analysis of major characters the best

8/20/2019 Analysis of Major Characters the best

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/analysis-of-major-characters-the-best 1/11

Analysis of Major 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-

Eup!ry contrasts the prince"s childli#e character with different adult characters $y havin% the

prince hop from one nei%h$orin% planet to another. &n each planet, the prince meets a

different type of adult and reveals that character"s frivolities and wea#nesses. &nce on Earth,

however, the little prince $ecomes a student as well as a teacher. 'rom his friend the fo, 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 %larin% flaws evident in the other characters, and he isimmediately shown to $e a character of hi%h cali$er $y his a$ility to reco%ni(e the narrator"s

)rawin% *um$er &ne as a picture of a $oa constrictor that has eaten a sna#e. *evertheless,

the prince"s fear as he prepares to $e sent $ac# to his planet $y a sna#e$ite shows that he is

suscepti$le to the same emotions as the rest of us. Most nota$ly, the prince is $ound $y his

love for the rose he has left on his home planet. +is constant uestionin% also indicates that

one"s search for answers can $e more important than the answers themselves.

The Narrator

The narrator of The Little Prince is an adult in years, $ut he eplains that he was rejuvenated

si years earlier after he crashed his plane in the desert. +e was an ima%inative child whose

first drawin% was a cryptic interpretation of a $oa constrictor that had swallowed an elephant.

Eventually, he a$andoned art for the %rown-up profession of pilot, and he lives a lonely life

until he encounters the little prince. +e serves as the prince"s confidant and relays the

prince"s story to us, $ut the narrator also under%oes transformations of his own. After listenin%

to the prince"s story a$out the #nowled%e the prince has learned from the fo, the narrator

himself learns the fo"s lessons a$out what ma#es thin%s important when he searches for

water in the desert. The narrator"s search for the well indicates that lessons must $e learned

throu%h personal eploration and not only from $oo#s or others" teachin%s.

Both the narrator and the prince are prota%onists of the story, $ut they differ in si%nificant

ways. hereas the prince is mystical and supernatural, the pilot is a human $ein% who %rows

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/themes.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/themes.html



and develops over time. hen the narrator first encounters the prince, he cannot %rasp the

su$tle truths that the prince presents to him, whereas the prince is a$le to comprehend

instantly the lessons his eplorations teach him. This shortcomin% on the narrator"s part

ma#es him a character we can relate to as human $ein%s more easily than we can relate to

the otherworldly, etraordinarily perceptive little prince.

The Rose

Althou%h the rose appears only in a couple of chapters, she is crucial to the novel as a whole

$ecause her melodramatic, proud nature is what causes the prince to leave his planet and

$e%in his eplorations. Also, the prince"s memory of his rose is what prompts his desire to

return. As a character who %ains si%nificance $ecause of how much time and effort the prince

has invested in carin% for her, the rose em$odies the fo"s statement that love comes from

investin% in other people. Althou%h the rose is, for the most part, vain and nave, the princestill loves her deeply $ecause of the time he has spent waterin% and carin% for her.

Much has $een written comparin% the little prince"s relationship with his rose to the

relationship $etween Antoine de Saint-Eup!ry and his wife, Consuelo, $ut the rose can also

$e read as a sym$ol of universal love. /n literature, the rose has lon% served as a sym$ol of

the $eloved, and Saint-Eup!ry ta#es that ima%e in %ood stride, %ivin% the prince"s flower

human characteristics, $oth %ood and $ad. Because of the rose, the prince learns that what is

most essential is invisi$le, that time away from one"s $eloved causes a person to $etter

appreciate that love, and that love en%enders responsi$ility0all of which are $road morals

that o$viously etend $eyond the author"s personal history.

The Fox

The fo appears uite suddenly and ineplica$ly while the prince is mournin% the ordinariness

of his rose after havin% come across the rose %arden. hen the fo immediately sets a$out

esta$lishin% a friendship $etween himself and the prince, it seems that instruction is the fo"ssole purpose. 1et when he $e%s the little prince to tame him, the fo appears to $e the little

prince"s pupil as well as his instructor. /n his lessons a$out tamin%, the fo ar%ues for the

importance of ceremonies and rituals, showin% that such tools are important even outside the

strict world of %rown-ups.

