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August 25, 2009

“Child’s Eye”


“We always questioned reality but what we don’t know is that the truth is far beyond our imagination.” As what we have observed, children in our society have the imaginations that are capable of understanding the essence of things while adults have had their imaginations encumbered by attachment to the quantifiable. Furthermore, adults are being glad to know such reasonable reason. It is because they have lost the curiosity of childhood, and their lives are bound by here and now. They never understand anything by themselves and it is tiresome for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.

The narrator who is really the author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery 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 delightful. The author also weaves a thread through the chapters by the repetition of similar statements alluding to the same idea: “That’s the way they are.”; “Grown-ups are so strange.”; “Grown-ups are certainly quite extraordinary”; “And no grown-up will ever understand.” The theme of the story is reflected and clarified in the simplistic but expressive illustration by Saint- Exupery.

In the first chapter, the novel begins with an introduction of explaining the drawings of a boa constrictor that the pilot made as a young boy. Unfortunately, none of the adults who viewed the pictures were able to recognize the meaning of the drawings. Why was that so? It is because grown-ups only accept what is sensually obvious. As a result, at an early age, the narrator discovered that most people do not look beneath the surface to see the real message, beauty or importance of a thing.


Saint Exupery 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 also scorns the Lamplighter’s fascination with science and technology. Though the prince admires his commitment to his work, and admires the work itself which brings beauty into the universe. Nevertheless, the lamplighter displays a grown-up value. He is so caught up in the importance of lighting his lamp, that he misses what is important in life. Each of the adults the prince encounters on the various planets he visits symbolizes a particular characteristic of adults in general.


The story is set in the Sahara desert, a barren place ready to be shaped by experience. I can also describe a desert as very quite, mysterious place that somewhat an empty area. In this capacity, the desert symbolizes the grown- up’s mind that was so empty; that every time they need an explanation. Furthermore, the three-petaled flower in the desert has seen only a few men pass by, so the flower thinks men are rootless and scarce in number. The prince hears his own echo, so he thinks that men simply repeat what is said to them. Even a figure as enlightened and likeable as the little prince cannot help but have his beliefs shaped by his limited perspective of the world around him.


The protagonist in the novel is the little prince who symbolizes hope, love, innocence and insight of childhood that lie dormant in all of us. He is simple yet mystical creature from asteroid B-612. While the problem or the antagonist of the story is his thirst for answers. In the course of his life, he had great many encounters with great many people from different planets, whom he questions about life. In other words, this childish innocence of his allows him to keep asking the questions and receiving the answers that allow the conflict to develop throughout the novel. In particular, he wants to understand the existence and pastimes of adults, who unfortunately have been consumed with matters of consequence.

Although there are many smaller conflicts, after much questioning I have been led to believe that the prominent conflict in The Little Prince is man versus man - more specifically, children and their morals versus those of the adults. A little later in the conversation, the little prince says, “Only the children know what they are looking for because they have something to pursue, and are not unsatisfied or preoccupied with other worldly matters, such as the quest for wealth and power.” They are satisfied with just ordinary things and are searching for just that in order to achieve happiness and satisfaction. The depicted adults, however, are occupied with their endless prospects of gaining more wealth, power, and earthly objects. This is just one of the examples that add on to the developing conflict of children versus adults.

In the story, Saint Exupery 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, the pilot thought that grown-ups cared mostly about inconsequential matters. 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.

. Beneath the simplicity, however, there is a sophisticated tale that deals with the important lessons of life. Just as the little prince finds answers to his questions, the reader also learns the answers to what is most important in everyday existence. However, children will recognize its intent with a simplicity that does not require analysis, for “Only the children know what they are looking for and they don’t need any explanations like the grown-ups.

Grown-ups do not perceive with their inner eye, their imagination. They do not seem to possess the desire, make an effort, time nor the essence, or the purpose of what is before them. The grown-ups have a purely mimetic relationship with the world around them. They claim to know everything, but they only know little because they so rigidly refuse to explore for themselves. Children have to fill in the gaps because grown-ups never understand anything by themselves and therefore they always need explanations.

No grown-up will ever understand how such a thing could be so important! It is through this novel we can achieve a newfound understanding of the people that exists around us. This story is written as a nostalgic look by the author to an experience he had as an adult that helps him see the world again through a child's eyes. If we could all, as adults, read the story The Little Prince, through a child’s eye; we could all see the world through our hearts, and the world would truly be a better place.

1 comments:

Carlo said...

Your blog now has become a collection of your best thoughts about life. Congratulations and keep up the good work!