Abstract

The Little Prince is a master work of French famous pilot writer Saint-Expuery and it is a sweet fairy tale full of fantasies with a little bit of sadness. It is estimated that since the publication of The Little Prince in 1942, it has been translated into versions of more than 40 languages with printing copies only secondary to the Bible, which can be called a best seller as the Bible. 

The story of the little prince began with the reminiscence of a pilot, presenting us his eight days with a little prince from another planet when he landed in the Sahara because of aircraft fault. He listened to the adventures of the little prince and thus comprehended life philosophy. However, the little prince died in the end and his soul returned to his little planet. This is a beautiful story with a little sense of sadness. In this story, there are no flamboyance flowery languages or dull preaching; however, it shows us the adult world in child’s mind and presents us friendship and love in a fairy tale style through fresh and gentle narration. It expresses innocence and braveness and many other valuable traits of life. 

The use of symbols not only deepens the theme but also miraculously arouses the readers’ imagination, which endows the work with distinctive meaning. Therefore, interpretation of the symbols plays a vital role in better interpretation of the text. In view of this, this article is going to discuss the application of symbolic art in The Little Prince on the basis of predecessors’ research results. It tries to classify and analyze the various symbols and thus show the significant role in the process of revealing the theme.

The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter introduces the author and his works. The second chapter presents the symbolism method adopted in this paper and expounds the definition of symbol and symbolism, and the application of symbolism in literature. The third chapter discusses the use of symbolism in The Little Prince, in which the symbols are divided into three major categories, namely frank and straightforward symbols, symbols in need of deep consideration and reflection, and symbols full of profound indications. Through the analysis of the implied meaning of these symbols, the thesis emphatically discusses and summarizes these various symbols.

In short, by the means of symbol theory, The little Prince leads us to view life from the angle of children and teaches us how to love, how to see the essence of life and allows us to remember the necessity and preciousness of maintaining a pure and innocent heart, which is the key bridging adult’s world and child’ world.

Key words: symbol, symbolism, The Little Prince

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and The Little Prince-1

1.2 Literature Review-2

Chapter Two Theory of Symbol and Symbolism-3

2.1 The Definition of Symbol-3

2.2 The Definition of Symbolism-3

2.3 Significance of Symbolism in Literature-3

Chapter Three Analysis of Symbolism in The Little Prince-5

3.1 Frank and Straightforward Symbols-5

3.1.1 Six Inhabitants-5

3.1.2 Realistic Significance-6

3.2 Symbols in Need of Deep Consideration and Reflection-7

3.2.1 The Rose-7

3.2.2 The Fox-8

3.3 Symbols Full of Profound Potential Indications-8

3.3.1 The Little Prince-8

3.3.2 The Pilot-9

3.3.3 The Communicating Difficulties and Misunderstandings-9

3.3.4 The Desert-11

3.3.5 The Death of the Little Prince-12

Chapter Four Conclusion-13

4.1 Findings-13

4.2 Limitations and Suggestions-14

References-15

文献综述报告-17