An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
彰化女中。陳慧倢。二年十三班
彰化女中。王瑋婷。二年十三班
- 1 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
Ⅰ.Preface
Upon the most valuable assets one can possess, the relationship with others is one of them. However, due to the invisibility of interior interaction, it is too often neglected. Fortunately, The Little Prince, published in 1943, took the length and breadth of the world by storm. The significant novel brings the consequence of relationship, which affects numerous people, to light.
Relationship is the tie between people. In addition, it is the element that makes every moment variable. Furthermore, relationship is what we have to face in our daily social life. Without a doubt, there are many sorts of relationship. Despite the fact that we consider it arduous to tell which the most vital one is, it is not exaggerating to say that the influences of every sort are deep and profound. Relationship enables us to distinguish our beloved ones from all the millions and millions of others. It is then that the world becomes beautiful and is full of sunshine. Without relationship, it is possible for us to ignore love around us. Without relationship, of whom can we think in the livelong June? With whom can we share wheal and woe? Nevertheless, people usually don’t know how to cherish it, how to create it and where to find it.
There’s no denying that The Little Prince is the most representative masterpiece in biding defiance to adults’ prejudice against relationship. Accordingly, from our points of view, the relationship in The Little Prince is worth analyzing.
Ⅱ.Text
The Little Prince consists of many different kinds of relationship, comprising the relationship between the rose and the little prince, the relationship between the fox and the little prince, the relationship between the author and the little prince, the relationship between the snake and the little prince, and the relationship between the people on different planets and the little prince. The following are our analysis.
1.The relationship between the rose and the little prince
“He loves me--- loves me not.” wrote Goethe Johann Wolfgang von in Faust. (1) Obviously, the rose kept suspecting the little prince’ love for her. She did many silly experiments, to see if the little prince really loved her. Despite the fact that he watered her, he put her under glass, he sheltered her behind the screen, he
- 2 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
killed the caterpillars for her, he listened to her complaints etc., his love was still doubtful for her. In my opinion, it is a quite interesting symbol for the little prince to regard a rose as his sweetheart. Flowers, according to Faust, represent the answers to the uncertain future of love in ancient Europe. Whenever lovers feel puzzled and depressed, they regard flowers as fortune-tellers. As a result of this, I consider the rose is an emblem of impeachment. That causes a great challenge in their relationship. Furthermore, as we all know, roses depict love, especially on Valentine’s Day. The reason why people look upon roses as a token of love is that roses, on account of their repeated petals, look complicated and romantic, just like love. Consequently, I view the breed, rose, simply as the first thing that came to Saint-Exupery’s mind when it came to love problems in their relationship.
“How lovely you are!” was what the little prince said while he saw the rose at the first sight. (2) Here, Saint-Exupery had the same resonance with Christopher Marlowe. As Marlowe wrote, “Who ever loved, that loved not at first sight?” (3) Without a doubt, the little prince was deeply in love with her at the first glance. Nevertheless, no matter how beautiful the beginning of their love was, there were many difficulties lay ahead. John Keats once wrote, “ Woman! When I behold thee flippant, vain, inconstant, childish, proud and full of fancies; without that modest softening that enhances that downcast eye, repentant of the pain that its mild light creates to heal again: E’en then, elate, my spirit leaps, and prances, E’en then my soul with exultation dances for that to love, so long, I’ve dormant lain….”(4) Such was the case in the love relationship between the little prince and his rose. Notwithstanding the rose tortured him with her temperamental vanity, the little prince loved her all the same. This shows the greatness of love relationship, which is truly touching and amazing.
