The Adventures of Pinocchio — Chapter 11

About This Passage

This passage is one of Collodi’s most carefully observed pieces of human comedy. Pinocchio is begging in the supplicating voice of someone who knows his life depends on the next sentence. Watch Fire Eater refuse the ordinary titles — Mister, Cavalier, Commander — not because he wants no honor but because each of them gives him too little. ‘Excellency’ unlocks him because it flatters his vanity at exactly the right size. The same man who has just claimed there are ‘no Misters here’ immediately becomes humane and tractable when called by the title he secretly wants. Collodi is teaching the reader that pride often disguises itself as humility, and that the wise person learns to read the disguise.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 11 with attention to its surprises: Fire Eater turns out to be tender-hearted, his sneezes are the secret signal of his pity, Pinocchio works through a list of titles until ‘Excellency’ unlocks the manager’s kindness, and Pinocchio offers his own life to save Harlequin.

Discussion Questions

1. Fire Eater’s sneezes are described as ‘his way of letting others know the tenderness of his heart.’ Why does Collodi give him sneezes instead of tears, and what does the comic detail accomplish that ordinary crying could not?
2. Pinocchio tries the titles ‘Mister,’ ‘Cavalier,’ ‘Commander,’ and finally ‘Your Excellency.’ Only the last works. What does this scene reveal about Fire Eater’s vanity, and what does it reveal about Pinocchio’s growing skill at reading people?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide