Analysis: Chapters XVI–XX
Like the baobabs, the snake the little prince meets in
Chapter XVII represents a force that is harmful. He evokes the snake
of the Bible, who causes Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden by convincing them
to eat the forbidden fruit. The snake in The Little Prince serves a
similar function. He speaks coyly of his powerful poison and then tantalizes
the prince with the idea of sending him home. Although he cannot
strike a creature as innocent as the prince, the snake suggests
that the prince is too weak and frail for this world and alluringly
phrases an offer for a quick trip back to the prince’s planet. Interestingly,
the snake seems to need to be invited to kill.
In Chapters XVI and XVII, the narrator switches viewpoints
several times. He initially presents a very matter-of-fact way of
looking at the world, focusing on the exact number of kings, geographers, businessmen,
drunkards, and vain men the world contains. His tone quickly becomes
colorful and impassioned as he describes the global “ballet” of
the lamplighters. Then, as chapter XVII begins, the narrator adopts
a confessional tone and admits that his portrait of the earth has
not been entirely truthful, because he has focused on men, who are
not actually such a significant part of the planet. The narrator’s
deceit suggests that both the pragmatic viewpoint of adults and the
imaginative viewpoint of children have limits. At the same time, his
deceit shows his fluency with different ways of looking at the world,
a sign that his mind has been opened.
Chapters XVIII and XIX further explore how one’s perspectives can
be limited. From a stationary viewpoint, no character can accurately
assess the world. The three-petaled flower has seen only a few men
pass by in the desert, so the flower thinks men are rootless and scarce
in number. The prince hears his own echo, so he thinks that men
simply repeat what is said to them. Even a figure as enlightened and
likeable as the little prince cannot help but have his beliefs shaped
by his limited perspective of the world around him.
A change in perspective means learning new things, and
the prince’s discovery of the rose garden illustrates how painful
some lessons can be. The prince’s discovery that his rose is quite
ordinary makes him feel plain and ordinary. In a way, the prince
has lived a life like the vain man’s. Alone on his planet, he was
convinced that his was the only flower with any value.