/n his final encounter with the prince, the fo facilitates the prince"s departure $y ma#in% sure

the prince understands why his rose is so important to him. This encounter displays an ideal



type of friendship $ecause even thou%h the prince"s departure causes the fo %reat pain, the

fo $ehaves unselfishly, encoura%in% the prince to act in his own $est interest.

The Snake

Even thou%h the sna#e the little prince encounters in the desert spea#s in riddles, he

demands less interpretation than the other sym$olic fi%ures in the novel. The sna#e also has

less to learn than many of the other characters. The %rown-ups on the various planets are too

narrow-minded for their own %ood, and the prince and the narrator ed%e closer to

enli%htenment, $ut the serpent does not reuire answers or even as# uestions. /n fact, the

sna#e is so confident he has mastered life"s mysteries that he tells the prince he spea#s only

in riddles $ecause he can solve all riddles. /n a story a$out mysteries, the sna#e is the only

a$solute. +is poisonous $ite and $i$lical allusion indicate that he represents the unavoida$le

phenomenon of death.

Themes, Motifs 2 Sym$ols

→

Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.

The )an%ers of *arrow-Mindedness

The Little Prince eposes the i%norance that accompanies an incomplete and narrow-minded

perspective. /n Chapter /3, for eample, when the Tur#ish astronomer first presents his

discovery of Asteroid B-456 , he is i%nored $ecause he wears traditional Tur#ish clothin%. 1ears

later, he ma#es the same presentation wearin% European clothin% and receives resoundin%

acclaim. Because the three-petaled flower descri$ed in Chapter 73/ has spent its whole life in

the desert, it incorrectly reports that Earth contains very few humans and that they are a

rootless, driftin% people.

Even the prota%onists of The Little Prince have their moments of narrow-mindedness. /n

Chapter 73//, the narrator confesses that his previous description of Earth focused too much

on humans. /n Chapter 7/7, the little prince mista#es the echo of his own voice for that of

humans and falsely accuses humans of $ein% too repetitive. Such uic# jud%ments, the story

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/section1.rhtml

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/section1.rhtml



ar%ues, lead to the development of dan%erous stereotypes and prejudices. They also prevent

the constant uestionin% and open-mindedness that are important to a well-adjusted and

happy life.

'or the most part, The Little Prince characteri(es narrow-mindedness as a trait of adults. /n

the very first chapter, the narrator draws a sharp contrast $etween the respective ways%rown-ups and children view the world. +e depicts %rown-ups as unima%inative, dull,

superficial, and stu$$ornly sure that their limited perspective is the only one possi$le. +e

depicts children, on the other hand, as ima%inative, open-minded, and aware of and sensitive

to the mystery and $eauty of the world.

/n the story"s openin% pa%es, the narrator eplains that %rown-ups lac# the ima%ination to see

his )rawin% *um$er &ne, which represents a $oa constrictor swallowin% an elephant, as

anythin% other than a hat. As the story pro%resses, other eamples of the $lindness of adults

emer%e. As the little prince travels from planet to planet, the si adults he encounters proudly

reveal their character traits, whose contradictions and shortcomin%s the little prince then

eposes.

The little prince represents the open-mindedness of children. +e is a wanderer who restlessly

as#s uestions and is willin% to en%a%e the invisi$le, secret mysteries of the universe. The

novel su%%ests that such inuisitiveness is the #ey to understandin% and to happiness.

+owever, The Little Prince shows that a%e is not the main factor separatin% %rown-ups from

children. The narrator, for eample, has a%ed enou%h to for%et how to draw, $ut he is still

enou%h of a child to understand and $efriend the youn%, forei%n little prince.

Enli%htenment throu%h Eploration

As the critic 8ames +i%%ins points out, each of the novel"s main characters hun%ers $oth for

adventure 9eploration of the outside world: and for introspection 9eploration within himself:.

/t is throu%h his encounter with the lost prince in the lonely, isolated desert that the friendless

narrator achieves a newfound understandin% of the world. But in his story of the little prince"s

travels, Saint-Eup!ry shows that spiritual %rowth must also involve active eploration. The

narrator and the prince may $e stranded in the desert, $ut they are $oth eplorers who ma#e

a point of travelin% the world around them. Throu%h a com$ination of eplorin% the world and



eplorin% their own feelin%s, the narrator and the little prince come to understand more clearly

their own natures and their places in the world.

