The Little Prince Essay Example
The Little Prince
What are the possible effects of putting a barrier or limiting the dreams, ideas, and mindsof children? In the short story, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint- Exupery some of theseideas are handled in a very subtle way. This short story also brushes the topic of education andthe importance and vitality of it.The first topic that this story deals with is the openness of the minds of children and theendless possibilities they posses compared to the narrow-mindedness of adults. One of the mostobvious ways this difference between adults and children is displayed is in the very beginning of the book. The narrator discusses how when he was a young child he was just starting to have aninterest in drawing and painting when it was quickly extinguished by adults in his life. Thenarrator drew a picture of an elephant swallowed by a boa constrictor and asked some adultswhat it looked like, and the narrow-minded adults said that they thought it was a hat. Determinedto not give up on his interests that quickly, the narrator redrew the picture but this time made the boa transparent so that you could view the elephant in the boa¶s stomach. When he took his newdrawing to various adults they said, ³ put away the drawings of boa constrictors, outside or inside, and apply myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar.´ It is from thisresponse by the adults that the narrator gave up on his budding career as an artist.
This interaction between the narrator and the adults in his life is an example of theauthors view on education and adults in general. Children have some of the most imaginative,creative, and uninfluenced, and unspoiled minds anyone can posses and our education systemsspoil their innocence. I tend to agree with this view presented in the book for a couple reasons.The first reason is that the creativity that kids poses is limitless and it can be ruined when adultsstart deciding what is important for kids to know and learn. The
What are the possible effects of putting a barrier or limiting the dreams, ideas, and mindsof children? In the short story, The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint- Exupery some of theseideas are handled in a very subtle way. This short story also brushes the topic of education andthe importance and vitality of it.The first topic that this story deals with is the openness of the minds of children and theendless possibilities they posses compared to the narrow-mindedness of adults. One of the mostobvious ways this difference between adults and children is displayed is in the very beginning of the book. The narrator discusses how when he was a young child he was just starting to have aninterest in drawing and painting when it was quickly extinguished by adults in his life. Thenarrator drew a picture of an elephant swallowed by a boa constrictor and asked some adultswhat it looked like, and the narrow-minded adults said that they thought it was a hat. Determinedto not give up on his interests that quickly, the narrator redrew the picture but this time made the boa transparent so that you could view the elephant in the boa¶s stomach. When he took his newdrawing to various adults they said, ³ put away the drawings of boa constrictors, outside or inside, and apply myself instead to geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar.´ It is from thisresponse by the adults that the narrator gave up on his budding career as an artist.
This interaction between the narrator and the adults in his life is an example of theauthors view on education and adults in general. Children have some of the most imaginative,creative, and uninfluenced, and unspoiled minds anyone can posses and our education systemsspoil their innocence. I tend to agree with this view presented in the book for a couple reasons.The first reason is that the creativity that kids poses is limitless and it can be ruined when adultsstart deciding what is important for kids to know and learn. The