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Copywork
About This Passage
This paragraph is the moral hinge of the chapter. Collodi compresses into a single block of prose three structurally important moves: the documentation that Pinocchio's reform was real (the teacher's praise), the precise diagnosis of the new threat (companions who did not care to study), and the formal warning from the Fairy that the rest of the chapter will spend itself either confirming or refuting. The passage carries five of this lesson's vocabulary words (attentive, studious, intelligent, companions, misfortune) and the rhetorical structure of a warning is itself worth imitating.
The school-teacher, too, praised him because he was so attentive, studious, and intelligent,—always the first to enter the school, always the last to get up when it was over. The only mistake he made ...
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell back the chapter's structure as four movements: the schoolyard hazing and Pinocchio's defense; the period of genuine progress; the warning from the Fairy and Pinocchio's gesture in reply; the wicked boys' temptation and Pinocchio's three refusals before he capitulates.
Discussion Questions
- Pinocchio earns the goodwill of the schoolboys 'after several kicks and elbowings.' What kind of respect is this — and how does it differ from the respect Pinocchio just claimed for himself with the line, 'I respect others and I wish to be respected'? Which kind has he actually learned, and which is he still pretending to?
- The Fairy and the teacher say nearly the same thing about Pinocchio's companions, but the chapter lingers only on the Fairy's warning. What does Collodi gain by making the warning come twice from two different sources? What does he gain by giving it weight only when it comes from the Fairy?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A person whose role is to amuse others by acting absurdly; a jester or clown — used here in Pinocchio's protest against being treated as a comic object rather than a person.
Item 2
Rude or overly bold in a way that disrespects social boundaries; insolent — applied here to the boy who tried to seize Pinocchio by the nose.
Item 3
Carefully observant; paying close, sustained attention — used here to describe Pinocchio's brief period of genuine engagement at school.
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Critical Thinking
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