;elationships Teach ;esponsi$ility

The Little Prince teaches that the responsi$ility demanded $y relationships with others leads

to a %reater understandin% and appreciation of one"s responsi$ilities to the world in %eneral.

The story of the prince and his rose is a para$le 9a story that teaches a lesson: a$out the

nature of real love. The prince"s love for his rose is the drivin% force $ehind the novel. The

prince leaves his planet $ecause of the rose< the rose permeates the prince"s discussions

with the narrator< and eventually, the rose $ecomes the reason the prince wants to return to

his planet. The source of the prince"s love is his sense of responsi$ility toward his $eloved

rose. hen the fo as#s to $e tamed, he eplains to the little prince that investin% oneself in

another person ma#es that person, and everythin% associated with him or her, more

special. The Little Prince shows that what one %ives to another is even more important than

what that other %ives $ac# in return.

Motifs

Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major

themes.

Secrecy

At the heart of The Little Prince is the fo"s $old statement that =>a?nythin% essential is

invisi$le to the eye.@ All the characters the little prince encounters $efore comin% to Earth

ea%erly and openly eplain to him everythin% a$out their lives. But the little prince finds that



on Earth, all true meanin%s are hidden. The first character to %reet him on Earth is the sna#e,

who spea#s only in riddles. /n su$seuent chapters, the narrator and the little prince

freuently descri$e events as =mysterious@ and =secret.@ This choice of words is crucial to the

$oo#"s messa%e. To descri$e the mysteries of life as pu((les or uestions would imply that

answerin% them is possi$le. The fact that events on Earth are cast as mysteries su%%ests that

they never can $e resolved fully. +owever, this idea is not as pessimistic as it mi%ht seem.

The novel asserts that, while many uestions in life remain mysteries, eploration of the

un#nown is what counts, even thou%h it does not leads to definite answers.

The *arrator"s )rawin%s

The narrator"s illustration of his story emphasi(es Saint-Eup!ry"s $elief that words have

limits and that many truths defy ver$al eplanation. The narrator places drawin%s into the tet

at certain points to eplain his encounter in the desert, and althou%h his illustrations are

simple, they are inte%ral to understandin% the novel. Saint-Eup!ry defies the convention that

stories should $e only tet and enriches his wor# $y includin% pictures as well as words.

The drawin%s also allow the narrator to return to his lost childhood perspectives. +e notes

that he uses his )rawin% *um$er &ne to test adults he meets. The drawin% is actually of a

$oa constrictor swallowin% an elephant, $ut to most adults it loo#s li#e a hat. hether or not a

character reco%ni(es the drawin% as a hat indicates how closed-minded he is. The narrator

notes several times in his story that drawin% is very difficult for him $ecause he a$andoned it

at a%e si, after findin% that adults were unreceptive to his drawin%s. Therefore, his decision

to illustrate his story also indicates his return to the lost innocence of his youth.

Tamin%

Saint-Eup!ry"s tale is filled with characters who either should $e or have $een tamed. The

fo eplains that tamin% means =creatin% ties@ with another person so that two people $ecome

more special to one another. Simple contact is not enou%h the #in%, the vain man, the

drun#ard, the $usinessman, the %eo%rapher, and the lampli%hter all meet the prince, $ut are

too stuc# in their routines to esta$lish proper ties with him. The fo is the first character to

eplain that in order to $e truly connected to another, certain rites and rituals must $e

o$served, and two people must %ive part of themselves to each other. /n fact, the process of

tamin% is usually depicted as $ein% more la$or-intensive for the one doin% the tamin% than for



the person $ein% tamed. )espite the wor# and emotional involvement reuired, tamin% has

o$vious $enefits. The fo eplains that the meanin% of the world around him will $e enriched

$ecause the little prince has tamed him. /n contrast, the $usinessman cannot even remem$er

what the stars he owns are called.

Serious Matters

The concept of =serious matters@ is raised several times in the novel, and each time, it

hi%hli%hts the difference $etween the priorities of adults and children. To adults, serious

matters are those relatin% to $usiness and life"s most $asic necessities. 'or eample, the

$usinessman who owns all the stars refers to himself as a =serious person,@ an o$viously

ridiculous claim since he has no use for and ma#es no contri$ution to his property. Even the

narrator epresses an understanda$ly desperate claim that fiin% his en%ine is more serious

than listenin% to the prince"s stories. +owever, the narrator soon admits that the en%ine

trou$les in truth pale in comparison to the little prince"s tears.

