“It is only through the
heart that one can see clearly. What is essential is invisible to the eyes.”
Such was the connotative quintessence of
the most widely read and well-loved tale at all times. A classic written by
Antoine De Saint- Exupery a year before his death, The Little Prince has not
lost its magical touch even after many decades of publication.
The book is not your usual amusing
children’s story. It’s all a subterfuge of a deeper meaning- almost poetic
allegory and philosophy of human frailties and child’s ingenuousness.
Little wisdom sparkled by the little prince for who
can indeed see clearly but an innocent little heart which was not yet tainted
with the paradoxical complexities of life.
The story started with the engaging
attempt of the narrator when he was a child to draw an elephant swallowed by a
boa constrictor. However, his endeavor to make the grown ups see what’s in the
drawing was futile. They only saw a kid’s doodle that resembled a hat for their
imagination was already hemmed in.
Whatever future he had in painting was
determinedly dissuaded by the adults in his life, who encouraged him instead to
concentrate with more sensible things. For adults, being sagacious would mean
focusing in geography, grammar, history and arithmetic.
He ended up as a pilot and gave up
completely what could be a magnificent career as a painter.
It was when he had an accident in Sahara
Desert and his engine broke down that he met the little prince. Thousand
miles away from any human habitation, he fell asleep on the first night on the
sand.
He was dumbfounded when a soft voice
woke him up asking him to draw a sheep. “When a mystery is too
overpowering one dares not to disobey.” Thus he did what the little prince asked.
The little prince reawakened
that child’s stance inside the heart of a man. It was with vivid details that
he told his intergalactic journey in search of the secret of what’s essential
in life. He was hoping it might help him to understand the flower in his planet
that tormented him with its vanity and pride.
It was sort of escape that he took
advantage of the migration of the wild birds. His visits in the different
planets were overflowing with wisdom more than enough to enlighten any lost
soul.
From the first planet inhabited by the
king who considered everything as his subject, the little prince learned that
authority is first and foremost based on reason.
Then the second planet inhabited by
conceited individual who hears only praises; the third by a drunkard who drinks
to forget that he’s ashamed of drinking; the fourth by a businessman who counts
the stars and declares he owns them so that he can buy more stars or write the
number in a paper and kept it lock in his drawer; the fifth planet was the
smallest of all which is only enough for a lamppost and a lamplighter.
As the little prince watched
the lamplighter carried out his order faithfully, he felt he had come to love
him. Thus he was sorry to leave his planet blessed as it was with one thousand
and four hundred and forty sunsets every day. Because when one is so sad, he
loves sunset.
The sixth planet was ten times larger
inhabited by a geographer who records eternal things not the ephemeral ones and
that includes his flower.
The seventh planet was the earth where
he found himself staring at thousand flowers which looked the same with the
flower in his planet. He ended up crying on the grass thinking that he’s not a
great prince after all because what he had was a common rose in danger of early
disappearance and three volcanoes which came up to his knees.
It was with the fox that he learned the
secret. For the fox, the little prince was just
like the other thousand boys he saw but it will make a difference if the boy
can tame him.
When one reads this novelette with his
soul, his life would be changed forever. Nobody can enthrall you with a story
so magical and so meaningful at the same time but the little prince.
The allegories were so compelling it
would make your heart burst with overpowering love for the Little Prince who
was “tamed” by a beautiful rose in his planet and made it
different from thousand other flowers in the whole world.
He would fascinate you with the story of
baobabs and the insight that seeds are invisible. They remain dormant in the
depth of the earth until one of them suddenly decides to wake up. Could it be
true to human emotions specially the seed of love?
Then the irony of how people rush
everyday without really knowing where to go or what they are looking for. Yet,
one’s happiness could actually be found in a single rose or a little water.
Crying for a lone flower he left in his
planet, the narrator realized that “The land of tears is so mysterious.”
What is remarkable with the story is its
interpretation of the word “goodbye”. The little prince made the
narrator realized that saying it has a healing power if one’s view about things
would be changed.
It is with great acuity that the little
prince uttered, “The stars mean different things to different people.
For some they are nothing more than twinkling lights in the sky. For travelers
they are guides. For scholars they are food for thought. For the businessman in
the fourth planet they are wealth. But for everyone the stars are silent. But
since I shall be living on one of them and laughing on one of them, you and
only you will have stars that can laugh.” And that made a lot of
difference.
Indeed, it is only thru the heart that
one can see clearly because the secret of the meaning of life dwells only in
the heart.
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What a beautiful story..Thank you for sharing something so meaningful..My belief in true happiness on this earth, is "Peace within oneself"..
ReplyDeleteThanks rose. Yes, when we find peace within us that's the only time that we can savor real happiness.
ReplyDeleteYes, I always have loved the Little Prince. My cousin loved the book and introduced it to me.
ReplyDeleteIt truly is wonderful.
Is it a movie now?
Why a trailer?
yes, it's already a movie. I think it was released in 1974. The movie is equally thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteHi Nina,
ReplyDeleteIt is very true that people view and understand things differently. For example, some people work day and night to get some extra money so that they could have a better and relaxing retirement. Some people chose to live quality life today as tomorrow is not promised.
It's the paradox of life. We work to live but oftentimes we live to work.
ReplyDeleteWe never found what we are looking for...our mind is too busy to think about being busy and our eyes are blinded with plethora of options.
Thanks for the comment Zunnur.:)
tht was a beautiful story!!!
ReplyDeleten u'r blog looks amazing!! :)
Thanks, Matangi.:)
ReplyDeleteDid you know the story of Le Petit Prince is, have always been and will always be my favourite! We can learn so much from this book about how much we often as adults forget about the important things in life, just because we don't see it any more.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your thoughts about it too!
Btw: Thanks for featuring my blog on yours - very nice of you. You see I just checked my blog at Technorati and link from yours was on top :-)
Yes, I agree. We lack already the wonder of imagination because we are so immersed in the flood of concerns.
ReplyDeleteHow I wish there is that part of our heart which will remain a child forever.
Thanks also for the visit.