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Why does the lamplighter light and put out his lamp so often in The Little Prince?
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The Little Prince
Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) pictured on a French stamp, circa 1998.
In The Little Prince, the lamplighter lights and extinguishes his lamp so frequently because he is strictly following orders that require him to perform these tasks at dusk and dawn. However, his planet spins so rapidly that these transitions occur once every minute, leaving him no time to rest as he dutifully adheres to his function.1
This character is one of several adults the prince encounters on his journey, each of whom has been reduced to a singular, repetitive function. Through these encounters, the fable illustrates the author's critique of how adults often become narrow-minded and obsessed with rigid, meaningless tasks, contrasting them with the open-mindedness and wisdom found in children.1