Heroism In The Little Prince

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is a quaint little book about a pilot’s journey of self-rediscovery through the stories of a child he meets in the desert. Throughout the story, there are several anecdotes contrasting the childlike disposition of the little Prince with the rattled and clouded perceptions of the adults he encounters along his journey through outer space.

The little Prince was a curious child; inquisitive about the world around him, but reserved when it was he who is being asked. Possibly this is because of the understanding that he has yet to know himself fully, and so he asks instead of giving answers; understanding that there is more to know that what he has. He had travelled away from his home because his love

To be a child is similar to seeing with a mythic vision.

And this to me is what heroism is.

When one thinks of the word hero, it comes with the image of noble acts, of grand gestures for the common good, and of martyrs. More often than not, people cloud themselves with this idea of heroism – this ideal that only a few, incredible persons are able to reach. This creates the danger of not even trying because of the lack of understanding the self, or that “I am not good enough.” On the other hand, it could be a fuel to do more with the risk of exhausting oneself.

A hero, by definition, is a courageous person – a conqueror. A definition often tinted with the addition of “admired by others”; that someone else must acknowledge one’s acts to be considered a hero, however, it is with this kind of understanding that people end up being the aforementioned

To be a hero is to have the bravery to run towards other others with gladness and heart. To be a hero is to love: to accept that all things in reality is flawed: ourselves, and everyone else, but despite that, there is beneath all goodness. To be a hero is to forgive, like a child who doesn’t shy away from another child who may have hurt them. People may forget this kind of heroism because of the struggles that one encounters in their life like the pilot, but to remember, then, is to go