WITH THE LITTLE PRINCE — TO OUR TRUE SELVES

At first glance, “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry may seem like a children’s book, but in fact, it is a story that even adults find difficult to fully understand. In short, the book tells us how we are gradually losing the purest and most precious human emotions — our most treasured values. During the time of writing, the author himself said:

“I grieve for a generation deprived of human virtues… I despise my time with all my soul. In this era, man is condemned to perish from spiritual thirst… The only real problem in the world around me is this: we must restore in people a sense of spiritual satisfaction in life. There is no joy in living without poetry, colors, or love…”

This allegorical tale uses various symbols to reveal the innocence, intellect, and pure feelings of a child’s heart, as well as concepts such as love, responsibility, life, and death — all essential parts of humanity. With its strong philosophical foundation and deep meaning, “The Little Prince” has won a place in the hearts of both children and adults and brought immense fame to its author.

The story begins with a pilot’s childhood memories. As known, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a pilot by profession. Thus, we can say that the writer reflected himself in one of the main characters — the aviator. He contrasts the innocent thoughts of a six-year-old boy with the “serious” mindset of adults in a unique style, critiquing them. When the child draws a picture of a boa constrictor that has swallowed an elephant, the adults cannot see it as the child does — they only see a hat. They claim that drawing is useless and insist that the boy study more “serious and useful” subjects. As a result, he grows up to study geography and becomes a pilot capable of distinguishing China from Arizona at a glance. But he stops drawing altogether.

One day, the pilot’s plane crashes in the middle of the desert, and there he meets the Little Prince — a mysterious golden-haired boy who asks him to draw a sheep. None of the drawings satisfy the Prince until the pilot sketches a box and tells him the sheep is inside. The Prince is thrilled that someone can “see” the invisible. Both the pilot and the Prince could imagine the boa constrictor and the sheep in the box. This shows that the pilot has reconnected with the child he once was. We can even say the Little Prince is the embodiment of his childhood. After all, their worldviews are nearly identical.

The Little Prince, who arrived from a tiny, lovely planet, can be seen as a representation of our inner self — our true essence. On his small planet were baobabs, flowers, three volcanoes (one extinct), and most importantly, a cherished, delicate turquoise flower. This planet symbolizes our world — our body and soul. The Prince uproots the baobabs each day to prevent them from damaging the planet, as they can destroy everything once grown. Baobabs and flowers initially look alike, so one must learn to distinguish between what’s harmful and what’s beautiful. In the same way, we must identify and remove the bad qualities from our hearts before they grow and destroy us.

Literary scholars interpret the relationship between the Little Prince and his proud, vain flower as a metaphor for Exupéry’s relationship with his wife, Consuelo. The flower’s behavior — her pride, her demanding nature — reflects this. The Prince waters her daily, protects her with a glass dome, and gives her his affection. On another level, the flower may symbolize our ego — our inner selfishness.

Eventually, the Prince decides to explore other planets. His journey is a metaphor for self-discovery — a look at human nature from the outside, which is the first step toward inner change. The flower tries to prevent his departure, which symbolizes how our pride often holds us back from understanding ourselves.

The three volcanoes on the Prince’s planet could represent strong emotions. He cleans them regularly, even the extinct one, because once harmful traits have existed in us, they can always reawaken. Therefore, we must cleanse our inner selves daily to avoid being destroyed from within.

Jalaluddin Rumi once said:

“A person is like the sea. Only the surface is visible. What lies beneath is unknown and untold, though it holds great storms.”

Sometimes, diving into the depths of that sea — our inner self — helps us understand who we really are.

The Little Prince visits seven planets and meets various people. On the first planet, a king reigns over no one but still gives orders. He claims that if a general disobeys, the fault lies not with the general, but with the king himself. The moral: we must take personal responsibility for our actions — the path to understanding ourselves begins here.

On the second planet lives a vain man who constantly asks to be praised. This character represents those who seek admiration without effort and believe themselves to be great despite doing nothing.

The third planet is home to a drunkard who drinks to forget the shame of drinking. He symbolizes our desires and how we knowingly do wrong, succumbing to urges that eventually enslave us.

On the fourth planet lives a businessman too busy counting stars to notice anything else. He believes he owns them, despite them offering him no benefit. He represents people obsessed with materialism who forget the meaning of life.

The fifth planet belongs to a lamplighter — the only character the Prince admires. He performs his duty with dedication, even at the cost of sleep. The lamplighter symbolizes responsibility. He also represents those who resist change despite the evolving world around them. Though the Prince offers him good advice, he refuses to change.

The sixth planet is inhabited by a geographer who writes massive books but never explores. He relies on others for knowledge and highlights those scholars who theorize without experience.

Interestingly, the size of each planet differs. The Prince’s favorite — the lamplighter’s planet — is the smallest. This might mean that the rarest or most meaningful traits are the ones we value most deeply in our hearts.

The seventh planet is Earth, where the first creature the Prince meets is a snake — a symbol of wisdom in many cultures. The snake speaks in riddles and offers to help the Prince return home if he is ever overwhelmed by grief. And indeed, in the end, the Prince does call upon the snake when he longs for his planet.

He also finds a rose garden and realizes that his beloved flower is not unique. Then he meets the Fox. In many cultures, the fox symbolizes wisdom, and in this story, it plays a vital role in delivering its core message.

The Fox says:

“People have forgotten this truth — but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

As the Prince tames the Fox, he realizes that he, too, was tamed by his rose. Though many roses exist, his is special because of the time and love he gave it. The Fox teaches him the most important truth:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Maintaining this clarity of heart is essential. Rumi once said:

“The mirror of the heart must be clean so that the beautiful and the ugly can be seen clearly.”

The Prince finally meets people — humans — who are strange. They rush from place to place on trains without knowing why or where they’re going. This symbolizes how people chase time and goals blindly, burdened by self-imposed worries. Only children know what they are truly looking for and can love a rag doll so much that its loss makes them cry. Only children truly know how to live and enjoy life.

The Prince meets the pilot again — the same one we met at the beginning. The mysterious boy wins his heart, and they spend several days together. The pilot grows attached to him, but the Prince must leave. The pilot says:

“Six years have passed since my friend and his sheep left me. I write this so I won’t forget. There is nothing sadder than forgetting a friend. Not everyone is lucky enough to have one. And I never want to become like those adults who care only for numbers…”

The Prince traveled far, met many, but could not stay with anyone long. Everyone has their own planet, their own flower, their own distant stars. In the end, he calls the snake to return to his planet. Whether the Little Prince died or flew away remains a mystery. But in my view, he did not die. He lives on — in the heart of every person. Some will find him; others will not.

In conclusion, this short story carries deep meanings. Everyone understands it differently, according to their worldview. The symbols and allegories used by the author are open to interpretation. What matters is that each reader draws meaningful insights for themselves.

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REFERENCES:

1. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The Little Prince. Tashkent: “Adabiyot Uchqunlari,” 2018.
2. https://kh-davron.uz/ijod/maqolalar/xurshid-davron-eng-hayotiy-ertak.html
3. https://youtu.be/O-poCRKv56o?si=kxeeY9fgicVw7tsp

O‘rolova Dinora, a11th-grade student of the Hamid Olimjon and Zulfiya Creative School