The Little PrinceAntoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, has been

translated into some 220 languages and

dialects so far.

The Little PrinceMały Książę

El Principito Küçük Prens

Il piccolo principe Micul Prinţ

Ο μικρός Πρίγκιπας

Key Facts

• full title  ·  The Little Prince (in French, Le Petit Prince)• author  · Antoine de Saint-Exupéry• type of work  · Children’s story, novella• genre  · Fable, allegory• language  · French• time and place written  · The summer and fall of 1942,

while Saint-Exupéry was living in Long Island, New York• date of first publication  · First published in English

translation in 1943. The first French edition did not appear until 1946.

• publisher  · Reynal & Hitchcock, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. (U.S. edition, both French and English); Gallimard (French edition)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944)

B I O G R A P H Y

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is both a pioneer of aviation and a well-known French writer. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1900. At an early age, he dreamed of a life of adventure and wanted to become a naval officer. Unfortunately, he failed the exam to qualify him for naval officer training school. As a result, he turned his attention to the field of aviation.

Even though flying was dangerous and risky in Saint-Exupéry’s time, he joined the military and trained to be a pilot. After his military service, he presented himself to the director of an airline company and expressed his desire to become a commercial pilot. The director told him he must first become an airplane mechanic. Finally, in 1927, after serving as a mechanic, Saint-Exupéry became a pilot, opening up new air routes over the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and the Sahara Desert. Because of the danger of flying, he had a number of accidents, but he escaped any major injuries. Later Saint-Exupéry became the director of his own aviation company in South America, where he often flew dangerous routes over the Andes Mountains. For Saint-Exupéry, flying was not just piloting an airplane; it was a time for meditation and reflection. While in the air, Saint-Exupéry would think deeply about solitude, friendship, the meaning of life, the human condition, and liberty. He decided to publish his reflections into a book, which was successful. When his aviation company failed, Saint-Exupéry decided to pursue writing as a career. He first became a journalist, traveling to Spain, Russia, and Germany. He also wrote two philosophical books based on aviation: Night Flight (1932) and Wind, Sand, and Stars (1939). Still in love with piloting an airplane, Saint-Exupéry continued to fly whenever he had the opportunity.

In 1939, when France went to war with Germany, Saint-Exupéry immediately enlisted in the army, hoping to become a military pilot in the war effort. France, however, was soon defeated and occupied by Hitler's troops. Saint-Exupéry decided to leave his homeland, settle in the United States, and pursue his writing career. It was in New York that he published The Little Prince, his most celebrated book, in 1943. Since its first publication, more than 25 million copies have been sold in 75 different countries. In 1942, when American troops landed in North Africa, Saint-Exupéry decided to join the U.S. Army as a pilot. Since he was 42 years of age, he was initially considered too old to be a pilot and was not allowed to fly; however, Saint-Exupéry persisted and was finally given an airplane. He accomplished many missions over occupied France. On July 31, 1944, Saint-Exupéry left for his last mission. His plane was destroyed by the Germans over the Mediterranean.

SHORT SUMMARY 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, asteroid B-612.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 vain man, the drunkard, the businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer, the snake, 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.

Character list

The NarratorThe L i tt le Pr ince

The RoseThe Baobabs

The KingThe Vain ManThe Drunkard

The Bus inessmanThe Lampl ighterThe Geographer

The Snake The Fox

The Narrator

A lonely pilot who, while stranded in the desert, befriends the little prince. They spend eight days together in the desert before the little prince returns to his home planet. Although he is discouraged from drawing early in his life because adults cannot understand his drawings, the narrator illustrates his own story and makes several drawings for the little prince. The narrator is a grown-up, but his view of the world is more like a child's than an adult's. After the little prince departs, the narrator feels both refreshed and saddened.

The Little Prince One of the two protagonists of

the story. After leaving his home planet B – 612 and his beloved rose, the prince journeys around the universe, ending up on Earth. Frequently perplexed by the behavior of grown - ups, the prince symbolizes the hope, love, innocence, and insight of childhood that lie dormant in all of us. Though the prince is sociable and meets a number of characters as he travels, he never stops loving and missing the rose on his home planet.

The Rose A coquettish flower who

has trouble expressing her love for the little prince and consequently drives him away. Simultaneously vain and naïve, she informs the little prince of her love for him too late to persuade him to stay home and not to travel. Throughout the story, she occupies the prince's thoughts and heart.

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 Geographer

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 Snake The first character

the prince meets on Earth, who ultimately sends the prince back to the heavens by biting him. A constant enigma, the snake speaks in riddles and evokes the snake of the Bible, which incites Adam and Eve's eviction from Eden by luring them into eating the forbidden fruit.

The Fox Although the fox asks

the little prince to tame him, the fox is in some ways the more knowledgeable of the two characters, and he helps steer the prince toward what is important in life. In the secret the fox tells the little prince before they say their good-byes, the fox sums up three important lessons: only the heart can see correctly; the prince's time away from his planet has made him appreciate his rose more; and love entails responsibility.

ENDING

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. In essence, the fox’s lesson is about how to love, a most important thing for everybody to learn. 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 and beloved rose.

THE LITTLE PRINCE QUOTES

• “Goodbye, said the fox. And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

• “All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it.”

• “People have forgotten this truth,” the fox said. „But you mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose.”

• “ I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings.”

• “But eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart.” • “You see, one loves the sunset when one is so sad.” • “The most beautiful things in the world cannot

be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart.”

The End Thank you

Prepared:Kamila Błaszczyk

Justyna WcisłoDaria Szewczyk

Ewelina SzewczykMarlena ŁęckaPatrycja KręgielKatarzyna Miśtal

Sylwia WylotKarolina Nowak

Katarzyna PrusekRoksana Pabian

Poland,15.01.2013