Now, on to the book bashing...
What do you consider important in life? The food on the table? Money in the bank? Security for your family/retirement? As a practical person, I consider my religion important, my family important, my friends important, my country important and my future important.
Many five-year olds would argue that a steady job isn't important, their play-dough sculpture far surpasses a good education in value. Unfortunately, the author of "The Little Prince" would side with the five year olds.
(Copied and pasted from Sparknotes)
"Saint-Exupéry clearly sides with children, represented by the little prince, who believe that serious matters are those of the imagination. For the little prince, the most serious matter of all is whether the sheep the narrator has drawn for him will eat his beloved rose. As the story progresses, the narrator’s understands the importance of the little prince’s worry. The narrator responds with compassion to the prince’s concern about the sheep from the beginning, setting his tools aside and rushing to comfort the prince in Chapter VII, when the little prince cries out that the question of whether his sheep eats his rose is much more important than the narrator’s plane. However, in his final comment, the narrator says that the question of the sheep and the flower is so important that it has changed his view of the world, revealing that he has understood the question’s importance himself."
Am I the only one who sees the ludicrous in this situation? This book wrongly teaches children to worry about trivial, stupid things instead of keeping their eye on what's truly important - the survival of their friends and family. I heartily disagree with the author's description of "serious matters."
