Monday, November 23, 2009

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: A Children's Story for Grown-Ups


Every child likes fairy tales: they are easy to follow, full of magic and always have a happy end. I have never thought that a fairy tale for grown-ups exists until I read The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I have read it when I was second grade, and it was just another story with talking animals, flowers that have wishes, and different characters.
Now I am 18 and I read it again. My God, such a difference!
I appreciated every picture, and not even to talk about every single sentence that the little prince had said. Exupery manages to summarize life’s values in a hundred pages. Even the pictures matter! I was really scared when I realized that I saw a hat, and not a boa constrictor that had eaten an elephant. It made me wonder? Is that it? I am born, I grow up, I enjoy the carelessness of childhood, and suddenly I am all grown up, with the boring vision of a grown-up?
Exupery uses simple language that is understandable for every English speaker, and in the same time he manages to make the child happy and the grown-up a bit sad. The story brings different sense to every age category of readers. I personally believe that one should read The Little Prince every two years. It is a book that has an eternal meaning. Every new reading enriches the mind and brings new sense to everything around.
When I finished the book I got sad. It was during the day, and I was not able to look at the stars. I did it in the evening though, and I smiled, because I knew that somewhere in the deep dark sky a boy cares for his pretentious rose, and loves her for everything that she is and is going to be. I smiled because I realized that being a grown-up is not so bad: there is always a story like this one that can make you happy. Yet, I got a bit sad: just for losing the Peter Pan dream of not growing up: I already did.
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a book that every person should have in their library. Not because it is classic, but because it is real and full of magic, childhood, and walks down the memory lane of each and every one of us.

1 comment:

  1. I loved your post when I read it for several reasons. It is magical and it reminds me of the last time I read this book. It was two months ago and I felt the same way: sad and frightened that maybe now I am a grown-up person and the careless childhood days are only a beautiful memory. You have written it just in your style – with simple words but with a deep meaning. I like the way you use specifics from the book and connect them with your life and hopes. Your piece of writing influenced me and made me imagine every single detail “It was during the day, and I was not able to look at the stars”. I imagined how you are sitting on your bed and trying to see the stars during the day. The questions you use are also very interesting because the reader is trying to answer them for themselves. I do not see any flaws in this post and I am going to repeat myself: I love it!

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