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The Little Prince

Introduction

Symbolism is the representation of meanings in hidden, cryptic, and inscrutable content (Nöth, p.119).The Little Prince is a French novella written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, first published in 1943. The Little Prince contains meanings and symbol for different aspects of life. There are different objects, characters, places, figures, and other aspects as a symbol to convey hidden meanings. Times Magazine acclaimed it as “adults fairy tale”. The book contains various symbols, which represent, different aspects of reality of life, and it provides the meaning of life that most of the people neglect. This story reveals the meaning of life in a new way it not only deals with the social concerns and emotional ties, but also serves as a religious guide which shows the correct way towards the purification of our souls and also provides information related to the concerns which most of the people encountered during their life.

Thesis Statement

The Little Prince is beyond the concept of just children's book, due to its symbolism, there is much more to explore.

Symbolism in The Little Prince

It is commonly read as a children story book, but it has different meanings for adults which symbolizes different aspects of life. This is the reason that this book is not only famous among children, but for the critics as well as, it is rich in the symbolic representation of various other things.

The Flower as a Symbol of Love and Responsibility

The flower is one of the most symbolic representations in this story that reflects the symbol for the “love” and “responsibility”. Flowers are always associated with the symbol of love and beauty, but it will lose its beauty and life if not watered. This is the reason that along with love flowers are also symbol for the responsibility as it always need someone to care. It is a general concept that if a person loves someone, than it also involves the care and responsibility for that person. It is the most important aspect in love, but running from that responsibility does not mean that a person can escape it as the prince replied to the snake “having some difficulties with a flower” (Saint-Exupéry & Testot-Ferry, p.68). It also represents the other aspect of life that how someone can feel after losing people, they did not care when they had them. Bonhomme also explained the same symbolic representation that it is not possible for anyone to leave the love behind. Even that the little prince left the flower, but still he was carrying it in his heart (Bonhomme, p.80). It is the most important aspect that deals with the symbol of love.

Symbolic Use of the Figure Three as Christian Trinity

Another important symbolic representation in 'The Little Prince', is the use of figure three which was expressed through various elements like, the representation of three petals in the flower or three volcanoes. Bonhommen explains that the three petals of the flower were the symbolic representation of Christian Trinity ...