Looking at the general political landscape from east to west and south to north, I have great fear that today’s youth is being used by new “cats” and “foxes” for political gains that go against the their interests. To answer this question, I would like to use the metaphor of the cat and the fox and explore their personalities according to Collodi’s characterisation of tricky and deceitful friends. Once in the town of Catchfool, the cat and the fox force Pinocchio to bury his coins and then, in his absence, they steal the money and disappear.Ĭan the story of Pinocchio help us to understand the risks that today’s youth are facing? But Pinocchio is unable to free himself from them. They can help him, they add, to accumulate money and get rich.Ī white blackbird warns Pinocchio that the cat and the fox are talking nonsense and that he should leave them. In this town, they say, there is a mysterious “acre of miracles” ( campo dei miracoli) where planted coins can be grown into trees of money. The cat and the fox tell Pinocchio about a fantastic land called the Barn Owls ( Paese dei Barbagianni) where there is a town called Catchfool ( Acchiappacitrulli). The cat and the fox speak about their longstanding friendship with the boy’s father “Master Geppetto”, a lie that has the effects of influencing Pinocchio in their favour and view them as friends. (They are supposed to represent two deceitful and tricky characters who will exercise a bad influence on Pinocchio, rob him and even try to kill the boy.) One day, after deserting school, Pinocchio meets a cat and a fox. It shows how spontaneous decisions can make people lose control over their duties (like going to school, study, be honest, keep one’s promises, be civil, respect others, follow instructions and so forth) the story also shows how easy it is to overlook falsehood and accept your friends’ bad behaviours. Pinocchio is a moving story both for children and adults that goes straight to the reader’s heart. Some colours represent values and moods with dark tonalities signalling dangers and risks, but also nightly protection, while light and pale colours represent hopes and openness. Animals are used as metaphors, some represent wisdom and transparency while some others stand for tricky and deceitful characters. And very often his generosity and sweetness help him to defuse the cruelty of some of the people and creatures he encounters.ĭuring his journey Pinocchio is helped by animals to overcome his difficulties. But the story also describes many other adventures, some of which are dangerous and some of which are funny and attractive for a young boy. Telling lies will cost Pinocchio dearly, and the long nose, the alteration of his features, is the first punishment he has to endure. It is, therefore, also a story about boys’ morality. Pinocchio’s story can be read as an Odyssey for young people, a discovery of one's own humanity which for Pinocchio is the wish to become a boy made of flesh and blood (and not wood) like all the other boys around him. This is not easy, hey, not even for a human boy. Pinocchio has to learn everything from scratch. The story of Pinocchio is a journey of self-discovery, full of ups and down during which the poor boy often misunderstands the rules of the world and oversteps the limits of common sense. Now how is a boy made of wood going to survive in a world full of humans and animals? But I think that the name Pinocchio could well mean: “See here the pine”, because the Italian word “pino” means pine and “occhio” means eye. The meaning of the name is still debatable. Geppetto considers him his natural son and calls him Pinocchio. The little wooden figure speaks and thinks like a young boy. He decides to sculpt it into a marionette. One day the carpenter Master Geppetto receives a strange present: a piece of wood that can speak. It is in particular an instructive fairy tale about a boy’s transition from wood to flesh and blood. The Adventure of Pinocchio (by Carlo Collodi, 1883) is a story about a boy growing up in a world that is at times hostile and dangerous, and at times full of marvellous things and extraordinary creatures. In this piece I would like to focus on the story of Pinocchio. “ I will study, I will work, I will do all that you wish me to do, for indeed I have become weary of being a marionette, and I wish with all my heart to become a boy.” (Pinocchio, 1916 Edition)
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