CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTERS 11 & 12

Summary

The Prince arrives on asteroid 326, where he meets the conceited man. Every time the Prince claps his hands together, the conceited man raises his hat in salute, wanting to be admired. After five minutes, the Little Prince finds the drill to be quite monotonous, for he cannot comprehend the importance or the significance of being admired. Since he learns nothing from the visit to this asteroid, the Little Prince feels dejected when he departs.

On the next asteroid, the Little Prince meets the tippler, who busies himself by drinking alcohol. When the Prince asks him why he is drinking, the tippler replies that he drinking because he is ashamed. When the Prince asks him the reason for his shame, the tippler responds that it is because of his drinking. Unable to understand the tippler's reasoning, the Little Prince goes on his way.

Notes

In Chapters 11 and 12, the Prince meets a conceited man and a tippler, both symbols of adult characteristics. The conceited man's sole aim in life is to be admired; everything he does, he performs in order to gain praise. He wants to make certain that he is judged as the best man on his planet. The Prince finds this very confusing since the conceited man is the only person on the planet. Feeling he has learned nothing from this asteroid, the Little Prince departs in a dejected mood. Through the conceited man, Saint-Exupéry is trying to depict the pointlessness of the concern of humans to be admired and judged as best.

The tippler puzzles the Prince even more. He drinks because he is ashamed, but the reason for his shame is his drinking. Through the satire of the tippler, the author clearly points out the fallacious reasoning that mankind gives to justify their bad habits.

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