The deeper hidden meanings of a children's book; The Little Prince, By Hussain Zaidi, Whitgift School

🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨

The Little Prince is a Children’s French novella published in April 1943. It has been translated into English.  It appears to be a children’s book yet has a deeper meaning…

At Whitgift School, Theology and Philosophy teacher, Mr Piggott was invited by Mrs Bauer to give a talk about morality found within the novella. This took place at the school’s Raeburn Library Book Club (RLBC), which many students attend.

Morality focuses on right and wrong; good and bad.

Before you read any further, I recommend that you should read the book. It will further your understanding.

🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨

In the book, the narrator starts by speaking about the inability of adults to understand important things. Next, the narrator then comes up with a test to see if the adult is childish. They draw a picture of an elephant digesting a boa constrictor. The grown-ups believe that the drawing is one of a hat. This tells us that people have different perspectives and views of the world. It also tells us that you will not agree with other people. To understand the world, you must take all of this into account.

In chapter two, the narrator becomes a lonely pilot, who starts crashed and stranded in a desert, with only an 8 days’ supply of water. Their crashed planes need to be fixed. They are stuck. They then come across the little prince. This is based on the author, Saint-Expuéry’s real life experience. In December 1935, he crashed his plane, which did not have a radio, in the Sahara Desert. He survived the initial crash but was then faced with dehydration. He then began to hallucinate. After four days, they were miraculously discovered by nomads on camels. In the book, the narrator is awoken by a little voice during his first night in the desert.  The little prince was asking the narrator to draw him a sheep. After the narrator draws the first sheep, the little prince states that he thinks that it is sick. The narrator draws a second sheep, this time with horns.

However, the little prince is still not happy. He thinks that it is a ram as it has horns. He asks the narrator to draw a third sheep. The little prince also rejects this one, as he believes that it is too old as he believes that it will not live for a long time. By this point, the narrator had run out of patience, so they drew a box. They? told the little prince that it was only the box, and that the sheep that he had asked for was inside. This time, the little prince’s face lit up! It was exactly what he wanted. This shows that the prince has a different worldview compared to the narrator, as he thought that each of the sheep had different problems, while the narrator thought that they were fine. This also shows that the little prince has an understanding of morality, as he can understand the difference between a “good” sheep and a “bad” sheep, as he did not like the other kinds of sheep.  This is how the narrator meets the little prince.

Another example of different worldviews in the book is on page 21. Here, the narrator meets an astrologer, who is wearing Turkish clothing. He had discovered an asteroid known as B-612, which is where the narrator believes the Little Prince is from. However, even after he had organized a great demonstration of his discovery at an International Astronomical Congress, nobody believed him. A few years later, a Turkish dictator forced him to wear an elegant European suit. This time everyone was convinced.  It was not because of a scientific reason. It was because of his attire. This shows that his fellow astronomers were biased, and their beliefs shaped their views. The little prince states that “Grown-ups are like that”. This suggests that the little prince has an understanding of morality and believes that grown-ups’ biases are stupid and pointless.

The novella also shows an understanding of morality through the little prince’s understanding of “bad” people. This is shown on page 28, when the little prince meets the vain man.

The vain man decides to only listen to the little prince when he gets praised. His ears fall deaf on any criticisms of his way of life. The narrator notes that “He is a conceited man; conceited men only hear praise”. This sums up his personality. He chooses to live his life with the belief that everyone can learn from him; he believes that he cannot make mistakes. He only wants admiration. He does not judge right and wrong; He thinks that he is always right. Therefore, he has a poor understanding of morality. This can make him a bad person.

At the end of the novella, the little prince disappears. We are not given a direct reason for his disappearance, but many people believe that it is because the little prince has lost his childhood innocence. His understanding of morality could have resulted in him realising how bad the world is.

There are many other chapters in this novella, which appear to be childish, but when analysed, have much deeper meanings. Many people have studied this book, trying to make sense of all off its hidden meanings. I would recommend this novella to anyone else, as it especially relevant in the modern age, where the world is full of injustices.

By Hussain Zaidi