2.The relationship between the fox and the little prince
Though people declared that their relationship is an extra-marital romance, we firmly believe that the relationship between the fox and the little prince is merely a touching and sincere friendship. Certainly, friendship is a sort of precious relationship. And what brings friends together is the relationship of “tamed” and “be tamed”. Here is the fox’ answer to the little prince’ unsophisticated question: “What does tame mean?” “It’s something that’s been too often neglected. It means, ‘to create ties’….” (5) Aristotle has the same point of view as that. He said, “What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”(6) It is the soul that
- 3 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
creates ties between friends. What’s more, the soul is invisible. Interestingly, the most valuable secret the fox shared with him was, ”One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”(7) Take, for instance, the blind. They can’t see; nevertheless, avoiding numerous visible misunderstandings, they still can see what is really essential. Though we ordinary people can see things that are invisible to them, they can see something extraordinary we don’t see. That’s how God balances things on. Consequently, we may not be the disable physically; however, it is possible for us to become disable in mind. “What is unseen is eternal.” “For what is seen is temporary.” (8) This rationale seems effortless; however, it is philosophical. Naturally, we show the secret, which few people can comprehend, only to the person of exceptional relationship. The fox said, “My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens; people hunt me. All chickens are just alike, and all men are just alike. So I’m rather bored. But if you tamed me, my life will be filled with sunshine.” (9) Accordingly, once the little prince befriends the fox, the world will be new and shining in its eyes. “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by the meeting that a new world is born,” said Anaïs Nin. (10) Not until the fox got acquainted with the little prince did it see a brand-new and brighter world. Friends open another window for us to see the life in a different perspective. And when the time to leave was near: “Ah!” the fox said. “I shall weep.” “It’s your own fault,” the little prince said. “I never wanted to do you any harm, but you insisted me that I tame you….” “Yes, of course,” the fox said. “Then you get nothing out of it?” “I get something,” the fox said, “because of the color of the wheat.”(11) Though to meet, to know, to love, and then to part is the sad tale of many a human heart, tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all! (12.13) The little prince came to the earth for the purpose of friendship search, so that he could learn more. Inevitably, he learned what was authentically essential through this unique relationship.
3.The relationship between the pilot and the little prince
To our relief, the author, the pilot in the novel, found his bosom friend, the little prince, in the Sahara Desert. They had a lot in common. For instance, both of them considered it hilarious to believe in numbers blindly. “Life is a romantic business. It is painting a picture, not doing a sum.”, said Oliver Wendell, Jr. (14) They both deemed adults were extremely strange. Therefore, a delicate relationship developed between them. “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanation over and over again.”(15) Discouraged by the “ignorant” grown-ups, the pilot
- 4 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
was forced to give up his imagination when he was a kid. Notwithstanding that, the author’s striking notion deep in his mind never faded. It was the little prince that helped the pilot to regain his confidence in “natural piety”.
“The child is father of the man; And I could wish my days to be—Bound each to each by natural piety.” once wrote William Wordsworth in the poem My Heart Leaps up. (16) Not only do the children see what’s indeed essential, but they are sensitive to the great nature like boa constrictors, jungles, and stars. Their hearts simply leap up when they behold a rainbow in the sky. And the little prince is just the one with whom the author can talk about these things. It was the immortal innocence that built up their immortal relationship.
En route to the well, the pilot said to himself, “He (the little prince) didn’t realize the danger. He’s never hungry or thirsty. A little sunlight is enough for him…. But the little prince looked at him and answered his thought. “I’m thirsty, too…. Let’s find a well….” (17) A magical heart-connection was flourishing in the special relationship between them. The same sort of situation was revealed in the movie--- E.T! The adorable extra-terrestrial befriended the little boy, Elliot. Gradually, they perceived that there was a special connection between them. When E.T was drunk so was Elliot. When E.T was scared, so was Elliot. Regardless of the strong mysterious relationship between the pair, the alien had to and wanted to leave eventually… Such a dejected ending was expressed in another way in the relationship between the pilot and the little prince. For millions of years, men have been making effort to figure out the relationship between earth people and people of other planets. Some think of it as an expectable and extraordinary friendship while others regarding it appalling. Nevertheless, from the example of both of the stories, we guess whether the relationship is heart-warming or icy-cold, it is inevitable to say good-bye. After all, “Home, Home, sweet, sweet Home! There’s no place like Home! There’s no place like Home!” claimed John H. Payne. (18) Both the little prince and E.T. were eager to go back home. However, when the pilot missed the little prince, he could listen to the stars, which were like five hundred million little stars that knew how to laugh.
