Le Petit Prince By: Amanda Nobile

 The first part of my presentation will talk about Antoine de Saint-Exupery`s life as a pilot and his two novels.  The second part of my presentation will focus on the Themes, Motifs, and a quote mentioned in The Little Prince.

About the Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery  Antoine St. Exupery was born June 29,  He was best known a writer that flew planes, an artist, and a dreamer.  St. Exupery was not a pilot in WW1 because he was underage.  His Air force career began in 1921.

Continued  The first plane he flew was a Berthaud-metal monoplane.  His airmail career lasted six years & produced 2 novels. Wind, Sand and Stars & Night Flight.  St. Exupery is more know for The Little Prince a children`s book.

 At 21yrs. Old he became a private soldier with the 2e Régiment de chasseurs à cheval.  He was sent to Neuhof.  St. Exupery then took private flying lessons.  The next year was transfed from the French Army to the French Air Force. Learning to Fly

Quiting the French Armee de L`Air  In Jan he earned his wings after being sent to the 37th Fighter Regiment in Morocco.  He was then placed in 34th Aviation Regiment at Le Bourget outside Paris.  In 1923 he had is first major crash. He took off from Le Bourget in an airplane he was not rated to fly.  Due to his fiancee, future novelist Louise Leveque de Vilmorin he quit the French Armee de l`Air.  He worked odd meaningless jobs until they split.

St. Exupery`s Career  In 1926, Saint-Exupery became part of the international postal flight.  He was hired by Aeropostale and flew between Dakar and Toulouse.  His career led him to became the stopover manager for Cape Juby in South Morocco.  He negotiating the release hostage fliers by Moors and was given The Legion d`honneur from the French Government.  In 1929, Saint-Exupery was sent to Argentina as the director of the Aeroposta airline.  He looked after air routes in South America, searched for crashed fliers, and flew the airmail.

Inspiration For Night Flight  St. Exupery was his most thoughtful on his long flights.  His most famous flying experience`s happened in Argentina and are mentioned in his book Night Flight. 1931

Another Crash  In 1935 he crashed in the Sahara desert.  Him and his Co Pilot were trying to break the speed record in a Paris to Saigon air race and win 150,000 francs  On the fourth day after the crash a Bedouin on a camel found them and saved them.  He survived the crash suffering only dehydration from the desert heat.  This deathly experience in mentioned in his memoir Wind, Sand and Stars and was published in  This book won awards in France and in the United States..

His Stay in New York  The armistice with Germany ended.  He escaped through Portugal and went into hiding in North America, where he stayed 27 months in  He then rode a Douglas DC-3 to New York.  Saint-Exupery decided to write a children's book to calm his nerves and compete with Mary Poppins.  He then wrote and illustrated The Little Prince in New York City, in the village of Asharoken, in  The book was complete in October and published in 1943 in English and French in the U.S.A.

St. Exupery`s Disappearance  In 1943 he was becoming weak and 8yrs over the age to be a pilot but returned to the Free French Air Force.  Ranked as a Commander  He continued to read and write while flying his F-5B.  On 31 July 1944, he flew an unarmed P-38 on his ninth reconnaissance mission.  He left from an airbase on Corsica. However, he never returned.

Pieces to the Mystery  September 1998 Jean-Claude Bianco found Saint- Exupery`s silver identity bracelet east of Riou Island.  May 2000, Luc Vanrell found some remains of St. Exupery`s P-38 spread out across the seabed near the location of the bracelet.  On 7 April 2004, Investagtors, Patrick Granjean, and Captain Frederic Solano confirmed the wreckage was pieces of St. Exupery's plane.

Theme #1 Being Judgmental.  One theme throughout the story is the negativity of being Judgmental.  Example 1: In the first few pages of the story the narrator says adults have no imagination. The first drawing shows a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant. Adults would only be able to see a hat.  Example 2:. In Chapter IV, the Turkish astronomer announces that he has found Asteroid B-612. However, due to his Turkish clothing he is ignored. Time passes and he presents the asteroid discovery wearing European clothing. Due to the simple clothing change he receives praise.

The Drawing

Theme #2: Relationships.  Example #1: The prince and his rose teach a lesson about love. One day the prince catches his rose in a lie and decides to leave his home. However, he truly loves his rose. This is what fuels the story. The rose towards then end of the story becomes the reason the prince wants to return home.  Example #2: The Fox tells the prince that investing yourself in someone else makes that person, as well as everything associated with that person special.

Theme #3: Exploration helps you learn.  Example #1: Due to the narrator meeting the little prince in the desert the narrator gains a new understanding of life. The narrator and the prince are both explorers who through exploration learn about their world begin to understand their place in the world. They also learn about who they truly are as a person.  Example #2: The story also states that real spiritual growth can only happen through exploration.

Theme #4: Open Mindedness & Age.  Example #1 : The little Prince represents the open mindedness of children. He asks questions and is willing to involve him self in the mysteries of the universe. The story hints that this is the key to happiness and understanding.  The little prince teaches us that age is not what separates adults from children. The narrator is older and cannot draw anymore. However, he is still youthful enough to understand the young, and become friends with the little prince.

Motif: Being Tamed.  The fox tells the little prince that taming means creating ties so that two people can become special to each other. The drunkard, the king, the vain man, the geographer, the lamplighter, and the businessman. (Who sadly can`t even remember the names of the stars he owns.) are too busy to create a special relationship with the prince. Their lives are not enriched.  The fox then explains that two people must share a part of themselves with each other in order to become friends.  Taming takes work but has benefits. The fox then says that world around him is enhanced because he is tamed.

Symbol #1 Trains.  Trains. In Chapter XXII The little prince learns that the passengers on the train will never truly be happy because they are never happy where they are. The rides are rushed and the passengers make no time to fall in love with one place.  The trains travel in opposite directions which hints that adults make contradictory efforts in life to be happy.  Only children can see that the traveling to the destination is the most important part of the trip.

Symbol #2 The Desert.  The Sahara Desert is a symbol for the narrators mind.  The desert is barren because of adult ideas.  The narrator’s mind grows because of the friendship of the little prince.  The desert is hostile because it contains a deadly serpent and has no water (Until a well appears later on). However the desert is a place of learning.

Symbol #3 The Well.  Drinking water is a symbol for spiritual fulfillment.  When the prince and the narrator find the well the water reminds the narrator of Christmas.  The narrator`s memories of Christmas ceremonies represents that his spirit is what thirsts not his body.  The salesclerk sells a pill to end thirst. However, the little prince states that no pill can be used for spiritual food. The pill provides no real nourishment.

My Favorite Quote.

Works Cited  “Antoine De Saint-Exupéry." FamousAuthors.org 3 November, exuperyhttp:// exupery  Saint-Exupéry, Antoine De, Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, and Katherine Woods. The Little Prince. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Print.  Wilkinson, Stephan. "Saint-Ex." Aviation History 19.1 (2008): Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Nov