no. 4: The influences and intertextuality of 'Le Petit Prince'

Above: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and mechanic-navigator André Prévot's crashed in the Sahara desert...

Of course I’ll hurt you. Of course you’ll hurt me. Of course we will hurt each other. But this is the very condition of existence. To become spring, means accepting the risk of winter. To become presence, means accepting the risk of absence. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The endearing novella 'Le Petit Prince' (also known as 'The Little Prince') has been loved worldwide of all ages for years on end. But, pretext surrounding this phenomena of childlike innocence and playfulness came with a misfortunate expense to the author, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

The story may not be separated from the life of it's creator...

Born in France in 1900 and raised in the castle of Saint-Maurice-de-Rémens, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a french aristocrat groomed by his family for academia. Surrounded by sisters, nurses and tutors, it was expected he'd join a respectable university. Despite the rigidity of his family life, he was a dreamer who's hidden creative heart longed for the sky. He was obsessed with the invention of the aeroplane. He'd tie sheets to poles on his bicycle and then pedal in an attempt to fly. As pressure began to build, he failed to pass his university examinations. Shortly following this, Saint-Exupéry tried to enrol himself in architecture, join the Navy and various other practices but to no avail. By 1921, he had found himself in mechanics and then managed to touch the sky and join the French Air Force.

His family and fiancé's family tried to break him away from this "unsuitable" work and moved him into an office job in Paris. Consequently, the engagement was soon broken off. His flying career continued...

In an attempt to make record breaking time for a delivery, Saint-Exupéry and his navigator André Prévot flew over the Sahara desert. They crashed. They survived with little injury but were left with little food rations, equivalent to road snacks. This is where the story starts in 'Le Petit Prince'. The Pilot character crashes in the Sahara desert and is left with no rations. In the true story, Saint-Exupéry started to see illusions and mirages. It is speculated that it is these mirages are partly responsible for the inspiration of 'Le Petit Prince'. He writes in another one of his books Wind, Sand and Stars that the mirages were excessive and that he had met many strange imaginary creatures. He said "I walked with my eyes to ground, for the mirages were more than I could bear." (Rothman, 2016).

"The Little Prince, which begins with the crash of an airplane, situation dire, in a vast and featureless desert. The rest of the story, perhaps unsurprisingly, reads like an extended hallucination." - Odd Salon 2015

Another event that may be factored in, is his participation in World War 2 as a pilot in the French Army - later the French Free Army - to fight the axis powers. At this point in time, child-like innocence was glorified and valued. The character of the Little Prince himself is a metaphorical representation of childhood and innocence.

Intertextuality...

Now this may seem like a random jump of subjects, but I assure you it is not. What I was explaining just above about 'Le Petit Prince' was in fact an explanation of it's intertextuality. A simple and concise explanation is provided by John Hartley:

"Best understood as the textual equivalent of cross-referencing, at a semiotic level intertextuality refers to the use of a given sign in other textual contexts... , the term is more useful as a means of understanding how the media make meaning" - John Hartley

Well that makes sense now doesn't it? I've explained the presentation of intertextuality in another art practitioner but what about me? To me - to anyone really - intertextuality isn't something we choose to acknowledge, it is involuntary and occurs without us realising it. It's like when a friend says something and then you quote Reservoir Dogs to show that you don't particularly care...

That's intertextuality right there. When someone says "Damn, it's hot" for example, somebody might go on to sing the chorus line of Nelly's 'Hot in Herre'. You get the idea. These example appear to be rather shallow but they're obvious examples. Intertextuality goes much, much further. When you're going through a thinking process you're thinking in a way that's been introduced to you according to they way you grew up. Many kids are taught Debono's Thinking Hats in pre-school, further on in life we may "forget" about it but in reality we may still be referring to it - along with other methods we learn on the way.

For me, I like to draw and paint, my style of drawing come's from referring to multiple sources and inspirations. As I grow, I improve as my sources and inspirations expand and vary. It's a "mish-mash" of multiple styles and knowledge to create an individual.

CIU Blog Post #4

Grassland,

References:

Antoine de Saint-Exupery Quote. A-Z Quotes. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from http://www.azquotes.com/quote/364846

Giphy. Little Prince. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/prince-rKXbXooKRaFWg

Giphy. Sahara Crash. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/innocence-ANa5bYLLGOPWU

Giphy. World's smallest violin. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/deal-with-it-i-dont-care-sbCdjSJEGghGM/download

Hartley, J. (2011). Communication, cultural and media studies (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

Jacobs, C. (2016). The Mysterious 'Little Prince': 5 Facts About Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Biography. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from https://www.biography.com/news/the-little-prince-antoine-de-saint-exupery-facts

Odd Salon Invocations: Saint-Exupéry's Silver Lining. (2015). ODD SALON. Retrieved 11 March 2018, from https://www.oddsalon.com/invocations-accident/

Rothman, L. (2016). The True Events That Inspired 'The Little Prince'. Time. Retrieved 16 March 2018, from http://time.com/4255854/little-prince-1943-history/

The Influence of Fox. (2016). Repository.usd.ac.id. Retrieved 8 March 2018, from https://repository.usd.ac.id/6524/2/111214043_full.pdf

Winters, N. (2014). Context. The Little Prince. Retrieved 10 March 2018, from https://thepetitprince.wordpress.com/social-and-historical-context/