THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO: ILLUSTRATED & ANNOTATED

ILLUSTRATEDANNOTATIONS•Carlo Collodi Biography•About The Adventures of Pinocchio•The Adventures of Pinocchio Summary•Character List•Glossary•Themes•Quotes•Analysis•Symbols, Allegory and Motifs•Metaphors and Similes•Irony•Imagery•Literary Elements•Essay QuestionsThe Adventures of Pinocchio begins in Italy, where a carpenter gets a log of pine wood in order to fashion a leg for a table. No sooner had he started cutting the wood that it began to talk to him, and he, understandably, became a bit worried. Trying to get rid of the potential liability as soon as possible, he gives it to a poor man named Geppetto. Geppetto takes the wood gladly, and spends much time trying to fashion a wooden doll that he will call Pinocchio.Pinocchio instantly shows signs of being a trouble maker - as soon as he has legs, he kicks, and his knows grows with every sign of trouble. When Geppetto gladly takes the time to teach Pinocchio how to properly walk, the doll rushes out of his home, into the streets, and runs away. The town, which, apparently, sympathizes with talking puppets, imprisons Geppetto for "mistreating" the doll.Pinocchio goes back home famished, as even a block of wood needs nutrition. In Geppetto's house, he finds a talking cricket, indeed, the Talking Cricket, that tells him how bad his behavior was. Acting as a fatherly figure now that Geppetto is gone, the cricket give Pinocchio some much needed advice. And what does the doll do to thank him? He throws a stone at the poor little insect, killing him instantly. This, Pinocchio claims, was accidental.Geppetto is freed from prison rather quickly, and fashions a new pair of feet for Pinocchio after his old ones burned off when he fell asleep on the stove. Geppetto obviously still has respect for his doll, likely because he has never had much before. Geppetto even sells his last somewhat valuable item - a jacket, to send Pinocchio to school.When it is time to leave for school the next morning, Pinocchio takes the school book with him, but has other plans in mind. He goes to a theater - the Great Marionette Theatre to be exact, to sell the book to one of the people there. He is given five golden coins that he says he will give back to Geppetto, who people are now calling his "father".However, he is intercepted on his way home by two sly animals - a fox and a cat. Both of them pretend to be disabled to attract Pinocchio's attention, and it works. They say that, if Pinocchio gives them the golden coins, they will plant them in the Field of Miracles, where they will grow into Golden Coin Trees. Believing this fallacy, Pinnochio plants the coins, and the animals go to an inn where they get much food with the help of one of the coins.The fox and cat return to Pinocchio disguised as robbers, and attempt to hang him. However, the doll runs up to a white house, where it turns out he isn't very safe anyway. Residing there is a dead fairy, and the fox and cat quickly catch and hang him. They leave after a while, as they get bored of waiting for him to die (he will not, as he is a wooden doll).Pinocchio is helped down by the fairy, and goes back to Geppetto. Over the rest of the novel, Pinocchio becomes more and more mature, just like an actual child. Pinocchio eventually bonds tightly with Geppetto, giving up his old ways. The mean cat and fox actually obtain the disabilities that they once claimed to have, and lead a miserable remainder of their lives.