My english teacher recently assigned us a book to read called "the little prince". After reading the first 4 chapters he wants us to ask him a question as if we understood life...
1. I don't understand understanding life
2. I don't know a question to ask
I've been thinking about this for 20 minutes, please help.
2007-11-21 10:42:30 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
I tried spark notes while trying to come up with an answer, or is it question? :S
2007-11-21 10:55:52 · update #1
The crux of the matter is in chapter 4. You'll note the line:
"To those who understand life, that would have given a much greater air of truth to my story."
The author is talking at that time a lot about the difference between what children are interested in and what adults are interested in. And, as you may have noticed, he generally suggests all up to that point that adults tend to have behaviours that he finds unadmirable: They have little imagination and they see things in numbers and abstractions instead of practically. For example:
"But certainly, for us who understand life, figures are a matter of indifference."
So what your teacher wants to know is that you understand what the author is saying... what the difference is between what's 'important' (like "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?") and what's 'unimportant' (like "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?").
So figure out something that might be 'important' about your teacher and avoid anything 'unimportant'. Hope that helps!
2007-11-21 12:06:43 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"What differentiates adults from children? Is the distinction simply one of age, or is it based on something else?" Heck, I'll even give you the answer: "Throughout The Little Prince, Saint-Exupéry portrays children as innocent and truthful and adults as corrupt and dull. As the little prince journeys from one planet to another, he finds grown-ups such as the businessman and the geographer to lack creativity and imagination. They can only quantify the world in the dullest of terms. The little prince, on the other hand, acknowledges that the most important qualities in life are invisible and mysterious. He constantly asks questions instead of giving answers, and the search for spiritual truth seems to be his sole priority. Above all, he understands that relationships are the most important thing in life and that no one needs an entire well or rose garden when a single drop of water or a single flower will do. Unlike most adults, the little prince knows what he is looking for and exactly how much of it he needs. The narrator also recognizes the validity of the childhood perspective, even though he occasionally lapses into a grown-up mind-set. By the end of the story, however, the narrator has regained some of his childhood passion, demonstrating that the clear viewpoint of children is not limited by age."
2016-05-24 22:51:25 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a great story and the claymation movie did the story justice. It is sad that one can understand the story as a older man than a young man like yourself.
Do as the second responder suggested and reread those chapters again. In real life we learn lessons from other people. Use this man's story the Little Prince to see what you can learn not just from the Prince but the author himself.
2007-11-21 11:01:05 · answer #3 · answered by Uncle Remus 54 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
OMG! Your teacher is awesome.
The Book was originally in French... so I wonder how good the translation is XD
I'm sorry but your assignment is hard to grasp. Can you type out it's exact wording?
What you put down sounds reversed? Why ask a question if you are pretending to know the answer? This is the same stradegy of Teahcers so it's probably easy on your Teacher. They are likely waiting for someone to think like them.
2007-11-21 11:00:55 · answer #4 · answered by sailortinkitty 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use your experiences as a way to make yourself appear that you understand life. He wants you to ask him a question as if you understood life? Mabye he wants you to ask him a intelligent question to him about life. Take a situation that happened to you that you learned from and think of a question about that.
I hope i helped you, try reading those chapters and think what kindof questions you would want to ask the charaters about life, then ask your teacher the same question.
2007-11-21 10:49:41 · answer #5 · answered by tiun 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Look at SparkNotes.com or bookrags.com. They have summaries and questions to ask and all that stuff.
2007-11-21 10:46:30 · answer #6 · answered by Frosty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