meaning of life. This is what the Little Prince does, traveling from one planet to another.
The author is sad that the inhabitants of these planets do not even try to go beyond the boundaries of their familiar little worlds and find an answer to the eternal question of the meaning of life - they are quite satisfied with the usual framework of life. But only in search is the truth born, as the main character proves by returning to his beloved Rose at the end of the story.
The writer worries and problems of friendship and love. He not only reveals these burning topics, but also conveys to readers the need for responsibility for a loved one, and the whole world as a whole. The little prince works tirelessly to care for and protect his tiny planet. He loves and cares for Rose with all his heart, who remains alive only thanks to his efforts.
The all-consuming evil is represented in the work with the help of baobab trees, which can quickly absorb all life on the planet if they are not regularly uprooted. This is a vivid image that incorporates all human vices that must be fought tirelessly throughout life.
The main idea of the work lies in the phrase: “Loving does not mean looking at each other, it means looking in the same direction.” You need to learn to trust people, be responsible for your loved ones, and not turn a blind eye to what is happening around you - this is what the famous fairy tale teaches.
Composition
In the work “The Little Prince”, the analysis is based not only on revealing the main themes, but also on describing compositional structure. It is based on the technique of dialogue and travel central characters- the narrator and the Little Prince. Revealed in the fairy tale two storylines is the story of a pilot-narrator, and the directly related theme of the reality of “adult” people, and the life story of the Little Prince.
Over the course of the 27 chapters that make up the book, friends travel around planets, meet different heroes, both positive and outright negative.
The time spent together opens up previously unexplored horizons for them. Their close communication allows them to connect two completely different universes: the world of children and the world of adults.
Parting does not become a tragedy for them, because during this time they became much wiser and were able to better understand each other, sharing a piece of their soul, and draw important conclusions.
Main characters
Genre
"The Little Prince" is written in the genre philosophical fairy tale-parable, wherein amazingly reality and fiction are intertwined. Behind the fantastic fairy tale story real human relationships, emotions, experiences are hidden in the best possible way.
A fairy tale in the form of a parable is the most popular crossing of literary genres. Traditionally, the fairy tale is instructive in nature, but affects readers in a soft and unobtrusive manner. In essence, a fairy tale is a reflection of real life, but only reality is conveyed through fiction.
The genre of parable was also chosen by the writer for a reason. Thanks to him, he was able to boldly and simply express his views on the moral problems of our time. The parable becomes a kind of conductor of the author’s thoughts into the world of the reader. In his work, he talks about the meaning of life, friendship, love, responsibility. Thus, the fairy tale-parable acquires deep philosophical overtones.
A truthful depiction of real life, despite the fantastic nature of the plot, indicates that realism predominates in the work, which is not alien to philosophical allegories. However, the fairy tale also has quite strong romantic traditions.
Work test
Rating Analysis
Average rating: 4.5. Total ratings received: 634.