What is love? Love is the time and responsibility you dedicate; this is the answer conveyed by The Little Prince.
As a globally popular fairy tale, The Little Prince can make readers seek the meaning of love in simple yet profound words. On the afternoon of March 2nd, the library collaborated with the campus student book society to hold a book club of The Little Prince, embarking on an exploration of the "Secret of Love".
Image 1: Book Club
The Little Prince is a phenomenal fairy tale, hailed as "the best book ever written by mankind." From the perspective of a pilot, it narrates the marvelous time spent with the Little Prince from planet B-612 in the desert. It tells profound life philosophy like love and responsibility, and the essence of life.
Image 2: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The book club was hosted by Zhao Yitong, a student from the student book society. At the beginning of the event, the host used a literature tendency Q & A card to liven up the atmosphere. Through questions like "Have you read any thick books before?" and "If you were to write a book, what theme would you choose?". This session enhanced mutual understanding of the participants, gradually immersing themselves in the book club.
Image 3: Warm-up Session
Based on some selected chapters of The Little Prince, participants shared their views on the characters and plots encountered by the protagonist, the Little Prince, during his journey across planets. Love, friendship, how to handle the relationship between oneself and the outside world? Is love a projection of self-awareness and self-idealism? What is love? How to learn to love someone? Readers expressed their thoughts freely, giving a deeper interpretation of this classic fairy tale.
Image 4: Discussion Session
Du Haoxuan, a student from ZJUI, said,"As a child, I only remembered the small planets, the Little Prince, the little fox, and the tiny rose in the picture book, flipping through the pages while lying on the ground. Now, reading it again, I seem to have become one of the 'boring adults', focusing on grades, GPA, and the acceptance or rejection emails for application in my inbox. Today, we are talking in the library as if it were air traffic control, sitting down in the desert, drawing three or two sheep. I enjoy such a moment when there are no CVs and essays, and only caring about a little prince, a rose, a fox."
Li Zhuoran, an exchange student from ZIBS-GCM program, said,"On Saturday, I had the privilege to participate in the book club of The Little Prince. I could feel that the teachers and students responsible for organizing the event were experienced, and made a lot of preparations, so that the participants could quickly get into it. I hope to have the opportunity to participate in such activities in the future. After the book club, I found some new insights into what the relationship between the Little Prince and the fox is. Previously, my understanding of the relationship between them was limited to the fox appearing as a wise transmitter of knowledge. But when someone mentioned that perhaps the love between the Little Prince and the rose is not entirely different from the friendship between him and the fox, I found it quite reasonable."
Similarly, Chen Zihan, a student from ZJUI-ME, remarked,"With more than a dozen tables and chairs, we had on a peaceful journey. I are firstly confused with what is love, after we discussed the Little Prince, I finally understand what is love, how to love, and how to be loved. "
Finally, the participants took a group photo. They said, "Although the Little Prince seems like a book for children, it is also a thought-provoking book for adults. Just as it is said in the book that what is essential is invisible to the eyes. "
Image 5: A Group Photo
The book club was held successfully. Weixue book clubs have been run for many years and are always well received by readers. Let’s move forward to strengthening the campus’ reading atmosphere.
Library
March 6th,2024