4.The relationship between the snake and the little prince
“It’s also lonely with people,” said the snake. (19) Apparently, the snake was lonely owing to the neglect and misunderstanding of people. Granted that there are innumerable people in the world, no one can reach into the snake’s
- 5 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
heart. No one absolutely has deep relationship with the snake. Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote, “Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” in The Rime of The Ancient Mariner. (20) Surely, albeit there are countless people, no one can quench the thirst of its desirous heart for companions. “The road is lonely in its crowd, for it is not loved.” wrote Rabindranath Tagore in the classic Stray Bird. (21) Sad to say, it is hard for people to love a monstrous snake. Manifestly, the snake is a badge of death, As a result of this, it is like the relationship between death and the little prince. We assume it appropriate to look upon the snake as the token of “death”. “Oh, I understand just what you mean,” said the little prince, “but why do you always speak in a riddle?” We consider this is implying that “death” is a mysterious thing, which throws people in perplexity. “I solve them all,” said the snake. And they were both silent. (22) However, can “death” really solve every puzzle in life? The answer is silence. “Anyone I touch, I send back to the land from which he came,” the snake went on. (23) That connotes that we will all eventually go back to where we originally come from after we die. The result that the little prince went back to his planet was exceedingly mysterious, like death. Conceivably, in Saint Exupery’s eyes, everyone’s existence on Earth, like that of the little prince, is just a journey. To die is nothing; it’s just the end of the journey. Without a doubt, the relationship between the snake and the little prince is bleary, like death.
5.The relationship between the people on different asteroids and the little prince
These strange creatures couldn’t make the little prince stay any longer due to their superficial relationship. Notwithstanding that, they had absolute influences on the little prince. Because of them, the little prince acknowledged the darker side of the universe. Through the different planets, Saint-Exupery expressed different defects on human nature. And why is there only one person on each planet? It is our belief that Saint-Exupery secretly alluded that all these characteristics bring about the specific common result—isolation. Solitary people never fail to bear shallow relationship with others. The following statements are our analysis of the relationship between these people and the little prince:
A. The King
The king had a boastful characteristic just like the rose; nevertheless, the little prince couldn’t endure him on account of their superficial relationship. What
- 6 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
caused their relationship so inconsequential was that the king was ostentatiously virtuous, cowardly, and importunate. For instance, the little prince looked around for a place to sit down, but the planet was covered by the magnificent ermine cloak. So he remained standing…. (24) Absolutely, thorough authority incapacitates people from having their personal space for freedom. Here, the author bombastically insinuated to us that the personal space under authority is even too small to find a place to sit down! What a ridiculous king he was! However, he still had some reasonable anlagen, for he would often say, “If I were to command a general to turn into a seagull, and if the general did not obey, that would not be the general’s fault. It would be mine.”. (25) Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, ”You do not lead by hitting people over the head—that’s assault, not leadership.”(26) Indubitably, this kind thought is intensely democratic. Still, his motivation was doubtful. “If you command your subjects to jump in the ocean, there will be a revolution,” the king went on. (27) Incredulously, all he was afraid of was troubles and security. James Russell Lowell declared, “He who is firmly seated in authority soon learns to think security, and not progress, the highest lesson of statecraft.”(28) Conceivably, the king is exactly like that. That was why the little prince kept yawning and said, “Grown-ups are very strange.” So far as the little prince is concerned, he couldn’t develop a solid relationship with that authoritative king.
