The Little Prince - Chapter 5 Analysis

I am going to comment on chapter 5 of the book ‘The Little Prince.’ The book is written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, it is one of the most famous and well known books in the world. I picked this chapter because it was one of the most interesting ones. My favourite and most memorable part of this book is in this chapter, when the princes states that he watched the sun fourty four times in a row. I found this fascinating,moreover because I also love watching the rise rise and sun set, it is probably one of the most beatiful things nature can offer us.
In this chapter, The Little Prince wants to know whether sheep can eat little bushes, for he hopes that the sheep on his planet can eat the young baobabs. He explains that baobabs are categorized as “bad plants,” which need to be destroyed when they are little, as turn into monstrous trees. Just when the Little Prince talks, the narrator feels an urgent need to draw and creates a picture of the magnificent baobab trees; but he emphasizes that baobabs can be dangerous, especially to children. Additionally, the narrator learns that the Little Prince is very fond of sunsets. Fortunately for him, since his planet is so small, he only needs to move his chair a few steps to see another sunset. He explains how he once watched the sun set forty-four times in a row.
Furthermore, The Little Prince reveals a few more facts about the planet from which he has come. There is a bad plant there called the baobab he says that if it is not destroyed when it is tiny then it would grow into a monstrous tree that could threaten the well-being of the small planet. As a result, the concerned Prince wanted to know if sheep could be used to eat the small baobab plants before they become a problem. The narrator fully understands the danger of the baobabs and sees them as a symbol. Therefore, he says they are particularly dangerous to children, he implies that the baobabs are like adults, who harm children with their prejudiced and dogmatic thinking. This is one of the knowledge issues, when adults harm children because of their preconceived belief, opinion, or judgment made without ascertaining the facts of a case. This links to one of the ways of knowing, sense perception, the issue lacks reason therefore with reason, the problem can be solved.
In addition to that, The Little Prince again points out the small size of his planet. Since he is fond of quiet and simple things, he enjoys watching the sun set on his planet; since it is so tiny, he can watch as many as forty-four sunsets in a row. His fascination with the setting sun, symbolizing the end of the day and the beginning of darkness, is in keeping with his sad, solemn nature. Out here one of the ways of knowing is emotion, since the little prince is sad.
Moreover, It is important to notice that the narrator is still drawn towards artistic endeavors.This brings out the subject Art, which is one of the areas of knowledge. As the Little Prince speaks of the baobab trees, he feels compelled to draw a picture of them. Like the narrator’s own nature, the drawing is simple and child-like, and so is his explanation of the picture. It is obvious that he and the Little Prince share many similar characteristics; the most important is that they can both see below the surface of things and understand what is really important in life. This is another knowledge issue, they both can reason with the help of knowledge, emotion, language and perception to what is really important in life, and what is not. They can easily distinguish between them and priortize things which are truly important to them. This suggets that we also must reason with the help of all the ways of knowing to help us see what is really important to us in life.
In relation to that, a scientist knows what is important to him or her, and they know that working and discovering new things in a laboratory is a lot more important than reading fiction novels or even for that matter observing a painting. This is just one example on how people prioritize their lifes.
In my experience, I believe that people must reason with the help of logic to know what is truly important to them in life, moreover reason is not the only thing that counts, emotions also play a vital role in this decision.