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Copywork
About This Passage
This is the moment Pinocchio first speaks for himself at school — a small declaration of dignity that he hopes will make the other boys treat him like a person rather than a wooden curiosity. The passage carries three of this lesson's vocabulary words (PATIENCE, BUFFOON, RESPECT) and shows Pinocchio trying to behave like a person rather than a marionette. The narrator is careful to record this attempt before the chapter shows us what becomes of it.
For a little while Pinocchio did not pay much attention to them, but finally, losing patience, he said: "Take care! I have not come here to be your buffoon. I respect others and I wish to be respected...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell back this chapter in three parts: how Pinocchio is treated when he first arrives at school, how he behaves under the teacher's eye and the Fairy's warnings, and how he ends up running off with the wicked boys to see the dogfish.
Discussion Questions
- What does Pinocchio's line, 'I have not come here to be your buffoon. I respect others and I wish to be respected,' tell us about how he wants the schoolboys to see him? Why is this line spoken before the kicking begins instead of after?
- What evidence in the chapter shows that Pinocchio really did become 'attentive, studious, and intelligent' for a while? Why does Collodi take the trouble to show us this period of real effort?
+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide
Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A puppet whose arms and legs are moved by strings, used here as Pinocchio's nature.
Item 2
A person whose role is to be laughed at; a clown.
Item 3
The quality of putting up with something annoying without losing your temper.
+ 9 more vocabulary words in the complete study guide
Critical Thinking
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