B. The Vain Man
The vain man, too, was as conceited as the rose. However, instead of listening to the vain man patiently, the little prince blamed him directly. It was the reverse relationship that results in his contrary attitudes toward them. Notwithstanding that, “Do you admire me a great deal?” the vain man asked the little prince. (29) Ridiculously, the vain man thought their shallow relationship had a grand influence on the little prince. “And what would make the hat fall off?” the little prince said. (29) In our view, it’s like asking, “And what would make your vanity fall off?” As Addison Joseph said, “Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise.”(30) According to the theory, those who are worth admiring are the ones who are humble.
C. The Drunker
As the little prince asked the drunker, “What are you ashamed of?”, “Of drinking!” replied the drunker. (31) This answer seemed simple; nonetheless, it is, without a doubt, complicated. To the desperate drunker, their relationship,
- 7 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
like all the other things, means nothing. To the little prince, their relationship was strange but sorrowful. They had extremely different feelings about the same relationship.
Jenny, the female leading role of Forrest Gump, never fails to make us think of the drunker. In the novel, Jenny kept making the same mistakes over and over. To escape from her sexually-abuse childhood, she surrounded herself with all those sex perversions. Despite the fact that she acknowledged it, she couldn’t help it. Innocent children are especially rich in simplicity. Accordingly, as the little prince saw the escapist drunker, his young heart went out to him. That was all their relationship cost.
D. The Businessman
From the relationship with the businessman, the little prince was surer of the value of his assets—a rose and three volcanoes. The businessman owned millions and millions of stars while the little prince only had a little planet. Yet, the planet isn’t just a planet for the little prince. They mean a lot more while the million stars say nothing to the businessman. As Robert Browning wrote, “Less is more.”(32) Perhaps, behind the literally assets, the little prince possesses much more. “It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.” wrote Henry Ward Beecher. (33) Accordingly, as we all know, the little prince is really a boy of wealth. It is what he is that makes him a “prince”. “I own a flower myself,” the little prince continued, “which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I rake out every week. I even rake out the extinct one. You never know. So it’s of some use to my volcanoes, and it’s useful to my flower, that I own them. But you’re not useful to the stars.”(34) Such is the concept of “tame” in this novel. When something belongs to you, it means that you’ve tamed them and that you are responsible for them. For those who don’t understand what “tame” is, it was hard to expand further relationship with others. Therefore, it was inevitable that the relationship between the businessman and the little prince was extremely casual.
E. The Lamplighter
It is ordinary to admire those who process the merits you don’t have. The relationship of admiration is subtle. More often than not, we think it cheerful to be with the one we admire. Likewise, the little prince wanted to stay with the lamplighter. It was the responsible spirit that made their seed of relationship
- 8 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
sprout. The lamplighter, who was the only one respected by the little prince, did a significant job by lighting up others’ paths. However, this job became meaningless as the environment changed. In our opinion, Saint-Exupery ingeniously implies that the things of great value are often neglected by people as the time changes. Take, for example, people living in modern society nowadays. Most of us almost forget about the virtues that were regarded as the most vital in ancient times. They take drugs, smoke, or gamble…, because the environment has become complicated. As a result of this, wise kids like the little prince adore the respectable adults, like the lamplighter, who still insists on goodness.
F. The Geographer
The relationship between the little prince and the geographer is fragile; nonetheless, it caused a monumental influence on the little prince’ decision. In all the debates of the little prince and the grown-ups, the eloquent little prince seemed to win. However, in the debate about the true meaning of “ephemeral” with the geographer, the little prince was at a loss. “Geographies,” said the geographer, “are the finest books of all. They never go out of fashion. It is extremely rare for a mountain to change position. It is extremely rare for an ocean to be drained of its water. We write eternal things.”(35) However, The Little Prince, which records ephemeral things, is just the book that never goes out of fashion. It’s a book of eternity. On the other hand, in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s eyes, “Nought may endure but Mutability.”(36) Even the mountains and the oceans in the geography books will change some day. They won’t last eternally; neither will the shallow relationship between the ignorant geographer and the little prince.
