So some might argue that an explicit depiction of his learning what's right and wrong isn't essential. Pinocchio was created to represent the ordinary, an emblem of what it takes for a child to earn their status as virtuous. It is easy to explain away this aspect of the tale by attributing it to a desire for streamlined storytelling. It feels immoral to punish Pinocchio because he never understands the consequences of his decisions, nor the benefits of the ones he forgoes, yet the story chooses to turn him into a helpless stand-in for those who ought to know better. He doesn't understand how the pleasures on the aptly named Pleasure Island only function on a surface level and are ultimately detrimental to his health and development, yet he nearly gets turned into donkey and shipped to the salt mines for his actions. He is unaware of why attending school is more desirable than skipping and joining Stromboli's troupe, yet the story punishes Pinocchio by having the ringmaster abduct him and lock him in a cage. This lack of understanding makes it relatively disturbing when Pinocchio gets punished. Pinocchio has sinister subtext that preaches blind acceptance, one that refuses to differentiate between enacting and understanding. But as outwardly un-condemnable as the message might seem, it has some major flaws that might misguide children as they try to navigate their still unfamiliar world. It's a story filled not only with magic, captured more eloquently in some adaptations than others, but also a moral message that might serve as a northern star for children as they come across the countless crossroads they will face on their odyssey of growing up. The iconic story is still being brought to life on film more than 80 years after the Disney classic hit theaters, and almost a century and a half since the novel was published. It's not a particularly objectionable message, and has proven its ability to stand the test of time. Pinocchio is structured similarly to one of Aesop's Fables in that its has an overt thesis tied to its tale: Don't behave badly, or bad things will happen to you.
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