The representation of creativity in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s novella, The Little Prince

Abstract

This study aimed to find out how creativity is represented in the 1943 Antoine de Saint Exupery novel The Little Prince. Specifically, it sought to identify the actions and attitude of the Little Prince reflecting creativity, characterize the adults in the story and identify their actions and attitude that show their lack of creativity, and lastly, discuss the value of creativity. In addition, this study seeks to aid literature students and teachers in expanding their sources of research of creativity in literary works. Content analysis and formalistic theory were used to analyze the research corpus. It was revealed that (1), the interpretations of The Little Prince and his inquisitive nature portrayed his creativity and immense imagination, (2) the adults shown in the text all possess actions and attitudes that are the opposite of creativity and, (3) the value of creativity was shown when the pilot met the little prince, regained his creativity and changed his outlook in life. Creativity is not just a way of making something out of nothing nor finding solutions in a unique way, but it also serves as an inspiration for others to be creative as well.