Ⅲ. Conclusion
“The purpose of relationship is not to have another who might complete you, but to have another with whom you might share your completeness.” said Neale Donald Wasch. (37) We develop relationship step by step. Ultimately, we achieve the completeness in the relationship. In short, it is love that comprises the relationship. Nevertheless, it takes time and efforts to love and to tame. Well goes a saying, “As a rose can’t live without rain, so a heart can’t love without pain.”(38) And The Little Prince is precisely the book to interpret why it is essential and what it causes to have relationship with others. The
- 9 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
Little Prince is a book teeming with love, friendship, blessings…, all kinds of relationship. As a saying goes, “What comes from the heart, touches the heart.”(39) Saint-Exupery wrote his heart into the novel. We deem that’s why we are extremely touched every time we read The Little Prince. “One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.” were the most illustrious quote in The Little Prince. (40) Believe it or not, innumerable vital things in this remarkable classic are invisible. We can read them only with the hearts. Accordingly, without an open heart, one can’t read The Little Prince entirely. What makes the story beautiful is the everlasting relationship of love and friendship inside it.
In conclusion, we sincerely hope this classic enables people to come to a better understanding of the invisible relationship around them. Whenever you feel it hard to keep up or carry on the relationship, see beyond the objects. Then, you’ll find how awe-inspiring the power of relationship is.
Ⅳ. Reference
1. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。 P.25。
2. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.).P.23.
3. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。 P.67。
4. 拜倫、雪萊、濟慈、華茲華斯。《四大浪漫詩選》。（台北市：格林文化出版， 民 91 年）。 P.61。
5. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.59.
6. The Friendship Page. http://www.friendship.com.au/quotes/quofri.html. 檢 索日期 2008/02/14.
7. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.63.
8. 胡慶生。《聖經嘉言錄》。 ( 台北縣中和市:啟思出版集團,西元 2004 年 10 月)。 P.224。
- 10 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
9. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.60.
10.Friendship Quotes. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_friendship.html. 檢 索日期 2008/02/14.
11. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.61.
12. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。P.87。
13. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。P.107。
14. Proverbs. http://en.tp.edu.tw/motto/proverbs.asp?item=l. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
15. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.12.
16. Poems by William Wordsworth.http://www2.pymhs.tyc.edu.tw/english/poetrycolor.htm. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
17. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.67.
18. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。 P.115。
19. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.53.
20. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。 P.89。
21. 泰戈爾。《漂鳥集》。（台北縣永和市：稻田出版股份有限公司，民 87 年）。 P.70。
22. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China
- 11 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
Printing Company，LTD.). P.53.
23. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.53.
24. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.53.
25. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.53.
26. Quotes about authority. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_authority.html. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
27. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.31.
28. Quotes about authority. http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_authority.html. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
29. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.34.
30. Quotes about modesty. http://en.proverbia.net/citastema.asp?tematica=778. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
31. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.35.
32. 成寒。《大詩人的聲音》。 ( 台北市:聯經出版事業股份有限公司，西元 2006 年)。P.119。
33. Quotes about wealth. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/henry_ward_beecher.html. 檢索 日期 2008/03/12.
34. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.39.
35. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.46.
- 12 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com An Analysis of Relationship in The Little Prince
36. 拜倫、雪萊、濟慈、華茲華斯。《四大浪漫詩選》。（台北市：格林文化出版， 民 91 年）。 P.114。
37. Quotes about relationship. http://www.sapphyr.net/smallgems/quotes-relationships.htm. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
38. Quotes about relationship. http://www.sapphyr.net/smallgems/quotes-relationships.htm. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
39. Quotes about relationship. http://www.sapphyr.net/smallgems/quotes-relationships.htm. 檢索日期 2008/03/12.
40. Antoine De Saint-Exupery. The Little Prince. (New York: South China Printing Company，LTD.). P.63.
- 13 -
PDF created with pdfFactory trial version www.pdffactory.com