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, 1900.
 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.
Learning to Fly
 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.
Quiting the French Armee
de L`Air

In Jan. 1922 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 1939.
 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 1938.

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 1942.

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 SaintExupery`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." 2012. FamousAuthors.org 3
November, http://www.famousauthors.org/antoine-de-saintexupery
 Saint-Exupéry, Antoine De, Antoine De Saint-Exupéry, and
Katherine Woods. The Little Prince. New York: Harcourt,
Brace & World, 1943. Print.
 Wilkinson, Stephan. "Saint-Ex." Aviation History 19.1 (2008):
32-37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.