Passage Analysis:

[“I am covered with fine gold,” said the prince, “you must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the living always think that gold can make them happy.” Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor, and the children’s faces grew rosier, and they laughed and played games in the street. “We have bread now!” they cried.] (2nd and 3rd paragraph of 7th page)

In this passage we can how the Prince is given away all his gold so the poor people of the city can be happy. The Prince also stated that gold make people happy, it is true it makes people happy but the reality is that the Prince was born wealthy and without struggles. And could it be that the Prince might not know that gold is a very valuable metal that people fight over it? He may not also know that people are happy not because they have gold, but because they can sell the gold and buy bread with it. It shows how innocent and selfless the Happy Prince is toward people who are in needs. After the Prince was left without a single leaf of gold, he now was completely grey from top to bottom. He was no longer beautiful and this is one of the reason the mayor decided to melt the statue at the end and make one of himself, proving how ignorant and selfish he is. As the gold was distributed to the poor, the faces of the children took color, they started playing games of joy and probably smiling. In the last line we notice that they screamed, “We have bread now!” it must have been a long time since they have something good to eat. Even if it is not a lot to eat, but they can at least believe in hope and share the gift that the Happy Prince have sent them. And once again the little Swallow has made the difference for those who are in needs. Never lose hope, because you never know what a little bird can do for you.

Analysis:

[“far away in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is open, and through it I can see a woman…In a bed in the corner of the room her little boy is lying ill. He has fever, and is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, will you not bring her the ruby out of my sword-hilt? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.”] (2nd paragraph of 3rd page)

In this image we can see the little Swallow doing the Prince’s wish of bringing the ruby to the mother and her son. The Prince knows that by giving away his ruby he is losing all his beauty little by little. It is an act of kindness and sacrifice that he is doing to stop the suffering of others. In the other hand we see the little swallow entering through the window quietly without waking up the mother or the little boy and leaving the valuable ruby on top of the bed where the sick little boy is sleeping. In the image we can also see the mother lying on the bed close to her son, she probably fall asleep tired, worried and thinking of what she has to give her son to eat since she has no money for food or medicine. But when she gets to wake up in the morning, she does not have to worry anymore. Because of the noble and kind heart of the Happy Prince, now she can sell the ruby that he sent her and have enough money to buy her son food and medicine. This image it is extremely straightforward for the Happy Prince and its text version. It captures a heart breaking moment when a little bird like the Swallow can making a huge different in the lives of the poor ones. The theme here is self-sacrifice and is viewable throughout the whole story. The little Swallow risking his live for the love and happiness of his Prince and the Happy Prince given away his beauty and value. It shows that material things may not have value for some, but it can definitely have a positive impact on the lives of others.

http://www.hannahleestudio.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Aank8bDtcE

Analysis:

The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde had been adapted to many animated short films for children. One animation film that was adapted and were given the same name as the original text was produced in Canada by Potterson Production in 1974. The short film shows exactly what the story is about but with slightly differences at some point. As it starts with the description of the Happy Prince, covered in gold, with two sapphires as his eyes and a bright ruby in the hilt of his sword. In the 1st page of the Happy Prince in paragraph 4th, a mother tell her son who is crying, “Why can’t you be like the Happy Prince?” asked the mother. In the film adaptation before she say that line she tells her son, “Stop this crying.” In the text version this line doesn’t appear. Another line in the same paragraph, a man with a low voice say, “I am glad there is someone in the world who is quite happy.” in referring to the Happy Prince. In the film adaptation this man does not appear saying those words. But why? Reasons of budget? Not necessary? Or was part of the director cuts. Although minor cuts like those does not affect the conflict of the overall story but is a way to show that the film adaptation do not follow the script word for word. From what I understood in the text and the whole film I will consider it to be a solid one. Just a few lines that didn’t make the cut. Something interesting about the different adaptation films that had been made for the Happy Prince is that all of the films have been made for children and not a single one for adults. It suggest that is a tale for children, normally there have been tales in the past that have been adapted for a more grownup audience, but this one is specific for the children.

