One of our earliest childhood memories is tied to the stories we eagerly listened to, absorbing every word. Unconsciously, we internalized valuable messages and lessons. Today, we choose different content, but those stories and teachings remain present in our lives.
Collodi, whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini, took his pseudonym from the beautiful Tuscan village, his mother’s birthplace, where he often spent his childhood. Today, Pinocchio Park is located there.
Many stories preserved by tradition, as well as original ones, tackle the deepest human questions about life, death, and the rightness of decisions. These precious knowledge help us recognize the direction we should take during life crises. Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching. Fairy tales offer practical solutions, portraying the world as idyllic but often realistic, with all the difficulties that life brings. Heroes go through various situations in which children recognize friendship, loyalty, courage, and other values we need. Children adopt. They identify with the heroes, but also with the negative characters. This is the first time they have the opportunity to confront their own good qualities, as well as weaknesses, anxieties, and fears that they usually have difficulty articulating in conversation with adults. They learn that even the toughest task can be solved, and the punishments that befall the wicked are naturally accepted by children and they do not consider them cruel because they feel a great need for justice.
Pinocchio, one of the favorite characters in children’s literature, was created by Italian writer Carlo Collodi. He studied philosophy and rhetoric. His first job was in a bookstore, he also worked as a newspaper contributor and respected commentator, and later developed into a children’s writer.
He was equally significant in Italy because of his contribution to textbook reform. He noticed that school material was presented in a dry and, in his opinion, inappropriate way for children, and that it would be easier to learn if books were refreshed with more imagination. He created the boy Gionnetino, and later other characters close to children who go through. Collodi’s textbooks and guide children through the material. The new books were well received and entered the school curriculum. This places Collodi among European intellectuals credited with a more modern approach to education, and his influence extends to the present day.
Translating fairy tales by Charles Perrault and other French children’s writers, they fell in love with children’s literature, after which they only write for the youngest. Stories about Pinocchio began to be published in 1881 in the Roman children’s magazine Giornale dei bambini, initially only occasionally. The original and very dynamic plot attracted the attention of all ages, so they began to be regularly published at the readers’ request. After two years, they were combined into a book entitled “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” Collodi also showed his interest and sense of pedagogy here. The adventures of the wooden puppet aim to help children grow up. The methodology is modern: Collodi focuses more on the difficulties that arise in life as a result of thoughtlessness and lack of experience, rather than rewards and punishments. Pinocchio is a well-meaning puppet who possesses many good qualities, yet he always chooses the wrong path in every situation because, of course, he is made of wood! Therefore, even though he has the whims and life of a real boy, he differs in one thing – he doesn’t want to learn anything. He will repeat misbehavior many times, even though it brings him trouble and suffering, and he will succumb to every temptation. He doesn’t understand that actions have consequences. Being made of wood, he can’t be anything other than stubborn. When he finds himself in trouble, he is ready to promise everything, but already with the next choice, he will mistakenly choose due to his naivety. He doesn’t understand what experience is, nor does he know how to use it.
As the story unfolds, Pinocchio starts reflecting on his own mistakes and discovers with astonishment that as many temptations as there are, there are also helpers, so he is never completely alone, abandoned, or forgotten by everyone. In the end, he realizes that he has caused his father a lot of pain, his dear father who would believe in him every time that he would improve his behavior. Pinocchio embarks on a quest to find his father, and the story takes on mythic qualities as the journey turns into an epic adventure. He will face challenges too great for anyone, let alone a small puppet, but guided by love, for the first time, he will know with complete certainty what he needs to do. He ends up in the belly of a whale, but there, a reward for his bravery awaits him: he has found his father. The journey back home will be equally difficult and risky. Along with great courage, he will need another virtue he has never used before: resourcefulness.
In the end, Pinocchio and his father are rewarded. The fairy protector who has closely watched over Pinocchio from birth transforms him into a real boy because Pinocchio has already developed the qualities of a real boy. He found himself the moment he was driven by love to use all his strength to save his father, accepting the risk of losing his own life.
1 Carlo Collodi Lorenzini, 1826 – 1900.