The Little Prince: Grown-Ups Life Allegory
“All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
There are probably quite a few of us who are under the impression that reading books written for children would have no effect on us once we reach adulthood. On the other hand, who would have guessed that books written for children would actually contain valuable knowledge suitable for adults?
Literally, The Little Prince is a book for all ages. Jake Schmitz on Goodreads said that his literature professor told him that this book changes for the reader every 5 years. It means that it will speak to every reader in different ways as a child, adolescent, and adult.
I would never have known it and read “The Little Prince” by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry until a friend said to me this:
“The Little Prince is a book that always brings me comfort. Despite the fact that it is a timeless classic, it will never become irrelevant. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read it yet, I highly recommend you to do so as soon as possible because it is quite possibly the most brilliant and thought-provoking narrative that has ever been told. Besides being incredibly amusing, it will change how you view the world.”
As someone who enjoys reading books and different kinds of literature, it is obvious that I read it. My world has been filled with Eastern literature up until this point, so reading The Little Prince has inspired me to read other classic literature from all around the world.
Or at least if you like watching movies rather than reading the book, please watch its movie.
It’s one of those movies that really touch your soul and helps you understand the message it’s trying to convey. Simply stunning in every way. It serves as a powerful reminder that we currently live in a time in which people have forgotten the beauty of growing older while yet allowing themselves to dream.
As a classic, it’s obvious that the story is often seen as an allegory, with its charming narrative considered to have deep philosophical and moral messages. Every single character and component stand for a more profound thought or notion.
Here are some of the book’s metaphorical and allegorical meanings.
Desert
The term “desert” refers to an area that is typically characterized by extreme heat and dryness, both of which make it difficult for any kind of plant or animal to live there and the Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world.
The desert symbolizes survival, creativity, clarity, revelations, loneliness, and overcoming life’s greatest obstacles.
In general, a desert represents a mysterious and dangerous environment. Therefore, when the reader of The Little Prince imagines a desert, they think of death.
The story begins when an aviator, who has an air crash and lands in the Sahara Desert. Since the aviator is all by himself in the Sahara Desert with very few opportunities to interact with other people. The desert serves as a metaphor for loneliness. It is a place where survival becomes a challenge in addition to being a sign of death
But then, unexpectedly, he encounters the Little Prince, who awakens him a day later in the Sahara Desert. Later, the aviator develops a fondness for the desert and no longer views it as a place of death. Instead, the aviator characterizes the desert as a beautiful place that gives him a sense of strength in solitude.
Baobabs
The Baobab tree is a national symbol of Madagascar, and its presence can be seen all across the south and west of the island. This massive tree stands out in the wild due to its towering height and gleaming smooth trunk which serves as a water reservoir.
Every aspect of the baobab tree is beneficial to health. The usefulness of every part of the Baobab tree creates an ecosystem that supports life. It’s no surprise that the Baobab is considered the true “Tree of Life” by Africans.
Even though the real baobab is a huge plant that can survive for hundreds of years, the earth is not destroyed by its roots. In Little Prince’s Planet, the destruction of the planet is caused by the roots of the baobab tree.
“The good plants come from good seeds, and the bad plants from bad seeds. But the seeds are invisible. They sleep in the secrecy of the ground until one of them decides to wake up.”― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The baobabs in The Little Prince are a metaphor for troubles, yet in Africa, they are seen as a source of life. This is a significant contrast. There is not one particular symbol that is associated with baobabs in traditional culture; nonetheless, trees often represent positive characteristics such as development, generation, and stability.
The author wishes to convey the idea that people’s disregard for a small issue will only serve to make it worse in the future. The author underlines how important it is to uproot the baobabs when they are still young.
This allegorical is similar to addressing and finding solutions to issues as soon as they evolve in order to prevent the problems from becoming big and potentially destructive.
Stars
“The stars mean different things to different people. For some, they are nothing more than twinkling lights in the sky. For travelers they are guides. For scholars, they are food for thought. For my businessman they are wealth. But for everyone the stars are silent.” — Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
In astronomy, stars are considered to be either celestial bodies or bright balls of gas, similar to the sun. In spite of this, they appear in every type of literary writing as symbols of direction, encouragement, and the divine.
