Student Question

Why isn't the little prince's friendship with the pilot enough to make him stay?

Quick answer:

The little prince's friendship with the pilot isn't enough to make him stay, because he loves his rose and knows his rose needs him back home.

Expert Answers

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The little prince's friendship with the pilot isn't enough to make him stay on earth, because he feels he needs to go back to his home and his rose. He realizes that he loves his rose and needs to protect her. The rose needs him more than the pilot does.

The little prince left his home because he was so irritated with the rose. But he has learned on his travels to value her. There was a moment on earth during his year here when he saw a house covered in roses just like the rose he left behind, and he despaired. She had said she was unique in the universe, and he found out she was ordinary. How could she be important if there were so many like her?

The fox, however, tells him that his particular rose is important because it has "tamed" the prince. In other words, he has entered into a relationship with it that makes it different from and more important than the other roses he has seen in bloom. It is the uniqueness of the relationship and not of the rose itself that matters.

When the prince learns that a poisonous snake bite might take him home, he decides to pursue that plan. The pilot is sad, but the prince is determined to go. He tells the pilot that the pilot will think of him and remember his laugh and remember him when he looks at the stars.

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