The Little Prince Analysis

Literary Devices in The Little Prince

Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory

Setting

The Sahara DesertTechnically, most of this book takes place in the Sahara Desert. This is where the narrator first meets the prince, and this is where the two of them spend all their time together....

Narrator Point of View

Like a lot of stuff in this book, the point of view is deceptively complex. At first glance, you think it’ll be easy to figure out. But the longer you stare at it, the more complicatedit becomes....

Tone

The tone of The Little Prince is solemn and careful. The whole book is set in the past—the narrator is telling us about something that happened to him six years before he decided to sit down and...

Writing Style

Unique and BittersweetThe Little Prince’s style is unique. Just as the prince explains that the fox has become “unique in all the world” (21.52) after the two become friends, The Little Princ...

What's Up With the Title?

At first this title seems pretty obvious: The Little Prince is about the main character, the little prince, who goes on adventures and meets the narrator. What else could this book be called, reall...

What's Up With the Ending?

OK. Got a hanky or some Kleenex handy? Are you somewhere you won’t feel embarrassed should you end up shedding a tear or two? If that’s all set, we can go ahead and start talking about the endi...

Tough-o-Meter

The Little Prince is written in very simple language. It’s a slim book with little text, and has illustrations that liven it up. All in all, a quick, fun read. Even though it certainly looks like...

Plot Analysis

Mr. Lonely The narrator has found it hard to connect with other adults all his life. As a result, he’s a pretty lonely guy. Adults don’t understand his drawings, and they like talking ab...

Trivia

One of these things is like the other: Both the narrator and author Saint-Exupéry were pilots and had plane crashes in the Sahara! (Source)Waterworks alert: Saint-Exupéry went missing (and d...

Steaminess Rating

There’s nothing really naughty or salacious (a fancy-pants way of saying “steamy”) in this book. Not at all. While there is love—between the narrator and the prince, the prince and his flow...