In the story, the discovery of the little prince's planet, B-612, is one of the most memorable parts of the book for me.The asteroid was spotted by a Turkish astronomer in 1909, and here is an extract on how he went on to present his findings:
On making his discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so nobody would believe what he said.
Grown-ups are like that. . .
Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.
Just by changing his appearance, the astronomer received totally different treatment. He wasn't treated seriously when dressed in his Turkish costume (I do like it though!). But when dressed in a proper suit, his presentation became well received. My initial response to this glaring contrast was indignation-people not judge a book by its cover. However, it slowly gave way to my second response: the truth is this is what we all do...it is human nature.
According to Erving Goffman, this is what he would call impression management-"the process of managing setting, words, nonverbal communication, and dress in an effort to create a particular image of individuals and situations". We constantly manage our words, actions and overall behavior to create impressions on other people. But at the same time, we base our perceptions on people with impressions too. For example, you won't dress too casually or walk with a swagger when you go for a job interview. This is obviously because the employer would think that you are not serious about the job and would most probably not hire you at all. Conversely, if you were an employee at the company and saw someone like that walking in for the interview, you probably won't want to work with him either.
If we think about it, impression management is similar to George Herbert Mead's ideas of the ME and I, particularly the ME. The I is the part of us which is "impulsive, creative, spontaneous, and generally unburdened by social rules and restrictions". In contrast, the ME represents the side of us that is "analytical, evaluative, and above all aware of social conventions, rules, and expectations". The ME and impression management both emphasizes on the social aspect in communication. We act in accordance to how we want society to see us, instead of doing something socially incorrect.
Still, it is important to note that we cannot always depend on impressions to make accurate evaluations on people. First impressions are on the surface and is not a good way to judge people by it, especially for long term relationships. As the fox in later chapters in the book said, "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux" ("It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye"). Impressions are important, but not everything.
L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. Yes, I do love the book.
