Pinocchio Flashcards
Up until what chapter will the midterm cover? Why?
chapter 15, the book initially finished there and the rest is a highly requested sequel
What is Geppetto’s nickname?
Polendina - because his wig is yellow like polenta (corn mush)
How do the adults act at the beginning of the book / during the exposition?
Geppetto and Mr Cherry get into a bunch of petty fights
because they are cranky, but also because the sentient piece of wood hits and insults the men - they think it was the other and not the wood
all adults are weird and irrational
What does Geppetto make out of the sentient wood?
a marionette, as it continues to be made it taunts Geppetto with each new feature created (his nose grows for no reason here, just to be naughty)
What does Geppetto call his marionette? Why?
Pinocchio, he knew a family of Pinocchios (the girls were Pinocchias)
Who is the talking cricket? Why is he important?
introduced to the cricket in Geppetto’s house after he was taken away by the police
the cricket talks to Pinocchio and questions his future plans (P wants to eat, drink and be merry, the cricket wants him to go to school and/or learn a trade)
angry at the cricket Pinocchio throws something at it and kills it
What inspires Pinocchio to change his mind on his future?
he burns his feet after a scary night running away from home - he ends up wanting to be a good boy and go to school
Geppetto sells his jacket to buy a schoolbook
What does Pinocchio end up doing with his schoolbook? Why?
he sells it to get into the audience of a puppet show
What happens during the puppet show?
a fire eater is the director of the show, and he was going to burn Pinocchio for disrupting it
Pinocchio gets sympathy from the fire eater though (he shows it by sneezing) and is replaced by a different puppet to be thrown in the fire
Pinocchio offers himself up again and no one gets burned because the fire eater is moved by his gesture
Pinocchio is sent on his way with 5 gold coins gifted by the fire eater
Who are the cat and fox? Why are they important?
they try to manipulate Pinocchio to give him their money -
as themselves - taking him to the field of wonders to plant the coins so they can grow into a money tree
as assassins - they leave Pinocchio at a hotel and ambush him, trying to steal the money, they ultimately hang Pinocchio and leave him to die (promising to come back the next day since they couldn’t get his gold coins)
How does Pinocchio get saved from being hung?
the blue fairy (woman in the cottage) sends an eagle after Pinocchio, who tells her that he’s in trouble
she then sends a poodle driver of a mouse-drawn carriage to retrieve him
she calls in three doctors to take a look at him
What do the doctors say about Pinocchio after he was hung?
one thinks he’s alive, one thinks he’s dead, the third is the cricket who calls Pinocchio a “rascal who’s making his dad sad”
this statment makes Pinocchio cry, proving he’s not dead
How is Pinocchio nursed back to health while the Blue Fairy is caring for him?
he continually refuses medicine, but once black rabbits (reapers?) come to collect him he takes the medicine quickly
What is a noteable instance where Pinocchio’s nose grew a lot?
when the Blue Fairy was caring for him, she asked Pinocchio how he got hung, and once she heard she asked if he still had the money (that the assassins were trying to steal)
he lied about it, and his nose grew - (the fairy recognized that it grew because he lied)
Pinocchios nose was so long he couldn’t leave the room, but the fairy took pity on him and called woodpeckers to remove the length
How do the cat and the fox re-enter Pinocchio’s life?
in the woods on the way to be reunited with his father, Pinocchio runs into the cat and the fox - he stops to chat with them
they convince him once again to go to the field of wonders to plant his gold coins and make them grow into a money tree
What happens when Pinocchio finally gets to the field of wonders?
after passing through a town where its animal inhabitants had sold their fur, he planted his coins in the field of wonders
finding it hard to wait for his tree to grow, Pinocchio went to collect water to water it and a parrot told him that his pieces were stolen (making fun of him for being dumb)
Pinocchio went to go report the theft in town, and in return was sent to prison for 4 months, only to be released during a celebration of victory over the city’s enemy
What’s interesting about the Blue Fairy’s character?
there’s no stability
she always presents as different things and plays a different role in Pinocchio’s life (mother, sister, etc.)
What are the general themes of the story?
undecidable and truth
How is chaos employed in the story?
the pattern/element holding the absurdity together is Pinocchio th character
the character has to be taught empathy, and thus shows the reader how to read the story
What happens when Pinocchio comes across the snake?
Pinocchio was trying to find the Blue Fairy’s house and ran into the snake on the trail
the tail of the snake smokes like a chimney and has glowing eyes
the snake was in the way, and deceived Pinocchio by ambushing his jump over him
Pinocchio landed in a funny way and the snake laughed so hard it died
- LESSON/ALLEGORY
- maybe “don’t laugh at other people, you will have a stroke”
What is the truly sad part of the story?
Lamp-Wick’s death
he was treated like a donkey and died like one
his death is what truly inspired Pinocchio to stop running from responsibility and taking care of other people
What is the lesson from the land of toys?
if you’re lazy you’re going to be someone else’s donkey → since you didn’t prepare extra hard to succeed, end up having to work for those who did
What biblical story is Pinocchio like?
- JONAH - Pinocchio is similar to the story
- swallowed by a big fish
- stubborn in their own convictions (Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh or whatever)
What is something the characters do a lot throughout the story?
shift
- the blue fairy changes around a bunch
- Pinocchio turns into a donkey but turns back, he’s alive but dead
- Lamp-Wick turns into a donkey
- finally Pinocchio turns into a real boy
- the changing that happens prior primes the reader for this change (makes it normal seeming)
What is a benefit and a fault of being a puppet?
a puppet body is relatively sturdy and benefitted Pinocchio a lot
more fellowship comes with being a person, and you’re not as ridiculous as you are when you’re a puppet
What is an instance where Pinocchio lied but his nose didn’t grow?
when Pinocchio fibs to his father about the suit he was going to buy, saying that he did when he didn’t
(he didn’t buy it because he gave the money to the snail for the fairy)
What event initated Pinocchio being turned into a real boy?
the snail found Pinocchio and claimed that the fairy was sick, asking for help
Pinocchio gave the snail money for her
the whole fairy being sick thing is a ploy → testing to see if Pinocchio has a a good heart now
What happened when Pinocchio turned into a real boy?
- Pinocchio dreamed of the fairy congratulating him for his hard work, and woke up as a real boy
- his house changed that night too for the better, and Geppetto younger
Is Pinocchio a fable or literary work?
- Pinocchio embodies the fable → but is a long enough story that readers can forget that it’s actually a fairy tale
- a fable packed into narrative strategies
