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Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Key Examples in The Little Prince
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Struck and Shipwrecked:
When the pilot narrator crash-lands his plane in the middle of the desert, he unexpectedly encounters the little prince. With a hyperbole and a simile, the story describes the aftermath of the crash and the shock of the encounter:
The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand a thousand miles from any inhabited country. I was more isolated than a man shipwrecked on a raft in the middle of the ocean. So you can imagine my surprise when I was awakened at daybreak by a funny little voice saying, "Please... draw me a sheep..."
"What?"
"Draw me a sheep..."
I leaped up as if I had been struck by lightning. I rubbed my eyes hard. I stared. And I saw an extraordinary little fellow staring back at me very seriously.
Related Themes:
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—A Spring of Fresh Water:
When the narrator realizes that the little prince intends to return to his asteroid planet, he realizes he will miss the prince dearly. He uses a simile to express how much he has grown to care for the little prince:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And I realized I couldn't bear the thought of never hearing that laugh again. For me it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.
Related Themes:
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—The Baobabs:
The little prince tries to determine whether sheep could save his planet from the plight of the baobabs by eating them. With a hyperbole and a simile, the narrator points out the absurdity of the little prince's proposition:
Unlock with LitCharts A+I pointed out to the little prince that baobabs are not bushes but trees as tall as churches, and that even if he took a whole herd of elephants back to his planet, that herd couldn't finish off a single baobab.
Related Themes:
Chapter 21
Explanation and Analysis—Footsteps as Music:
When the little prince meets the fox, he learns about the beauty of taming, a kind of relationship formed of familiarity and trust. The fox uses a simile to illustrate his argument for why the little prince should tame him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different from all the rest. Other footsteps send me back underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like music.
Related Themes:
Chapter 24
Explanation and Analysis—The Little Flame:
After traversing the desert until nightfall, the little prince falls asleep while gazing at the stars above. With a mixture of similes and metaphors, the story describes the wonders of the little prince:
Unlock with LitCharts A+As his lips parted in a half smile, I said to myself, again, What moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his loyalty to a flower—the image of a rose shining within him like a flame within a lamp, even when he's asleep... And I realized he was even more fragile than I had thought. Lamps must be protected: A gust of wind can blow them out...
Related Themes:
Chapter 25
Explanation and Analysis—The Christmas-Tree Lights:
When the narrator and little prince finally find the well in the middle of the desert, they drink the water in a transformative moment. With a simile, the story depicts the two characters' feelings of intense relief:
Unlock with LitCharts A+It was as sweet as a feast. That water was more than merely a drink. It was born of a walk beneath the stars, of the song of the pulley, of the effort of my arms. It did the heart good, like a present. When I was a little boy, the Christmas-tree lights, the music of midnight mass, the tenderness of people's smiles made up, in the same way, the whole radiance of the Christmas present I received.
Related Themes:
Chapter 26
Explanation and Analysis—A Spring of Fresh Water:
When the narrator realizes that the little prince intends to return to his asteroid planet, he realizes he will miss the prince dearly. He uses a simile to express how much he has grown to care for the little prince:
Unlock with LitCharts A+And I realized I couldn't bear the thought of never hearing that laugh again. For me it was like a spring of fresh water in the desert.
Related Themes:
