Lessons Learned from Le Petit Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince is one of the best-loved, classic French books and has been translated into hundreds of languages; however, no one seems to truly understand the book’s intent. The story has bewildering dialogue and a perplexing moral while hitting close to your heart on every page. The heart-wrenching build-up to the bittersweet ending all begins with a little boy asking, “If you please–draw me a sheep!”

Le Petit Prince is by far my favourite novella and I have read it in English, French, and Mandarin. What I find so endearing about the story is the nonsensical dialogue, the rarely acknowledged struggles faced by each character, as well as the dreamlike plot. Le Petit Prince not only encouraged my love of the French language but also reignited my creativity, as the story focuses on the loss of imagination when growing up.

Within each of the characters, I saw a new problem commonly felt by many readers but presented in an imaginative way. The little prince was a victim of love and suffered from his rose’s inability to express her love for him. The narrator was a man with great imagination but told to put his ideas away because of the ideals of adulthood. The fox suffered from loneliness and was longing to have someone to need and to be needed as shown in the quote: 

To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world… 

The writing style of de Saint-Exupéry is beautifully poetic, leaving his readers moved and deeply touched. You can feel the emotions of each character with every word, even if it is a feeling you have never experienced. 

In the quote “All grown-ups were once children… but only few of them remember it.” the main theme of problems that arise from growing up is shown. The story reminds readers that as we grow older, we should not forget or scorn our childish past as maturity does not come from throwing away our past selves. Le Petit Prince tells me that even though I grow older by the day, my imagination and creativity do not have to leave. I am forever allowed to have my innocent and whimsical outlook on life, even if I do not fit the ideals of a working adult. From the story, I can overcome my fear of growing up and self-expression. I can confidently type up stories as well as paint whatever I want with my art. Even if people find my ideas ridiculous, there will always be someone out there who appreciates my creativity and what I have to offer.

Le Petit Prince is the best inspirational story for everyone with a love of discovery and innovation. Whether you are an artist, writer, or even an entrepreneur, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry reminds us all that we should never fear our longing for creation even if we are met with failure and rejection. As the author beautifully writes: 

You – you alone will have the stars as no one else has them…In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night…You – only you – will have stars that can laugh.

Le Petit Prince shows us that even when no one else in the world supports us, there will always be the stars, or a little prince, that sees the true beauty of our ideas and loves them.