The Little Prince - What is a serious matter? - The Reality Conflict PART 2

Okay, this is my third post ranting about the all-too popular children's classic "The Little Prince." How can they call it a "children's" classic if the main character commits suicide? This is hardly suitable for a child!!!

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."

The Little Prince and Narrow-Mindedness - The Reality Conflict

Gosh, I'm really shredding this book apart. Okay, now I want to talk about the theme of "narrow-mindedness" in the book "The Little Prince" by Antoine De Saint Exupery and how it conflicts with the truth.
A message that was being spoon-fed to readers - "Adults are narrow-minded, unlike children.
"For the most part, The Little Prince characterizes narrow-mindedness as a trait of adults. In the very first chapter, the narrator draws a sharp contrast between the respective ways grown-ups and children view the world. He depicts grown-ups as unimaginative, dull, superficial, and stubbornly sure that their limited perspective is the only one possible. He depicts children, on the other hand, as imaginative, open-minded, and aware of and sensitive to the mystery and beauty of the world.

In the story’s opening pages, the narrator explains that grown-ups lack the imagination to see his Drawing Number One, which represents a boa constrictor swallowing an elephant, as anything other than a hat. As the story progresses, other examples of the blindness of adults emerge. As the little prince travels from planet to planet, the six adults he encounters proudly reveal their character traits, whose contradictions and shortcomings the little prince then exposes."

A child could easily tell you otherwise. The opposite is apparent to anyone who can recall preschool. In preschool there is a certain hierarchy. If you don't dress like Barbie or don't know the names of the teletubbies, you are an outcast of sorts. Children are cruel. We are all born selfish creatures. Tolerance is a learned thing. Manners must be taught painstakingly to children, else they turn out horrid monsters.

I thoroughly disagree with the idea that children are open-minded. If anything, adults are more so, their minds have been given time to explore and mature. The concept that a child is more open-minded than an adult is silly. To an adult, it may seem plausible. But, as a child, I know.

The Little Prince

Some people consider "The Little Prince" charming and innocent, but in my opinion the book is sinister and dark. It's one thing for a book to close on the suicide of a child, but it's another for it to close on the suicide of a child and treat the child's poor choice as morally correct and charming. Evil is presented as harmless and even as a solution to your problems. In fact, the little prince who decides to allot the snake to kill him is portrayed as a role model and something to aspire to. This bizarre book is riddled with a confusing mesh of make-believe and reality that is confusing and could even be considered enchanting. I found it merely frustrating Like many gifted ed children, I struggle with the difference between the imagination and reality. Thank goodness I didn't get myself so sucked into my fantasies that I would kill myself over a flower. I think this book sends the wrong message to gifted children by advocating the Little Princes decision.

Reposted from sparknotes - TEENS ARE NOT DUMB!!!

Sometimes, your SparkNotes editors wonder whether the writers at the New York Times actually know a single human being under the age of 20, what with their hysterical late-breaking reaction to every high school-related scandal or social trend to emerge over the past ten years. It's almost comical by now; every few months, like clockwork, another story comes out that paints today's teenagers in the worst possible light. For instance, did you know that kids today are exchanging jelly bracelets for sex?! And that once, a teacher found a picture of a boob on someone's cellphone?!! And that on a website where users can ask questions anonymously, some people use the opportunity to act like total jerks?!

Annoyingly, whenever one of these articles comes out, your panicked parents come running into your bedroom all red-faced, demanding to know whether you have a "Facespring," and also whether you've been letting people touch your "gchat," and OHMYGOD, is that CHATROULETTE?! NOOOOO!

Parents: Get off the internet! You're going to catch herpes!!!
You: ...You guys have been reading the New York Times again, haven't you.


The Times may be shocked by teenagers' purported bad behavior, but they're equally amazed by their good behavior. In keeping with their proud tradition of total cluelessness, the NYT was recently surprised to learn that today's teenagers are spending their free time doing something other than sexting and sniffing paint—and that contrary to popular belief, most of you are making a conscientious effort to keep your privacy intact online. The article gasp-shocks its way through the news that young people are actually more assiduous than middle-aged people are about deleting Facebook posts and photos that could paint them in a negative light, limiting access to their accounts, and alerting other people (like younger siblings) to the potential fallout from sharing too much with the internet.

This isn't news to anyone who sparkles or knows a Sparkler. In fact, it's painfully obvious and non-newsworthy. What's next, NYT? A shocking report that some teens don't like Miley Cyrus?

And now, if you'll excuse us, we've got to go ask our parents for the five-hundredth time to please give us back our lipstick because rainbow parties were a myth forcryingoutloud.