The Turkish Astronomer In Little Prince By Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The story of the Turkish astronomer in the “Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery represents and reflects the society we live in. Throughout our history we have seem people being judged based on their clothing and it is no different in this little passage. In the “Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the Turkish astronomer was initially not taken seriously by the International Astronomical Congress when he presented his new discovery of asteroid B-612 because of the clothes he was wearing, and the culture associated with that clothing. However, when the Turkish astronomer switched to a European Costume he was taken seriously. We know that this type of stuff was evident in the past, but is it still happening today? If so, to what degree is it happening? Some people would argue that this type of judgement based on clothing and appearance is gone from our modern society, however, because of our history and our society it certainly still exists.

Throughout history people were forced to look the same, dress the same and perhaps even act in the same way in certain communities. As a result of this, people became intolerant to those who were different in any way. This was true mostly in Maoist China were the Maoists had people, even men and women, wear the exact same uniform and have the exact same haircuts. They did this as an attempt to eliminate any sort of prejudice that people may face, however, the only thing this brought was more intolerance. Not only were people not accepting of other’s differences, this type of ideology caused fear to those individuals who wanted to be themselves which happened to be different from everyone else.

Although diversity and multiculturalism are thriving in most countries in the western world, people are still being excluded from our society just because of how they look, how they act and how they present themselves. Prejudice based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion is still evident throughout the world even in the most developed countries. When it comes to race, the Black community has faced systemic racism where they are perceived as if they are criminals by our society. Since the color of their skin is different from others, they face violence and discrimination from not just the police but everyday people who have different skin colors to theirs. With gender, women are still fighting for equality even in the most egalitarian societies in the world. For example, in the Scandinavian countries where they have made their greatest attempt to equalize opportunity for men and women, there are still many inequalities for women. Women are still making less money than men are for the exact same work and they still aren’t represented in political power as much as men. Due to our differences people are often categorized and treated differently and some are even segregated just for being different.

Just as it was throughout our history the thing that we lack the most in our society is acceptance. It is very easy to love and connect with people we have similarities with; however, it is extremely hard to connect with those who are different from us. Predominantly those who disagree with us, those who have different beliefs and those who think in a different way. This type of exclusion is usually associated with religion and ideologies. Throughout human history, almost all conflict and war were fought because of religion and ideology. However, is it always necessary to battle those who have different belief systems? Is it possible to accept other people’s beliefs in a society and live in harmony? In countries with many different cultures and many different beliefs its almost impossible for everyone to get along, however, tolerating other people’s beliefs aren’t necessarily impossible.

Even in our society today people are judged based on what they wear, whether it’s at work, at school or even at home. Since this judgement exists in our society people now are more concerned about their appearance, therefore, they choose to dress nicer whenever they are with other people. The people who dress nice are generally treated differently than the people who don’t, which makes it unfair for those who can not afford the clothes they desire. Since this is how our society operates with materialistic things and fashionable clothes, people tend to make judgement on others based on the price of their clothing. For these reasons, people accept those who dress nicer than others and discriminate those who can not afford the clothing that may appear to give them more status.

Judgement based on clothing, like in the “Little Prince” by Antoine Saint-Exupery, with the Turkish astronomer is still evident in our society today. Just as it was with the Turkish astronomer, perhaps the only way to eliminate judgement based on clothing is to adapt to the modern clothing in that given society. However, would that make everyone happy? What about the people who come from different countries who bring in their own culture, should they be forced to adapt to the values of one country and wear the exact same clothes? Doing so would take away the liberty from others so the only possible solution is to accept everyone for who they are and cherish diversity.