Saint-Eup!ry clearly sides with children, represented $y the little prince, who $elieve that

serious matters are those of the ima%ination. 'or the little prince, the most serious matter of

all is whether the sheep the narrator has drawn for him will eat his $eloved rose. As the story

pro%resses, the narrator"s understands the importance of the little prince"s worry. The narrator

responds with compassion to the prince"s concern a$out the sheep from the $e%innin%,

settin% his tools aside and rushin% to comfort the prince in Chapter 3//, when the little prince

cries out that the uestion of whether his sheep eats his rose is much more important than the

narrator"s plane. +owever, in his final comment, the narrator says that the uestion of the

sheep and the flower is so important that it has chan%ed his view of the world, revealin% that

he has understood the uestion"s importance himself.

Sym$ols

ym!ols are o!jects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent a!stract ideas or concepts.

The Stars

As a pilot, the narrator attaches importance to stars $ecause he depends upon them for

navi%ation. After the narrator meets the little prince, he finds the stars hold new meanin% for

him $ecause he #nows that the prince lives amon% them. The stars in The Little Princealso



sym$oli(e the far-off mystery of the heavens, the immensity of the universe, and at the end,

the loneliness of the narrator"s life. The narrator"s final drawin%, which accompanies his

lament of his loneliness, is of a sin%le star hoverin% over the desert landscape in which the

prince fell. /n this one ima%e, the presence of the star $oth hi%hli%hts the prince"s a$sence

and su%%ests his lin%erin% presence. The star is also a reminder of the lar%e and densely

populated universe $eyond Earth that the prince recounted visitin%.

The )esert

The novel is set in the Sahara )esert, a $arren place ready to $e shaped $y eperience. The

desert is also a hostile space that contains no water and a deadly serpent. /n this capacity,

the desert sym$oli(es the narrator"s mind. Made $arren $y %rown-up ideas, the narrator"s

mind slowly epands under the %uidance of the little prince in the same way that the deadly

desert slowly transforms itself into a place of learnin% and, once the well appears,

refreshment.

The Trains

The trains that appear in Chapter 77// represent the futile efforts we ma#e to $etter our lot.

The train rides are rushed voya%es that never result in happiness $ecause, as the switchman

informs the prince, people are never happy where they are. Also, the trains rush at each other

from opposite directions, su%%estin% that the efforts %rown-ups ma#e are contradictory and

purposeless. A%ain, it is children who %rasp the truth. They see that the journey is more

important than the destination and press their faces hun%rily a%ainst the windows as they ride

ta#in% in the scenery.

ater

By the story"s end, the drin#in% of water emer%es as a clear sym$ol of spiritual fulfillment. The

narrator"s concerns a$out runnin% out of water after he first crashes into the desert mirror his

complaint that he has %rown old. ater, when he and the prince find the mysterious well, the

water the narrator drin#s reminds him of Christmas festivities. +is thou%hts of Christmas

ceremonies su%%est that his spirit, and not his $ody, is what truly thirsts. The salescler# sells

a thirst-uenchin% pill, $ut the little prince reveals that there are no true su$stitutes for real

spiritual food. The pill may uench one"s desires, $ut it has little to offer in the way of real



nourishment. The prince declares that he would use the minutes saved $y the pill for %ettin% a

cool drin# of water, the only real spiritual fulfillment for which one can hope.

/mportant uotations Eplained

→

5."ut he would always answer, #That’s a hat.$ Then % wouldn’t talk a!out !oa constrictors or jungles or stars. % would

put myself on his level and talk a!out !ridge and golf and politics and neckties. &nd my grown'up was glad to know

such a reasona!le person.

/n this passa%e from Chapter /, the narrator discusses his )rawin% *um$er &ne, a picture

that loo#s li#e a hat $ut is meant to portray a $oa constrictor di%estin% an elephant. hereas

children use their ima%inations and see the hidden elephant inside the $oa constrictor, adults

offer the most dull, unima%inative interpretation and see the picture as a hat. +ere, the

narrator eplains that he uses this drawin% as a $arometer to see whether an adult retains

any of his no$le childhood perspective. Dnfortunately, the narrator says, adults always

respond with a %rown-up perspective, so the narrator must tal# with them a$out dull,

pra%matic matters.

