I noticed that a lot of the things I researched tended to be about childhood vs. adulthood. Based on my research, I am thinking about making my paper about why “The Little Prince” is so widely appealing, why it rings so true even though it is clearly fictional and fantastical.
[Book review found through the Literary Reference Center]
HUNTER, SARAH. “Another Look At: Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince.” Booklist, vol. 115, no. 4, Oct. 2018, p. 54. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=132373077&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
This article explores the question of whether “The Little Prince” is directed to children or adults. The author, a professional reviewer of children’s books, explains that though the book technically lacks elements of a strong narrative, it still has a strong appeal for all age groups. Why?
[Thesis found through a search on ProQuest]
Jiang, Y. I. (2018). Visions of the sedentary "I"/Eye: Subjectivation in "the little prince" (Order No. 10637054). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1992490457). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/docview/1992490457?accountid=4488
This thesis uses “The Little Prince” to define what people mean by the phrase “grow up.” It could have some interesting ways to compare what it means to be a child with what it means to be an adult, and look at the extent to which those things are social constructions.
[Newspaper found through a newspaper archive that BYU has access to]
Nowell. “French Flier Philosophizes in New Book.” Stanford Daily , 21 Nov. 1939, p. 4, https://access-newspaperarchive-com.erl.lib.byu.edu/us/california/stanford/stanford-daily/1939/11-21/page-4/antoine-saint-exupery?psb=relevance.
An interesting little semi-biography of Saint Exupery. It talks a bit about his own desert plane crash, which could lead to comparisons between himself and the book’s narrator, and how his writing is meant to show the narrow line between life and death.
[Book that I “looked inside” on Amazon]
Higgins, James E. The Little Prince: a Reverie of Substance. Twayne Publishers, 1996.
This book looks like it explores the themes of childhood and innocence. It is also written by an academic, which means it will be very specific, and could possibly lead to some good social research.
[Article found through JSTOR]
Steadman, Sharilyn C. “Speaking My Mind: Breaking Down Literature Boxes While Traveling with the Little Prince.” The English Journal, vol. 102, no. 1, 2012, pp. 98–99. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23269393. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.
Focuses on genre and breaking down distinctions between genre. This could help me develop a definition claim based on genre, if I decide I want to do that.
I think it would be super interesting to explore what it really means to be "mature" or to "grow up". Does Saint Exupery think it's a good thing or a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how the book can resonate with children and adults, and I'm also curious as to why. Maybe the author intended to teach the parents and children when it was written do to the context of when it was first written.
ReplyDeleteAre you planning on writing your paper about how it is about childhood vs adulthood? If so, how are you planning on making it different from the other interpretations out there?
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting Thesis that you found! That would be an interesting take for the paper and could be compared to contemporary things also.
ReplyDelete