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childlike perspective reveals the hidden meaning in everything that can be seen in this world.
B. The Meanings of Grown-ups
In surface meaning, a grown-up is a term that is used to describe someone who is already mature in term of physical and psychological aspects. In The Little
Prince novel 1943, the narrator experienced the process of being a grown-up person. Being a grown-up is not pleasant according to the narrator in The Little
Prince. According to the narrator, grown-ups just care about numbers and figures. They never really pursue the real purpose of life, they just barely touch the
surface. The Little Prince Le Petit Prince in the original copy, a novel, by Antoine
de Saint-Exupéry was published in 1943. It teaches us the meaning of friendships, love, and the most important thing, the purpose of life. Even today, this great story
of love, loneliness, and the truth of life is a magic for readers and entertains both children and adults. The Little Prince novel is known as a very great novel that
teaches the readers about the truth of life. It is because the novel serves a great plot. The story is full of funny illustrations. The diction that is used in this novel is
also simple which makes the message delivery goes well to the readers. In this study, the researcher focuses on how the truth of life is presented in
this novel. Especially, from the narrator ‟s eyes. The narrator and the Little Prince
both are the main characters in this novel. Both of them also share the same truth PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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of life in their own way of illustrating. They are also feeling confused about the way how grow-ups think. They think that grown-ups are just chasing the
unimportant thing in this world. In this part, the researcher provides the literal meaning and the deeper
meaning. The literal meaning of grown-ups is the meaning that can be found in the novel explicitly. In another word, the literal meaning is the meaning of grown-
ups that is written in the novel. Then, the deeper meaning of grown-ups is the implicit meaning of the novel. The deeper meaning of grown-ups is not written in
the novel. The deeper meaning can be found by reading the novel and relating it to real life condition and the character‟s motivation.
1. The Literal Meaning of Grown-ups
The readers can know the meaning of grown-ups literally from the novel itself. The literal meaning of grown-
ups can be seen from the narrator‟s direct explanation. The narrator often explains the grown-ups by describing who they
are and what they do. Based on the narrator‟s descriptions about grown-ups, it can
be concluded that grown-ups are very strange. The grown-ups are very strange, the Little Prince said to himself, continuing on his journey
” Antoine, 1943, p. 47. Grown-
ups‟ strangeness is shown in many explanations described by the narrator himself. For example, in the first chapter when the narrator shows the
picture of boa swallowed an elephant, the grown-ups think that is a hat. It is very strange for the narrator to hear that his drawing is interpreted as a hat. The
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strangeness also can be seen from the illustrations that the Little Prince explained about the six planets that he visited before he visited planet Earth. Four out of six
planets represent types of grown-ups that exist in real world. At the end of his visit to the four planets, the Little Prince always finds out that grown-ups are
strange. It can be found in these following planets that the Little Prince visited. The
first planet is inhabited by a king. The king‟s task is to command everything.
The first of them was inhabited by a king. Clad in royal purple and ermine, he was seated upon a throne which was at the same time both simple and
majestic. The grown-ups are very strange, the little prince said to himself, as he continued on his journey. pp. 42- 47
The second planet is inhabited by a conceited individual. This man really loves when someone praises him. He always raises his hat when he got
compliment. The second planet was inhabited by a conceited man. Ah Ah I am about
to receive a visit from an admirer he exclaimed from afar, when he first saw the little prince coming. The grown-ups are certainly very odd, he
said to himself, as he continued on his journey. pp. 48-49
The Little Prince meets a drunkard in the next planet. The Little Prince get confused when he got there. The drunkard did nothing but get drunk. The reason
why the drunkard did that was to forget that he is ashamed of being drunk. What a strange.
The next planet was inhabited by a tippler. This was a very short visit, but it plunged the little prince into deep dejection. The grown-ups are
certainly very, very odd, he said to himself, as he continued on his journey. pp. 50-51
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