Emily Scharber
ENGL 191
Mikolchak
Due 01/28/2015
The Little Prince’s Reader Response When you crash your plane in a desert, you might end up analyzing past events in your life or possibly imagining up someone to keep you sane. In the short story The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery, he explains to the audience about how a “little prince” approached him the morning of his first night in the desert. It is also explained about how he could never get creative as a child without being scolded by an adult to stop. Antoine began his story by explaining to the audience that a boa constrictor eats about every 6 months and with his creativity, he drew a picture of one eating an elephant. He tried to explain to the adults but they just did not understand and shunned his creativity. I understand how this could crush a spirit or a dream. It was even said, “At the age of 6, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter.” (134). Who would have known if he would have been the next Pablo Picasso, he was never encouraged to pursue his drawings. He then became an airplane pilot. He flew to many countries because he was always told to do something realistic. Growing up with people who matured to quickly put a strain on him. In turn making him mature and grow up too quick to enjoy the little things. Next, Antoine talks about how one trip 6 years ago his plane crashed into the Sahara Desert. Upon landing there he came to find that he had a broken engine that he was going to have to fix his self. This became stressful for him, knowing it would be life or death if not done hastily. After spending the first night in the sand, he awoke to a little voice demanding a drawing of a sheep. Reading this I could see this possibly being imagined to keep his mind busy while he worked on his aircraft. As the Little Prince demands the drawing, Antoine obliges. Since being scolded as a child, he was never able to draw very well. Even the child realized this when he made Antoine draw the sheep multiple times. Letting Antoine get more creative each time. Finally a box was drawn, allowing to let the little prince get as creative as he wanted with whatever could be inside the box. Antoine went along with what the little prince said and didn’t do what the adults did to him. He let him expand on his creativity. “That is exactly the way I wanted it! Do you think that this sheep will have to have a great deal of grass?” “There will surely be enough grass for him” (138). Later the child explained that he was not from here and explained that he was from a tiny different planet. Antoine explained people sometimes ask the wrong questions or never divulge on other questions. Making people think in a different perspective. Not asking what or why someone looks the way they do rather than who they are and why they are. Each passing day the author would learn about the little prince’s planet. If he imagined this little price, some of these stories could pertain to underlying past life experiences. The sheep would be his boa constrictor. The rose with thorns could be a metaphor for his dreams being crushed. Baobabs could be the negativity from the adults that he always had to deal with. When explaining the red faced gentleman on page 148, I believe he was explaining himself. He never went out and enjoyed the finer things in life, never fell in love, didn’t ever just look up and enjoy the stars in the night sky. All he focused on was his job and making money. He would swell up with pride and boast about it but it did not truly make him happy. The little prince goes into depth of how he left his planet. This could be the author explaining how he left his home to become a pilot and explore other countries and fly over them, just like how the little prince hopped asteroid to asteroid. The little prince seemed a little shocked to meet someone else, of that a king. The king ruled over everyone and everything. He had a do as I