Analysis:

[“The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved him to well. He picked up crumbs outside of the baker’s door when the baker was not looking, and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.”] (5th paragraph of 7th page)

In the Happy Prince there’s a couple of themes including love and beauty, but in the quote above we can see the theme of sacrifice. The little Swallow seeing that the Prince have nobody to look after him, after he gave away all his gold and valuable eyes, he is willing to sacrifice his life for the love that he has for the Prince. The little Swallow knows that he is going to die if he stays with the Prince because the winter would kill him, but that’s a risk that he is willing to take. A connection that has a contrast to this, is the short novel of Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis.” Although a similarity would have been better to compare The Happy Prince with the Metamorphosis, but a distinction is more revealed between the two stories. For example Gregor was sacrificing his health, literally his life by working very hard to support his family. He was tired of the same old routine every morning, and not be able to manage his own money which his father was doing so. But his family didn’t make any sacrifice for him when he became a giant bug. To prove how terrible he was mistreated, “We must get rid of it,’ cried the sister again, ‘that’s the only thing for it, father.”(pg.238). In this quote we can see that Gregor’s little sister doesn’t see him as her brother anymore, instead she calls him “it”, like if he is some kind of an object. Gregor’s appearance may not be the same, but he still have the same feelings and emotions as when he was a human being. In the Happy Prince the Swallow sacrifice his life for the Prince, but in the Metamorphosis the family didn’t make any sacrifice for him, they only gave hatred toward Gregor, after at first he was sacrificing himself for them.

Reference of image: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2166225/
http://www.deviantart.com/art/The-Happy-Prince-66493224

Image Analysis:

[“Bring me the two most precious things in the city,” said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird.] (Penultimate paragraph of last page).

In this image we can see that the Angel chose the heart of the Happy Prince and the dead Swallow as the most valuable things in the city. It is a beautiful image because it looks like the dead Swallow is hugging the lead heart of the Prince, and being carry by the hands of the Angel. This image is a reference to the story, as it provides a clear connection to the text itself. God sent his Angel to look for the most beautiful thing that he can find in the city, the Angel went to the city and found the heart of the Prince and the dead Swallow in a dust heap. He chose the heart of the Prince because it symbolizes the love and sacrifice that the Prince made for the sympathies of the poor and needy. This is the reason he gave away his eyes and sacrifice his beauty, all his valuable gold, ruby and sapphires bit by bit for the happiness of some. After the Prince gave away everything, he became ugly, but he has archived spiritual beauty and for this reason God is pleased with the selection that His Angel had brought him. He is taken to the city of gold where he will praise God forever. The same can be say for the little Swallow who sacrifice his life for the love of the Prince. He also archived spiritual beauty, and for that he will sing for evermore in God’s garden of paradise.

http://www.glogster.com/rosesunrise65/the-happy prince/g- 6l5s6uisflf6dq9q6ookma0

Analysis:

[“I am the Happy Prince.” ”Why are you weeping then?” asked the Swallow; “you have quite drenched me.” “When I was alive and had a human heart,” answered the statue, “I did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot choose but weep.”] (Last paragraph of 2nd page).

In this passage we can see how deeply devastated the Prince is to see how his beautiful city has changed. The Prince used to have it all when he was alive, but he never asked about the city that he lived. But did the city actually changed? or it was always the same city now, when the Prince was alive but no one didn’t care to tell him about the reality of the city? Where poverty and misery is all over the place. The palace of Sans-Souci is a palace in Germany near Berlin, it was made to rival the palace of Versailles in France. One of the things that make this passage significant is that the the Prince reference himself to the Swallow as the Happy Prince, but he is no longer happy, he was once happy when he was alive. The Prince also state that he was surrounded by walls, inside of those walls happiness reign, he didn’t know what was outside of those walls until he became a statue. After finding out the truth, he now is learning what tears are. As the Prince heart is made of lead and what is interesting is that at the end when, “As he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful” (third sentence, last page) said the art professor, they decided to melt the statue, but his heart didn’t melt. This proved that the Prince’s heart which is soft, is strong when it shows love for the poor people of his city. Although his heart was stronger than the fire, this is why the Happy Prince weep.

http://englishnotesforba.blogspot.com/2010/10/happy-prince-by-oscar-wilde.html

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