The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is both a pioneer of aviation and a well-known French

writer. He was born in Lyon, France, in 1900. At an early age, he dreamed of a life of

adventure and wanted to become a naval officer. Finally, in 1927, after serving as a

mechanic, Saint-Exupéry became a pilot, opening up new air routes over the

Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and the Sahara Desert. Because of the danger of

flying, he had a number of accidents, but he escaped any major injuries.

For Saint-Exupéry, flying was not just piloting an airplane; it was a time for

meditation and reflection. While in the air, Saint-Exupéry would think deeply about

solitude, friendship, the meaning of life, the human condition, and liberty. He decided

to publish his reflections into a book, which was successful.

When his aviation company failed, Saint-Exupéry decided to pursue writing as a

career. He first became a journalist, traveling to Spain, Russia, and Germany. He also

wrote two philosophical books based on aviation: Night Flight (1932) and Wind, Sand,

and Stars (1939),which remain among the top ten best-selling French language books

of all time. It was in New York that he published The Little Prince, his most

celebrated book，since its first publication, more than 25 million copies have been

sold in 75 different countries. A year after the publication of The Little Prince,

Saint-Exupery disappeared over the Mediterranean while flying a reconnaissance

mission for his French air squadron.

This book mainly tells us the experience of a prince from a tiny planet, who came to

the earth and finally go back. in the book,the little prince was angry with the rose

which he loved and then decided to leave.While journeying, the little prince visits

neighboring asteroids ,and meets a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a businessman, a

lamplighter, and a geographer, all of whom live alone and are overly consumed by

their chosen occupations. the little prince does not think much of them and does not

learn anything useful.

At the geographer’s suggestion, the little prince visits Earth, First, he meets a

snake who speaks that its lethal poison can send the little prince back to the

heavens .Then,The prince befriends a fox, who teaches him that the important things

in life are visible only to the heart. Through this matter,the little prince realized that

how deeply he missed the rose he left behind.At last,the little prince head back to his

planet by the help of the snake.

From this story,we can see the author’s innermost thoughts on life and

love.Though ostensibly styled as a children's book, The Little Prince makes several

profound and idealistic observations about life and human nature. For example, the

philosophy of the fox tells that one sees clearly only with the heart, what is essential is

invisible to the eye.Other key thematic messages are articulated by the fox:You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.These warm and thought-provoking words are the book's most famous quotations because they deal with human relationships.And that is why, perhaps, that The Little Prince have won great popularity all over the world ever since it was published.

 

第二篇：The Prince and the Pauper 读后感

Dislocation life of two boys

A Book Report of The Prince and the Pauper

English Teaching class 4 尹万琴 201003021406

The Prince and the Pauper is one of masterpiece of Mark Twain. Mark

Twain(1835-1910), a pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American writer, journalist and humorist. He won a worldwide audience for his stories of the youthful adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, of a Virginian family. He was brought up in Hannibal, Missouri. On February 3, 1863, 'Mark Twain' was born when Clemens signed a humorous travel account with that pseudonym. When talk to Mark Twain, “humor” is an inevitable word to be discussed, as for Twain, the goals of humor often go beyond entertainment and can be aimed at satirizing and debunking and it also embodies his wit and wisdom.

Twain used contemporary language in his books to bring his characters to life. This realistic prose style influenced numerous American writers. Ironically, for his time Twain was liberal on racial and many social issues. Mark Twain was an incredibly prolific American author who lived through the times that played an important role in shaping American culture. Mark Twain is called “the father of American Literature”. Mark Twain's the Prince and the Pauper is a popular novel and a classic from American Literature.

The Prince and the Pauper was published in 1881. This novel based on the 16th century's England society. However, it is naturally for readers to associate the plot with 19th century's America. Because it satirize and reveal the speculation of

American, craziness of money worship, the gloominess of society, and inhumanity of racial discrimination.

The plot of this book is about two boys —Edward Tudor, a prince of England and Tom Candy, a pauper lived in a very poor family, who are deadly alike. Their life changed when they changed their clothes, then Edward was treated as a pauper, Tom was treated like a mad prince. Then their adventure life began. At the end of the novel, Tom help Edward to regain his crown of England. At the same time Edward help

another hero of this book— Miles Hendon to return to his home and get his fortune and beloved wife.

Different person has different life. Almost people are unsatisfied with their present life, and envy other’s life. But when we live in others life we will be unsuitable. At that time we will find our life is more appropriate for ourselves.