The stars in The Little Prince are meant to be interpreted as a metaphor for the immensity of the universe and the expanse of the unknown. They represent the unanswered questions that come up throughout life, the desire to learn more and broaden one’s perspective, and the endeavor to find connections that have deeper significance.
In addition, the stars can be seen as a metaphor for more profound spiritual and metaphysical relationships. It symbolizes, traditionally, the common belief that the stars are the source of human souls and spirits and that space is the gateway to the afterlife, which means the home of the pure souls lies.
Fox
The word “fox” is defined in the English dictionary as both a noun (meaning “a clever or cunning person”) and a verb (meaning “to deceive”), as well as an adjective foxy (meaning “seductive”).
But what is less well-known is that foxes are depicted in a variety of ways throughout the world. In some ancient cultures, the fox is portrayed as a divine animal, a powerful spirit warrior, and even a wise and beneficent creator deity.
But, In general, foxes represent sly and cunning, deceitful, clever, creative, wise, charming, and guiding.
In The Little Prince, the author wants to bring across the idea that the fox is a source of wisdom and guidance when it comes to having interactions with other people.
The fox teaches the Little Prince, that the most important things in life can’t be seen but only felt.
“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.” — Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
The fox is a metaphor for how to build deep, lasting relationships and how important it is to put time and effort into making relationships with others.
When the Little Prince meets the fox, the fox says that he is different from other foxes because he has been trained. The fox teaches the Little Prince that to tame something, you have to build a relationship of trust and mutual responsibility. It means spending time, energy, attention, and concern on getting to know someone and letting them get to know you in return.
Rose
Rose is discovered by the Little Prince after he has cleaned and dressed his planet. On his planet, the rose is unlike any other flower. Not roses in general, but rather the one and only rose that existed on his planet.
Even though the Little Prince cared deeply for his Rose, he eventually began to have doubts about her. Rose’s naivete in her deception makes her sound invincible in talks. The Little Prince’s feelings are occasionally irritated by Rose’s manner of talk, and as a result, the Little Prince makes the decision to part ways with Roe and embark on his adventure to discover other things.
The Little Prince ultimately comes to the conclusion that his Rose is the most important thing in his life after returning from his journey across the world. Since he has met the Fox, the Little Prince has learned how to love his Rose. The Fox imparts upon him the wisdom that one must always be accountable for what they have loved. The Little Prince, who is overcome with longing for his rose, finally decides to undertake the journey back to his home world.
Rose is a type of flower, and in most cultures, flowers represent the female gender. Rose is the flower that is most commonly thought of as being the most beautiful and most loved of all the flowers. The rose is a sign of a female who is innocent, naive, and pure.
The symbolism of the rose delves into problems related to love, responsibility, and the difficulties of developing and maintaining connections between people. The rose is a symbol of the highs and lows that come with being in love. The thorns on the rose represent the challenges and barriers that can develop in relationships, while the rose’s beauty represents the payoff that comes from putting in the effort to form a true connection and engage emotionally with the other person.
The Little Prince learns about the true nature of love and the value of accepting the frailties and weaknesses of people through his adventures away from his home planet and his interactions with the various characters he met on another planet. He’s learned along the way that love isn’t always easy, but it always takes effort and dedication.
“To be sure, an ordinary passerby would think that my rose looked just like you — the rose that belongs to me. But in herself alone, she is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars; because it is she that I have listened to when she grumbled, or bloated, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.”― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
As they mature, adults often lose sight of their childhood dreams. Their lack of interest extends to the world that surrounds them. Some of them become incredibly greedy, others become ignorant, and still others become arrogant.
It’s important to remember that “The Little Prince” isn’t only a tale for children. It condenses the biography of Saint-Exupéry into a handful of pages of prose and straightforward colored line illustrations. It is my opinion that the fact that he bared his soul in such a straightforward and unvarnished manner in that book is the primary reason why so many people found the book to have such a powerful impact on their lives.
© 2023 by Afiani Rui
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I sincerely hope it touched you or brought you joy in some way. Don’t hesitate to ask or offer any comments and claps. Enjoy your reading!