This passa%e demonstrates that $ein% a %rown-up is a state of mind, not a fact of life. The

narrator is an adult in years, $ut he retains a childli#e perspective. At the same time, thispassa%e displays the loneliness that the narrator suffers as a result of his atypical outloo# on

life.

6.%f some one loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, that’s

enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. (e tells himself, #My flower’s up there somewhere. . . .$ "ut

if the sheep eats the flower, then for him it’s as if, suddenly, all the stars went out. &nd that isn’t important)

The little prince ma#es this indi%nant eclamation in Chapter 3// in response to the narrator"s

statement that the prince"s rose is not a =serious matter.@ The prince"s retort eposes what he

thin#s are %rown-ups" limited priorities. The prince points out how silly it is that the narrator

frets over routine, material matters when deeper uestions a$out relationships and the

universe are so much more important.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/facts.html

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/littleprince/facts.html



At first, the prince"s ideas seem a $it lofty and perhaps callous0after all, what could $e more

important than the pilot fiin% his en%ine so that he can survive 1et $y the end of the novel,

the narrator comes to understand the truth of the little prince"s statement. hen, after the little

prince has returned home, the narrator loo#s up at the s#y and wonders whether the sheep

has eaten the flower, he reali(es that the answer to that uestion chan%es the way he sees

the entire s#y. /n the end, the prince"s innocent, personal perspective on the universe proves

to $e more serious than the jaded perspective of adults.

F.#*ood!ye,$ said the fox. #(ere is my secret. %t’s +uite simple -ne sees clearly only with the heart. &nything

essential is invisi!le to the eyes. . . . %t’s the time that you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. . . .

People have forgotten this truth,$ the fox said, #"ut you mustn’t forget it. ou !ecome responsi!le for what you’ve

tamed. ou’re responsi!le for your rose. . . .$

This passa%e from the end of Chapter 77/ concludes the story of the friendship $etween the

prince and the fo. More important, the uotation eplicitly states the central moral of The

Little Prince. Actually, the prince has learned these lessons on his own, $ut the fo spells

them out for him and ma#es clear where the prince"s future lies. By callin% his lessons a

=secret,@ the fo reveals that such #nowled%e is not availa$le to all. The fo"s lessons must $e

learned, and, in some way, they should $e considered a privile%e.

G.% was surprised !y suddenly understanding that mysterious radiance of the sands. /hen % was a little !oy % lived in

an old house, and there was a legend that a treasure was !uried in it somewhere. -f course, no one was ever a!le

to find the treasure, perhaps no one even searched. "ut it cast a spell over the whole house.

This passa%e from Chapter 77/3 mar#s the moment when the narrator %rasps for himself the

fo"s secret 9see uotation F:. /n most fa$les and fairy tales, the story"s moral is %iven at the

very end of the wor#. /n The Little Prince, $y contrast, Saint-Eup!ry delivers his lesson early

on so that the narrator, and us with him, can eperience it for himself. /n Saint-Eup!ry"s

hands, a moral serves no purpose if it is not fully eplored and lived out, and that is eactly

what he does here. e thin# we have understood the full meanin% of the fo"s secret after the

encounter $etween the fo and the little prince, $ut the narrator repeats the process of

understandin% once a%ain, showin% us that even when we thin# we understand somethin%,

there is always more to learn.

H.



Look up at the sky. &sk yourself, #(as the sheep eaten the flower or not)$ &nd you’ll see how everything

changes. . . . &nd no grown'up will ever understand how such a thing could !e so important0

These lines conclude The Little Prince. The narrator ends the novel as he $e%ins it, $y

hi%hli%htin% the differences $etween the perspectives of children and %rown-ups. Another idea

the narrator stresses throu%hout the story is the importance of self-eploration.

By concludin% with an instruction to us to eamine for ourselves the uestions already

eamined $y the prince and the narrator, the narrator encoura%es us to eplore ourselves just

as he has eplored himself. As we close the covers of The Little Prince, we are encoura%ed to

thin# a$out what we have just learned.

analysis of major characters the best

Documents