Importance of Home in the Children Literature: The Little Prince and Pinocchio

Home is a basic necessity required by all living things to survive. Homes provides solace to retract after a hectic working day. A healthy home is a macrocosm that provides peace and harmony to families. This is the reason as to why some of the scholars have attached it to significant functions that essentially influences one’s character. For Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery, homes would mean and imply different notions. At the center of their storylines, home would equally bridge the social meaning and a source of status and prestige. This opens to a number of functions and importance of homes to the two children stories. In the Little Prince, a home is a place where members take pride in being a part of. Us as human beings find comfort in being with others, for us home is not about living in a specific building but rather being surrounded with people we are close to.

When the Little Prince landed on Earth, not a single human being was in sight. The discomfort he experiences in the desert, reminds him of the place he called home. This discomfort drove him to befriend a fox he had encountered. The fox tells him, "what is essential is invisible to the eye" (De Saint-Exupery). It is the time he spent away from his rose, missing it which makes his love grow founder. The Prince still felt that it was his rose that was responsible for making his home a place full of love. Secondly, homes serve a place where people can form valuable relationships. Even though the Little Prince befriended the fox and shared several meaningful conversations. It was impossible for the Little Prince to compare the company of the rose with the one he shared with the fox. "The little prince’s mind, however, is fixed on returning to his rose, and he begins making plans with the snake to head back to his planet" (De Saint-Exupery). In the same way he was unable to compare the planet he called home with Earth.

A home is a place of sentimental value for anyone who resides in it. The Little Prince describes his planet as being no more than the size of a house, but was no less than a small heaven. He explains about the mysterious rose that nourished and became like a companion to him. However, this never stopped him from exploring the rest of the universe as he found himself on Earth. Although he made a few companions including the snake and the fox, he ends up nostalgic and remembers the rose (De Saint-Exupery). He encountered multiple roses, but they did not compare to his rose at home as it did not have the same sentimental value (Barth 1). His original home gave him the status that he would not find elsewhere. Exupery’s Little Prince is seemingly proud of the asteroid and the rose that made home for him. Apart from the Little Prince, Collodi’s Pinocchio explores a different scope of functions and importance that a home represents. Home for Pinocchio represents stages 1 to 3 in Maslow’s hierarchy if needs. These stages ensure that the following needs are met; biological and physiological needs, safety needs and love and belongingness needs (Maslow, 1943).

Throughout the novel, Pinocchio finds himself caught up in many difficult situations due to the fact that he did not listen to Geppetto. Pinocchio is stumbled upon Jiminy the cricket, who told him to go home (Collodi). He was starving and would not listen to the cricket. He decided to go in the streets in search of food but was splashed with water when asking. He could only find the right comfort back at home, as he dried off next to the fireplace. Also despite burning his legs accidentally, he still relied on home to make his troubles disappear. He found a father figure in Geppetto and decided to consider him as one. "Geppetto made new legs for him and sold some of his stuff to get Pinocchio into school. The boy realized then that Geppetto was like a father for him and that he was good" (Collodi). Similar to the Little Prince, Pinocchio found a home as a sociable place that gave him an opportunity make valuable relationships.

Pinocchio considered Fairy and Geppetto as a family. These are the two characters that described his home and always provided him with comfort and protection when in need. Pinocchio was also served with an educative function from his home. This is important in feeding children with early lessons that makes them to grow into responsible adults. Every time Pinocchio found himself in trouble, he would always wish that he had listen to Geppetto and gone to school like how a "good" kid should. "In the village, he learned how to work and earn money, so he helped Geppetto a lot" (Collodi). Upon realizing the love he got from Fairy and Geppetto and started taking a few steps of being a father (Collodi). At some point, Pinocchio could work long hours and took care of the family the same way Geppetto did. Pinocchio’s studious upbringing enabled him to develop skills needed to succeed.

Generally, homes are pertinent structures that provide a variety of functions and benefits to individuals. The coverage of children stories, Pinocchio and The Little Prince, indicates a number of functions and importance. First, one can learn of affection and social interaction. Homes are known for providing a family for individuals. The case of the Little Prince showed how he missed his home that gave him a family with a rose showing affection to him. Homes are known for sharing a status and would offer protection. Pinocchio takes shelter back at home after being splashed with water. Homes are also educative. Children are known for learning simple life skills from their parents and homes are better places that can provide a better environment. Therefore, homes are sociable, educative, affectionate and status-giving platforms.