All men have the stars,
but they are not the same things for different people.
For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides.
For others they are no more than little lights in the sky.
For others, who are scholars, they are problems.
But all these stars are silent.
You, you alone will have the stars as no one else has them.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
Life’s Lessons:
From a Child’s Perspective
An Exploration of Le Petit Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
By Michelle Mercure (Halette)
- Antoine Jean-Baptiste Marie Roger de Saint-Exupéry
(his name in full, believe it or not)
lived from June 29, 1900 – July 31, 1944.
- He was born in
Lyons, France at
the turn of the
century into an old
aristocratic family.
- His career in aviation is what
gave him inspiration to begin a
career in writing, which he is also
famous for.
- His interest in flying was
made apparent early on in
his life. Once as a small
child after attaching wings
to a bicycle he shouted
joyously, “ When I fly away
on my new machine, the
whole crowd will shout,
long live Antoine de SaintExupéry.” In a sense he
was right for he later
became a famous aviator.
“ He left permanent wounds
in the hearts of those who saw him smile,
even once.”
- Although Antoine is famous for his career as a French aviator and writer,
it is the fact that he never lost his boyhood innocence which makes him
so unique.
“Grandi augmente ne jamais comprendre n’importe quoi pour
se, et c’est ennuyeux pour les enfants pour être toujours et
forevor expliquant des choses à eux.”
“Grown ups never understand anything for themselves,
and it is tiresome for children
to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
The Castle of Saint-Maurice de Rémens
-Antoine’s mother
brought him and his
four siblings here
a few years after
their father died
of a stroke in 1904.
- Antoine came from an old
aristocratic family, his father,
Jean de Saint-Exupéry, from
Limousin, being a descendant
of a French Knight from the
13th Century, named Raymond
de Saint-Exupéry, and his
mother, Marie de Fonscolombe,
from Provence, of the Boyer
de Fonscolombe.
-Perhaps it was the childhood years Antoine spent at this castle that gave
him the ability to hold onto his boyhood innocence, even as an adult.
Marie-Madeline, Gabrielle, François, Antoine, Simone
- Antoine’s mother exposed
her five children to the arts
from a young age, introducing
them to poetry, art, music and
literature. She herself was a
singer, guitarist, and a painter,
and she hoped to inspire each
of her children to explore their
own individual creativeness.
- Antoine and his siblings
lived a fairytale existence
at the castle of Rémens,
filling their days by playing
with animals and insects,
building mechanical
inventions, and by
pretending to be living in a
kingdom (not a hard task
considering the scenery
of the magnificent castle
surrounded by a huge park
of golden trees).
- Because of Antoine’s blond locks and the children’s
imaginary kingdom he, fittingly, was given the nickname
“Le Roi-Soleil” (The Sun-King).
“C’est beaucoup plus difficile à soi-même juger que juger des
autres. Si vous arrivez à juger vous correctement, alors vous
êtes en effect homme de vraie sagesse.”
“It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others.
If you succeed in judging yourself rightly,
then you are indeed a man of true wisdom.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
- He and his younger brother, François, were entered into this school after their
mother moved them from Lyons to Le Mans (which is found in Northern France).
- He was classified
as an untidy, daydreaming
student with an
utter lack of concentration.
- After his brother
dies of rheumatic
fever, Antoine
goes home to
comfort his
sisters.
- This transition, after being
home schooled for most of his
childhood, turned out to be a
difficult one for him.
- Antoine received his first form of
discipline at Notre Dame Saint-Croix,
a school that his father once attended.
- Then he
travels to
Paris to
study to join
the Naval
Academy in
hopes of
pursuing his
-From there he and his brother were sent to a
school in Fribourg, Switzerland, where they both dream of
flying.
were much happier. The school’s motto was de
toute son ãme (with all one’s soul).
Antoine’s Education
- After failing the oral part of the exam and exceeding the age limit to retake the
test, Antoine finds himself lost.
- He was made commander of an airport at Cape Juby in the Sahara.
- This setting of a
- After the fall of
desert is used as
France in World
the background for
War II, in 1935 he
his books Wisdom
joins the army and
of the Sands and
makes several
Le Petit Prince.
“I never loved my house more daring flights
than when I lived in the desert.”
Aviation
- Antoine’s first time flying
was when he was 12
(just four years after the
Wright brothers launched
flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
-He joined the
French Air Force
in Stratsbourg in
1921 as a
mechanic
which would be
his first step
towards his
ultimate goal of
flying.
- Soon after he began his training to fly and at the young age of 26 he
fulfilled a life long dream, when became a pilot.
“Personne jamais est satisfait où il est.”
“No one is ever satisfied where he is.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
Antoine’s Various Careers
Publicity Agent
Truck Salesperson
Magazine Writer
Airport Commander
Aviator
Writer
Lecturer
Foreign Correspondent
Flight Instructor
Tile Manufacturer
“l’un risque de pleurant un petit, si l’un se permis d’est
apprivoisé.”
‘One runs the risk of weeping a little,
if one lets himself be tamed.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
- She can be seen in the vain, demanding character of the rose in Le Petit
Prince.
- Their marriage was stormy, for she felt neglected by Antoine.
-Antoine married Consuelo in 1933.
Consuelo Gomez Carillo
- They lived apart for several periods of time, in addition to those
occasioned by the war.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m drinking.”
“Why are you drinking?”
“So that I may forget.”
“Forget what?”
“Forget that I am ashamed?”
“Ashamed of what?”
“Ashamed of drinking!”
-It is amazing how the curious questions of a child can capture the
stupidity of adult reasoning, as depicted in this scene from Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince.
- This theme is explored throughout Le Petit Prince, where Antoine
expresses complicated messages in a simplistic manner.
Le Petit Prince
The Little Prince
- Antoine wrote it while living in the United States, and it was published in
1943, just one year before his unfortunate death.
- The book has been translated into over 150 languages.
- The Little Prince is a children’s tale meant for adults to read
- It is usually the first book that beginners of the French language read.
- Antoine not only wrote the book, he illustrated it also
- The Little Prince is said to be the third read book after the Holy Bible and
the Koran.
“It is a lonely in the desert. It is also lonely among men.”
- A quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince
- Antoine disappeared on July 31, 1944
- He had taken off that morning from an airfield in Sardina to photograph
German troop positions in the French Alps.
-It remains a mystery as to what happened to Antoine on that day;
as to whether his plane was shot down, or it had mechanical
problems, or whether he committed suicide.
- The remains of Antoine’s Lockheed P-38 were found in the
Mediterranean Sea 60 years after he crashed there.
-Perhaps we will never know the truth as to how he died, but
nothing can stop us from learning how he lived.
Innocence
Innocence,
Where have you gone?
I think I must have lost you while deep in slumber.
How quickly you did fade.
Or, I wonder
Innocence,
Are you still here with me?
Buried deep inside.
That is what I shall believe.
Innocence,
That I still have you,
That you are a part of me,
And I a part of you.
By Michelle Mercure (Halette)
The END