Pinocchio And The Meaning Of Education

Pinocchio is the main character in Pinocchio’s fairy tale, the story of a puppeteer by Carlo Collodi, and both children and adults love him in the Disney movie. Although there are other adaptations in theater, film and television, we mostly see Pinocchio as the tree boy, whose nose grows every time he tells a lie. However, this story is about more than children’s lies.

Let’s focus on the Disney version because it is the most famous, despite how different it is from the original. It premiered in 1940 and is still a good example of the importance of education in children. On the other hand, since the world has changed a lot since the 1940s, it is important to contextualize. We will try to imagine what life was like, and then update this dear character.

Pinocchio and other stories

At the beginning of the film, three books are shown: Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and Pinocchio . Timmi Grasshopper opens the latter, and the story begins. This nod to the other works is interesting, since their animated version was made by Disney a decade later.

If we compare the works, we see different parallels:

• The main characters are children who do not want to grow up or who have problems reaching adulthood.
• They have moral lessons about what is right and wrong.
• They include animals with human characteristics that will play fundamental roles in history.
• The children in these works ask many questions; they are curious.
• All three criticize different aspects of society, especially related to education.

We could analyze each of them very deeply, but today we focus on Pinocchio and some of the most relevant aspects.

The birth of Pinocchio, the tree boy

Pinocchio is a doll carved by Geppetto, an honest, hardworking, kind-hearted man. We observe Geppetto with a paternal instinct from the beginning. We see it the way he takes care of his pets: the cat Figaro and the fish Cleo. He treats them as if they were part of the family. He has created a home with them and behaves like a father.

But he longs to have a real child and wants Pinocchio to come alive. The blue fairy is responsible for fulfilling this wish and giving life to Pinocchio. And it is no coincidence that the material chosen is wood, because it has great symbolism. In fact, some mythologies have the idea of ​​a three-man to explain creation. Pinocchio will remain a boy of three until he turns out to be a real boy.

The adventure gives Timmi the job of being Pinocchio’s conscience and guide in life. This is also important, because in many cultures locusts are seen as a carrier of happiness and wisdom. The blue fairy symbolizes the mother role of Pinocchio. After all, she gives him life and shows up in those moments when he needs her the most.

The way of life

The big problems arise when Pinocchio has to separate good from evil and learn to overcome temptation. Timmi Grasshopper will try to help him, but he fails a lot. Conscience is the inner voice that we all have. It is something small, as small as Timmi Grasshopper, and sometimes difficult to hear.

The next morning Pinocchio leaves the house and starts school. This crossroads is a metaphor for the path of life, where we come across obstacles in our path to doing good. And it is often very easy to deviate from this path. Pinocchio is not good or evil, but he must learn and gain wisdom so that he can continue on the right path.

Because of his innocence and ignorance of the world, he will run into problems that will challenge him. On his way he meets two scammers: a fox, known as Mikkel From, and his friend, the cat Gideon. The choice of these grades is not random. It is common to tie foxes with cunning and cats with betrayal.

Both characters are ignorant. They can not read or write, and they are greedy and take advantage of Pinocchio’s innocence. They have succumbed to the temptation to be a deceiver and get something for nothing.

Pinocchio acts as a puppet for Stromboli, he sings and dances, he moves without threads. Here we see the irony and metaphor of the puppet : a puppet does not move by itself. They need threads and someone to pull on them. Pinocchio does not need them and is therefore free. But he soon discovers that life is very different.

Learning and liberation

As soon as he is released from Stromboli, Pinocchio falls back into Mikkel From’s trap. Mikkel From gives him a saving ace and makes him believe that it is a ticket to Adventure Island. On Adventure Island, everything looks great. Children can play, smoke, drink, be violent… There are no laws and children are free.

However, they have been tricked and their “play” ends up turning them into donkeys. Donkeys to be used for labor. Thus, lack of education leads to slavery.

Finally, Pinocchio discovers that Geppetto went out to look for him and ended up being swallowed by a whale. Pinocchio, worried, decides to fix his mistakes and save his father. That he leaves the whale’s belly is a symbol of liberation, of overcoming adversity and of opening doors to knowledge.

The lies

On the other hand, this film also highlights the problems of lying. We see Pinocchio lying to himself. He does it when the Blue Fairy asks him why he did not go to school. Pinocchio knows he has done something wrong and instinctively protects himself. Lying is a defense mechanism.

It is not a deliberate lie, nor too extensive, but rather improvised on its feet. Just like how children lie to avoid punishment when they know they have done something wrong. This type of lie is common between the ages of four and five, although we all know that this behavior can persist. There is even something called Pinocchio’s syndrome.

To be educated is to be free

It is important to see the film through the lens of the time it was made. Back then, illiteracy was still a serious problem in Western countries, and both the education system and the family model were still very much controlled by a particular way of thinking – immobile and inflexible in many cases. . In some corners of the world it is still present, but in many others it has been transformed.

The message Pinocchio gives us is clear: education sets us free. Knowledge leads us to make good decisions and not to fall for deception. Therefore, it is our responsibility, as teachers for future generations, to raise children so that they can be free, learn to think critically, and make good decisions independently.

And we are not just talking about education in the academic sense (being good at math, language or sports). But also education in the sense that they have the ability to reason, think, analyze, be critical. Each child is unique. It is our duty, and at the same time our privilege, to take care of them. Teachers play a very important role, but so do “teachers” in the home.