About 小王子
《小王子》所述的飞行员坠机于撒哈拉大沙漠的情节明显取材于作者的亲身经历。作者1939年的回忆录《风沙星辰》(法語:Terre des hommes)中详细地叙述了这段遭遇。
1935年12月30日2:45,圣埃克苏佩里与副驾驶兼导航员安德烈·普雷沃(法语:André Prévot)在飞行了19小时44分钟后,飞机因故障不幸坠于撒哈拉大沙漠。他们当时正试图打破巴黎至西贡的飞行速度记录,赢得150,000法郎的奖金。飞机型号是 Caudron C-630 Simoun[N 1],据信坠机地点位于尼罗河三角洲的奈特伦洼地(Wadi Natrun Valley)附近。
两人都在坠机中奇迹生还,但紧接面临着沙漠酷暑,严重脫水的挑战。当时他们只有一张简单含混的地图,几串葡萄,一瓶咖啡,一个橙子,一点酒和一天量的水。过了不久两人就看到了海市蜃楼,紧接着感到越来越逼真的幻觉。第二、三天的时候,竟脫水到了一滴汗都流不出的地步。最后第四天,一个贝都因人骑骆驼路过时发现了他们,用土法施补水术后才救了两人的性命。
作者做邮政飞行员时,曾在撒哈拉大沙漠见过一种大耳朵的狐狸耳廓狐,这大概就是书中狐狸的原型。1928年作者在尤比角做航空邮件站经理时,曾在一封给他妹妹 Didi 的信里提到过驯养耳廓狐的想法。
据研究,文中小王子的那朵自负而任性的玫瑰乃基于作者的萨尔瓦多籍妻子康斯薇洛·德·圣-埃克苏佩里,而小行星 B-612则源于其以多火山而著名的祖国萨尔瓦多。尽管两人的婚姻并不圆满,他还是像小王子温柔地爱护他的玫瑰一样把她放在心上。小王子在地球上遇到的玫瑰丛则实际象征着圣埃克苏佩里的不忠等婚姻问题。
有证据表明,故事中的狐狸说的那句玫瑰之唯一而特别只因他爱她的话,源于作者的纽约密友汉密尔顿。《小王子》标志性的语句“人只有用自己的心才能看清事物”据说也是汉密尔顿说的。
有研究者认为,书中巨大的猴面包树暗喻当时正毁灭地球的纳粹势力。而小王子安慰飞行员说自己的身体只是一具空壳的话则来自作者的弟弟。他在临死时,对守在病床前的作者说:“别担心。我很好。我撑不下去了。这只是我的身体。”
以“外太空到地球来的访客的遭遇”的故事来表述自己哲学和社会观点的手法,早在1752年就由伏尔泰在其作品《Micromégas》中用过了。圣埃克苏佩里极有可能读过并了解这部传统法语文学作品。 "Little Prince" of the pilots crash in the Sahara desert plot obviously based on the author's personal experience. Memoirs of the 1939 'sand and stars "(French: Terre des hommes) describes this experience in detail.
At 2:45 on December 30, 1935, Saint-Exupery and co-pilot and navigator Andre Prevost (French: André Prévot) after a flight of 19 hours and 44 minutes, and the aircraft due to a fault in the unfortunate fall Sahara desert. They was trying to break in Paris to Saigon flight speed record, won 150,000 francs in prize money. Aircraft model is Caudron C-630 Simoun [N 1], according to nearby Nai Telun depression (Wadi Natrun Valley) channel Nile Delta crash site.
Both miraculously survived in the crash, but immediately faced with the desert heat, the challenges of severe dehydration. At that time they had only a vague simple map, Ji Chuan grapes, a bottle of coffee, an orange, a little wine, and one day the amount of water. Soon the two men saw a mirage, was followed by more and more realistic illusion. The second, three days time, actually dehydrated to the point where a drop of sweat Liu Buchu. Finally on the fourth day, a Bedouin camel passing when people discovered them, with indigenous Shi pay after only saved two lives.
When authors do postal pilots had seen one kind of big ears fox Fennec Fox in the Sahara Desert, which is probably the prototype of the book fox. 1928 in particular, than the angle of doing airmail station manager, had mentioned the idea of domesticated Fennec Fox in a letter to his sister Didi's.
According to the research, the Prince of tis vain and capricious small paper roses are based on the author's wife of El Consuelo de Saint - Exupery, and the asteroid B-612 is derived from its multi-volcano and the famous motherland El Salvador. Although their marriage is not successful, he was like a little prince tenderly care for his roses to her heart. Little Prince encounters on Earth rose bush is actually a symbol of Saint-Exupery's infidelity and other marital problems.
There is evidence that the only story of the fox said the phrase Rose and especially because he loved her, from the New York close friend of Hamilton. "The Little Prince" iconic statement "only people with their own heart to see things," said Hamilton, it is also said.
Some researchers believe that the book giant baobab tree was a metaphor for the Nazi forces were destroying the planet. The pilot said the little prince to comfort your body is just a shell of words from the author's brother. He was on his deathbed, waited at the bedside of the authors, said: "Do not worry, I'm fine. I can not hold this just my body...."
To "outer space to Earth to visitors encounter" story to express their own philosophical and social point of view of the way it used in his work "Micromégas" by Voltaire in early in 1752. Saint-Exupery is likely to have read and understand this traditional French literature.