Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Adventures of Pinocchio

I recently finished reading "The Adventures of Pinocchio" by Carlo Collodi. I wanted to have a chat about some aspects of this book but I have to warn you that this will spoil some parts of it. That said, let's begin.

Before I had read this book, my only experience with the Pinocchio story was from the famous Disney film from 1940. I figured the book would have differences, but I never expected how different it was actual going to be. It took me some time to realize that Mister Collodi was something of a humorist. He had a silly wit that he could not help sprinkling into his story. It took me time to get used to it. Once I had, I found the book to be quite fun.

Even though there were some fanciful aspects to the movie, the book was entirely removed from reality altogether. Despite it being set in Italy, it was as if Italy was a fairyland. Animals could talk. Fairies lived among the people. There was a gorilla working as the city magistrate. None of this was considered weird by anyone. Some of these aspects were included in the film, but everything seemed a bit more grounded.

Pinocchio was alive without the need of having a fairy do it for him. In fact, all marionettes lived. Pinocchio's problem was that he was a spoiled brat of a boy even before he was carved into his puppet form. The story was intended to keep children from misbehaving. This Italian fairyland had a set of rules in it that rewarded or punished boys for their deeds.

One of the most famous punishments that befell Pinocchio was what happened when he told a lie. His nose would grow longer and longer until it was completely impossible to move around with it. Apparently Mister Collodi was obsessed with noses. I read that he talked about noses in many of his books and newspaper articles. This trope of a growing nose has been used in popular media ever since.

Remember Jiminy Cricket from the movie? Yes, there was a talking cricket in the story--a wise and ancient philosopher apparently. Pinocchio kills him early in in the story because he did not want to listen to him. The cricket appears rarely after that incident as a ghost. It was an interesting edit on behalf of Disney to keep him alive as well as making him a staple role.

The donkey transformation scene. You remember Pleasure Island from the movie, right? It was called The Land of Toys in the book. Throughout the story, Pinocchio was warned that children who do not go to school and study will grow up to become asses. This suggests that the land of play that Pinocchio ends up going to was not really enchanted. It was simply a distraction used to turn the stupid boys into donkeys to be sold into slavery. The movie suggested that there was a special magical element to Pleasure Island which caused it. I actually like both versions.

Carlo Collodi likely wanted to teach boys to be good and learn from the story, but I also suspect that he was trying to have a lot of fun when he wrote it. There were some comments he made on record that suggest this. I too am intrigued by a place on Earth that is also a fairyland. It sounds quite fun.

This fairyland is not a safe one however. A number of the characters die. Even Pinocchio comes extremely close to death many times before the story ends. After Pinocchio was turned into a donkey, someone tried to drown him so that his hide could be removed. His best friend Lamp-Wick, who also turned into a donkey, actually did die. Two robbers tried to hang Pinocchio from a tree by his neck. He was rescued shortly before he was choked out. A crazy man living in a cave actually tried to eat him.

There was also a scene where Pinocchio was forced to act as a farmer's dog. He even had to live in a doghouse and eat off the ground. Even though Pinocchio was a marionette, this was very demeaning to him. He may not have been human, but his mind was that of a regular boy. This was a traumatic thing to happen.

Despite his trials, he finally did learn his lesson and began to care about others. This earned him the right to be a real boy finally and it is assumed he remained a good person till the end of his days. But the way the book does it is a bit different than the movie. In the book, Pinocchio becomes a real boy, but the marionette remains. It ceases to move because it is missing its soul. This may suggest that the boy was real all along and was simply existing in a different state for a time until he could come of age. Either way, it is not well explained. Disney simplified it by metamorphosing the puppet into a flesh and blood boy by the fairy herself.

I really enjoyed reading Pinocchio. It is perhaps a bit much for a child. Not really too violent for them, but the reading comprehension might be a problem. It is a very wordy book and also fairly lengthy. It is really a classic that has never truly gone away. It was a pleasure to read and I entirely recommend it.

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