The Author's Life
The country where Atoine de Saint-Exupery was born.
What is France?
The thing the pilot gives to the prince.
What is a drawing of a sheep?
The drawing that finally makes the Prince happy, symbolizing that what is "essential" is often "invisible" or imagined.
What is the sheep in a box?
The character who said: "Please... draw me a sheep!"
Who is the Little Prince?
The fox's special word for creating a unique bond with someone by investing time and creating ties.
What is "to tame"?
The author's real life job. Also the job of the narrator.
What is a pilot?
They make the Little Prince think his own Rose isn't unique after he meets them.
Who are the 5,000 roses?
These destructive plants symbolize bad habits or evil ideas (like Nazism) that must be pulled up when they are small.
What are the baobabs?
The character who said: "I have a right to demand obedience because my orders are reasonable."
Who is the King?
The King's authority is a critique of this, as he has a title but no real power.
What is the appearance of/desire for authority?
The place where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry crashed in 1935, inspiring the story.
What is the Sahara Desert?
This character is a satire of "grown-ups" who are obsessed with counting and "owning" the stars.
Who is the businessman?
For the pilot, these are a beautifu reminder of the Prince's laughter, symbolizing how memory and relationships change one's reality.
What are the stars?
The character who said: "One only understands the things that one tames... What is essential is invisible to the eye."
Who is the Fox?
The snake's final "gift" to the Prince, which looks like death, is actually an allegory for this.
What is returning home (or letting go of the physical "shell" to keep what is essential)?
The place where Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote The Little Prince after running from his own country.
What is the USA?
This character's job is absurd because his planet now spins once per minute.
Who is the lamplighter?
This drawing symbolizes imagination vs. the literal-minded adult world.
What is the boa constrictor eating an elephant?
The character who said: "I drink so that I may forget... Forget what?... Forget that I am ashamed... Ashamed of what?... Ashamed of drinking!"
Who is the Tippler?
The fox teaches that this is what makes the Prince's rose "unique in all the world," even after he sees a garden of 5,000 other roses.
What is the time and care he has "wasted" on her (or his relationship/responsibility for her)?
The person who is widely believed to be the inspiration for the rose.
Who is Consuelo de Saint-Exupery (the author's wife)?
This character is the first one the Prince meets on Earth, speaks in riddles and claims to be more powerful than a king.
Who is the snake?
The King, the Vain Man, and the Geographer are all examples of this literary technique, which uses humor to criticize human flaws.
What is satire?
The character who said: "It is a little lonely in the desert... It is also lonely among men."
Who is the Snake?
The "grown-up" obsession with numbers, power, and money, which the narrator calls "matters of... THIS."
What are "matters of consequence"?