Week 2
The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Rating: :) :) :) :) :)
I've probably read this book a couple of times over the years, but I just keep on forgetting the gist of what Antoine was trying to tell his readers to remember.
As soon as I got this book back, almost tattered and bleak, I had that tiptoeing inclination to read it again for the nth time.
And for the record, this time, I made some notes and carefully read each line with care. Now I was on the verge of discovering something very interesting about the story.
The book begins with a narrator having discussed his frustrations of wanting to become a great artist when he grows up. After having been fascinated by the stories about the jungle, the narrator was greatly inspired to come up with his first drawing of a Boa Constrictor swallowing a big elephant. The moment he finished it, he showed it to the grown-ups and asked them whether they could recognize or appreciate what he drew. But all they said was, "It's just a big hat," (Well, for me, it looked like a big hat) and so to his dismay, he drew another one. This time, he drew from the inside out, so that the elephant would be visible inside the boa constrictor's body. But the grown-ups never liked his drawing and discouraged him from pursuing that artistic dream of his. They suggested to the boy instead to study geography and other irrelevant fields. From that moment on, he never drew another picture. Many years passed and the boy did became successful with his second choice - that is to become a pilot.
Rating: :) :) :) :) :)
I've probably read this book a couple of times over the years, but I just keep on forgetting the gist of what Antoine was trying to tell his readers to remember.
As soon as I got this book back, almost tattered and bleak, I had that tiptoeing inclination to read it again for the nth time.
And for the record, this time, I made some notes and carefully read each line with care. Now I was on the verge of discovering something very interesting about the story.
The book begins with a narrator having discussed his frustrations of wanting to become a great artist when he grows up. After having been fascinated by the stories about the jungle, the narrator was greatly inspired to come up with his first drawing of a Boa Constrictor swallowing a big elephant. The moment he finished it, he showed it to the grown-ups and asked them whether they could recognize or appreciate what he drew. But all they said was, "It's just a big hat," (Well, for me, it looked like a big hat) and so to his dismay, he drew another one. This time, he drew from the inside out, so that the elephant would be visible inside the boa constrictor's body. But the grown-ups never liked his drawing and discouraged him from pursuing that artistic dream of his. They suggested to the boy instead to study geography and other irrelevant fields. From that moment on, he never drew another picture. Many years passed and the boy did became successful with his second choice - that is to become a pilot.
We would then find out that the narrator crashed somewhere on a deserted place of the earth where hardly any civilization was found nearby. He was clearly stuck in the middle of the desert. He was having problems as he tried fixing the engine of his plane when suddenly, a little boy of golden hair persistently asked him to draw a sheep.
And who would not be surprised to find a little boy at such place, time and situation? Perplexed, the narrator instantly asked the boy's whereabouts. But stubborn, insistent, and never letting go of any question that was left unanswered, the boy continued to ask the pilot to draw him a sheep. The narrator eventually gave up and drew a sheep for the boy. But the boy was a meticulous one. He even gave a few directions and grave comments about the poor drawings of the pilot. Tired and running out of patience, the pilot then drew a box with holes in it, and said that there was a sheep inside the box. There, the little boy was satisfied and happy of the outcome.
From then on, the pilot and the boy became companions...and from that moment on, we get to discover the life of the boy and how he arrived on planet Earth.
The Little Prince, as the pilot slowly discovered, is a young boy who lived on a very tiny planet consisting of three volcanoes (two of which were still alive while the other one's extinct.. "but one will never know...") and was very fond of watching the sunset for forty-four times. He also had a flower, a rose to be exact, and she was very much a vain one and at the same time, naïve. She always tries to order around the little boy and complain about her insecurities and such, but nevertheless, the boy kept on watering her and tending to her needs and cared for her.
If I continue on with the rest of the story, I might not be able to deliver it very well as much as Antoine did. He was exceptionally good and I must say that this book is indeed a treasure, not only for children, but also to adults - most especially that this is of much use to adults. I also have noticed that what Antoine was trying to depict in this story is that we, humans should not always be attached to the physical things, to what we see, to what is tangible. The eyes must not be deceived by what it perceives on the physiological level, but should also witness the beauty that is invisible to the naked eye.
"The thing that is important is the thing that is not seen..."
"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart."
"What makes a desert beautiful is that somewhere, it hides a well."
"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose important..."
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
The mentioned passages have been noted and saved as memos on my cel so that it shall remind of the great things in life. We must not always be affected by the matters of consequence. :)
