The yellow triangles are supposed to be perfect triangles, and are supposed to stand in contrast to the imperfect oval. I didn’t want to use an exact hexagon because I think the hexagon appears too rigid, which is not representative of the novel’s theme.  However, the two opposing triangles enclose “Little Prince”, which provides emphasis on the focus of the novel as well as expressing succintness and efficiency.

The above is a logo for Polly Pocket, a doll house and doll that fits in your pocket. Here is another picture so you can see:

The hexagon serves its purpose in this logo because it conveys the economic use of space that goes into a polly pocket. It is also an interesting example because its for a toy, and has appeal to children, much like “The Little Prince.” Instead of conveying stability and responsibility, the hexagon’s efficent construction is applied in this example to something fantastic and imaginative in a small space.

At first, I planned to apply the Macnab’s discussion of the number six to exactitude, but I decided that six was better sutied for quickness because it is about organized efficiency. I think this pertains more to the structure of the story — the details you include, the details you leave out, what you lengthen or shorten– than it does to exactitude. Five is the magical quality, and I think there is something magical about finding the exact word to describe the exact emotion or sensibility, however subtle, which is exhibited so well by the love affiar between the spiral and the star.

For six, Macnab describes the versatility of absolute structure with the example of the six-sided carbon atom that has the ability to bond with millions of compounds.  She explains that in shape form, the six-sided hexagon is used to convey strength , precision and stability. It does this by maximizing space and using it in the most effective way, which is what quickness is all about: telling a story in an organized, quick way that still captures the depth of experience.

Saint-Exupery also had to make the novel short because children have small attention spans. In this way, he had a small space for words, but was able to fill it with a wealth of fantastical images to create the story. “The Little Prince” is a short, quick novel, but it still exhibits all of Calvino’s qualities– multiplicity, lightness, visibility, exacitude. It also encapsulates a long, arduous journey full of life lessons in a short novel, which is where quickness comes to play. In this way, Saint-Exupery exhibits “agility of both thought and expression” (39).

Microcosm

I created the emblem above using an already photoshopped image that I took from flickr. I added an artistic filter and blurred it a bit to make it look more dreamlike. At the surface level, I chose this image because of its likeness to Saint-Exupery’s drawings of all the little planets the little prince visits, but I think it represents multiplicity in the little prince because it is an image of a house and front yard, twisted to look like a little planet.  I think it shows microcosm vs. macrocosm, and how we are all existing in our own little worlds, yet we are still tied up in this relationship with everything and everyone else.

Calvino quotes Borges: “everything, to everyone, happens precisely, preciselty now… There are innumerable men in the air, land and on sea, and everything that really happens, happens to me.” Calvino then contrasts this view of time with a notion of time that is a “growing and bewildering network of divergent, convergent, and parallel forms of time” (119-120).  This emblem of the little planet existing in a big space is central to “The Little Prince” because as the little prince is traveling, the whole time he is thinking of his beloved flower, which is existing in a different time and different space yet he is still inextricably tied to him. He has a similar relationship with the fox, who teaches him about “taming,” and with the aviator, who tells his story long after he’s gone.

There are element’s of Macnab in this because the rings surrounding the little planet give the effect of an opportunity for infinite expansion.

The Heart is Complicated

According to its creator, this design was inspired by M.C. Escher, an artist famous for creating designs that your eye could follow, but never figure out. Although, an infinity symbol, nor the number 8, is shown explicitly, there is a slight infinity sign shown in the design if you ignore the triangle at the bottom.

This design makes a great analogy to the quality of infinity as well as the quality of multiplicity because it 1) sends your eye on a voyage to follow the folds, but it’s an endless journey and 2) the designs interlocking quality is symbolic of relationships.

Macnab’s discussion of the Mobius strip is very similar to Calvino’s multiplicity. I think multiplicity refers to infinity, which relates to Macnab’s eight, but more importantly it refers to the infinite relationships, which the Mobius strip represents in both form and funtion. The two connected circles create an infinity symbol, but the twist in the center “represent(s) the dimensional change that occurs when energy transforms” (169).

The best example of this are the multitude of characters the little prince meets on his journey — the king, the vain man, the drunk, the businessman, the lamplighter,the geographer, and finally, the aviator. Each one represents a non-value, each chapter ending with the little prince thinking  “grown-ups are certainly very,very strange.” They are adults who have lost their way, and can focus only on things that are completely unimportant. Because they are so relatable to us, the human characteristics they represent become multiple and applicable to anyone.

Untouched, imagination

The above is my emblem for visibility in “The Little Prince.” When I think of Calvino’s visibility in Saint-Exupery’s novel I think of the little prince’s imagination — untarnished, pure.

I chose the desert landscape because the sand is so smooth and untouched, like a blank canvas. I added the rainbow and the sun in paint to create a childlike addition.  This incorporates Macnab’s use of the rainbow for seven into the imaginative and innocent feel to “The Little Prince.”