The book Wind, Sand and Stars written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery essay
The book Wind, Sand and Stars written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in the late 1930s was first published in France in 1939. In the 1940s, the book was translated into English and published in the United States. The author of the book, Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944), was an outstanding French aristocrat, talented writer and poet, and a legendary pioneering aviator. Antoine de Saint-Exupery gained nominations as a laureate of several literary awards. In addition, he was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award. The book Wind, Sand and Stars is considered to be an impressive lyrical aviation writing produced in the form of a memoir. In this book, Saint-Exupéry provides much important information on aviation, evoking a series of significant events in his life. Special attention is placed on the period when Antoine de Saint-Exupery was employed by the airmail carrier Aéropostale. The author of the book describes his experiences as an aviator who performed mail routes across the African Sahara and the South American Andes. The major themes revealed by the author of the book are friendship, life and death, heroism and the search for meaning in life. The major purpose of the book is to illustrate how the author views the meaning of life and what makes life worth living. The book is aimed at a general audience. My reaction to the book is positive. The book is well-organized and easy to read and understand. The evidence provided by the author is convincing. This book is worth reading and analyzing. Thesis statement: Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book Wind, Sand and Stars tells much about aviation and man’s place in the world, promoting the feeling of love of life and encouraging the reader to start searching for meaning in life.
The meaning of the title of the book
The title of the book is Wind, Sand and Stars reflects the author’s attitudes toward the spiritual dimension of flying. Antoine de Saint-Exupery used his experiences to highlight the role of “wind, sand and stars” which are part of the Universe. The author wrote this book in order to reflect his individual experiences and feelings as a pilot. He demonstrates his love of flying and flight, which has become an obsession for him. The title of the book gives the reader an opportunity to assess the author’s imagination and his philosophy of life.
Summary of the book
The book consists of 10 chapters. Chapter 1 “The Craft”, Chapter 2 “The Men”, Chapter 3 “The Tool”, Chapter 4 “The Elements”, Chapter 5 ‘The Plane and The Planet”, Chapter 6 “Oasis”, Chapter 7 “Men and the Desert”, Chapter 8 “Prisoner of the Sand”, Chapter 9 “Barcelona and Madrid 1936” and Chapter 10 “Conclusion”. In general, each of the chapters contributed to the revealing of the major themes of the book. The laconic chapter titles point out to the simplicity of the author’s language, which allows any reader to evaluate the book’s significance.
The narrator of the story described in the book is the author himself; therefore, this writing can be called the autobiographical work. It is first-person narration. The narrator is considered to be a reliable source of information because his personal experience as a pilot is huge. In 1926, he was “enrolled as a student airline pilot by the Latecoere Company” (Saint-Exupery, 1992, p. 1). His career was successful because he became a pioneer of international postal flight services and continued his professional growth as a pilot. In addition, his writing career was successful. Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote many literary works, including hi novella L’Aviateur (The Aviator), his book Courrier Sud (Southern Mail), his novella The Little Prince and other works.
The central incident described by the author in his book is the plane crash that occurred in 1935 in the Sahara Desert between Benghazi and Cairo. Antoine de Saint-Exupery and his mechanic, André Prévot, could survive, but they were without food and water in the desert. Actually, there were practically no chances to find an oasis or get help from the air. Hungry and thirsty, Antoine de Saint-Exupery and his partner nearly died before being saved by a man on a camel. That man was a Bedouin from Libya. The author of the book gives an amazing description of his own experience and feeling of love for life he had when a Bedouin gave him water:
Water though hast no taste, no color, no odor; canst not be defined art relished while ever mysterious. Not necessary to life, but rather life itself, thou fillest us with a gratification that exceeds the delight of the senses. By thy might, there return into us treasures that we had abandoned (Saint-Exupery, 1992, p. 172).
The time period described in the book and the location the book is set in refers to the author’s real life events. The setting has a strong impact on the plot of the book. The analysis of the narrative plot of the book demonstrates the well-organized structure, which ensures coherence of the whole literary work. Dialogues, descriptions, monologues are integrated into the literary work through effective plot structure. Each chapter of the book presents new facts from the life experience of the author. In addition, the author demonstrates how his feeling of flight and his love of aviation helped him to discover the meaning of life. He is focused on his philosophy of life and applies his beliefs which are based on his revelations regarding his own life experience. In the book, he provides many details of his life experience, which contribute to the progression of his character. Thus, the overall theme or message of the book is to impress the reader and make him/her ponder over the meaning of life.
The genre of literature chosen by the author is a memoir. Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s memoir is represented in the form of an autobiographical writing that reprocesses the past experience. In other words, the author describes real events and human interactions that require evaluation.
Evaluation of the book
In his book, Antoine de Saint-Exupery has achieved his goals. The author of the book gives the reader an opportunity to feel the significance of the role of nature in human life. He describes how he was flying alone in a single engine airplane and experienced the power of nature. Massive possibilities are suggested by the book as the reader has a chance to find the meaning of life due to the author’s experience. It is necessary to understand the significance of the power of nature, the beauty of Earth and the role of machines in assessing this power. Antoine de Saint-Exupery became part of nature due to his small single-engine airplane.
The book can be compared to other books on the subject of adventures, including the book Things Are Different in Africa: A Memoir of Dangers and Adventures in the Congo by Frederick Edward Pitts or the book Flying Adventures and Memoirs of a US Air Force Pilot by Edward E. Skipper. Actually, these memoirs provide an honest account of a man’s experiences, which help to find the meaning in life. Practically all specific points provided by the author of the book are convincing.
I really like the book because the themes reveled the author are very important for me. I love the way he describes his challenges and find solutions. I love to read about strong personalities who never give up. Antoine de Saint-Exupery is one of them. I would read more about the author of the book because he is an interesting writer and philosopher. Moreover, I would encourage others to read this book because there is much important information regarding the role of aviation in developing a strong personality. The National Geography magazine named Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book is Wind, Sand and Stars as one of the most appealing adventure books of the 20-th century.
Conclusion
Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the book Wind, Sand and Stars is based on the author’s reflection upon his own adventures, which helped him to develop his sense of imagination, love of life and curiosity. The book reveals the author’s encounters with different people and challenges caused by these encounters. In general, Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s amazing stories help to assess the meaning of life and the role of friendship, the relationship between life and death, the impact of heroism in one’s search for meaning in life. Of all the stories discussed by the author, the major one is the story revolves around Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s experience of flying across Sahara desert and the detailed description of the accidents that occurred while he executed the flight. The book can make the reader want to start searching for the meaning in life. It can make the reader love our planet, nature, flights and airplanes.
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