The Adventures of Pinocchio

The Adventures of Pinocchio Literary Elements

Genre

Children's fiction; fairy tale

Setting and Context

The story is set in a fairy-tale version of Italy.

Narrator and Point of View

The narrator is an unnamed third-person limited omniscient narrator; the point of view stays primarily with Pinocchio.

Tone and Mood

The tone is comedic and didactic; the mood moves between playful and despairing.

Protagonist and Antagonist

The protagonist is Pinocchio; antagonists include Geppetto, the Fairy, the Fox and the Cat, the little man who sells him as a donkey, and the dogfish.

Major Conflict

Pinocchio wants to become a real boy who is obedient and studious, but first he must overcome the indulgences of his lazy, work-shy nature.

Climax

The novel reaches its climax when Pinocchio gives away his hard-earned money in order to help the Fairy, who has fallen ill. As a reward, he wakes up to find himself magically transformed into a real boy.

Foreshadowing

Understatement

Allusions

The chapters in which Geppetto and Pinocchio are swallowed by a giant dogfish could be considered an allusion to the Biblical tale of Jonah, who is swallowed by a whale.

Imagery

Paradox

Parallelism

Metonymy and Synecdoche

Personification