I’ve finally read The Little Prince! And it did not disappoint!
The 2019 movie brought me to tears multiple times so I was fully prepared for the original to be just as tear jerking!! The scene where the little prince’s youth is restored after he succumbed to the businessman’s greed and the heavy weight of adulthood, I was inconsolable. The aftermath of him abandoning his rose, but everything revived by his favorite sunset was just chiefs kiss! The old pilot and his bond with the prince was also a source of my many tears.
I do think, now that I’ve read the book, the movie expands the message about the business man. In the book, the businessman work was pointless and repetitive, and he believed he had a right to claim the stars. The little prince tells him “[He] is not useful to the stars.” The prince waters his flowers and rakes his volcanoes but the businessman simply counts them. It reminded me of how some Islands and countries are owned by big government, and labeled as territories without any investment in the well being of the people or the land.
I did like that the movie makes him a more aggressive antagonist and showed realistically how the businessman’s greed could affect all the characters after the original story. However, I do value the irony of a child scolding this adult for being irresponsible over his “possessions.”
My favorite section of the story is the scenes with The Fox. I loved it in the animation ( the stop motion is really fucking cool by the way) so I was excited to read over the scene in the original. I loved the dialogue between the boy and the fox. How the fox speaks almost as strangely as the boy. Despite his youth, the boy is very intelligent and contemplative in his speech, which is a trait he shares with the fox. I loved the fox explaining to him how to tame him and pleading to be tamed despite the possible anguish when the boy leaves.
I loved these little bits of dialogue and how the fox sometimes just trails off without finishing a thought.
“You’re only a little boy like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either.”
“But if you tame me, we’ll need each other. You’ll be the only boy in the world for me. I’ll be the only fox in the world for you…”
Comparing the little princes golden hair to the color of wheat was like a dagger to my heart. He has no use for wheats, he explains to the prince, because he doesn’t eat bread but he anticipates that when he sees it, it will remind him of the prince. He describes the boys voice calling him like music, or the sound of wind in the wheat in this very dreamy way. The fox’s longs for connection but also his knowledge of the pain that comes with it truly moved me for he explained the concept of love. The fox knows that the connection to the little prince will cause him some pain but he knows that love is worth the risk.
I laughed out loud when the fox critiques the prince for returning the next day at whatever time. I don’t know if the intention was to be humorous but the sentence set up made me giggle. it’s just ironic for this fox to be like “I would’ve done that differently.” Its just similar to the old concept of teaching someone how to love you.
And then when The Fox does grow sad once the Prince is about to leave, I actually like that in the book the boy becomes a little defensive. He did not want to hurt him and told him ahead of time he was not staying, but still felt the guilt for taming him and leaving. The fox clarifies that he does get something out of their relationship, even if it ends! The color of wheat!!
Obviously the fox is a lesson but I like that he also has a personality and character quirks beyond that. He has wants. He has needs. (the fox is my favorite character) The prince speech to the roses showed his understanding of the foxes lesson. He learns the concept of love, individualism and personalization. The rose is important because she is his. The rose is important because he invested in her. He watered her, he protected her from bugs, he listened to her complaints and sat through her flaws. There was love even in silence. (He ate them up however. They were just vibing and he told them they were not special.)
I did love the last note the fox gave: “You mustn’t forget it. You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose…”
It carried the weight the responsibility of love, of owning someone’s heart. Its a big deal and not just something you should abandon, or treat frivolously.
deirrawrites 