Pinocchio's Nose (Symbol)
Pinocchio's nose is a symbol of dishonesty. To emulate how one lie tends to necessitate more lies to support it, Collodi depicts Pinocchio's nose growing uncontrollably as his lying digs him into a deeper hole. When Pinocchio conceals from the blue fairy that he still possesses his four gold pieces, his lies make his nose grow so long that he cannot move from where he sits. Believing this physical tell to be a justified punishment for dishonesty, the Fairy lets Pinocchio suffer in place for half an hour before summoning woodpeckers to reduce his nose. In this way, Pinocchio's growing nose is a nightmarish, tangible representation of the immoral behavior that adults are trying to train out of him.
Gullibility (Motif)
Throughout the novel, Collodi shows Pinocchio being easily fooled by people who wish him ill. The motif of Pinocchio's gullibility begins when Pinocchio wakes a stranger to ask him for bread; the stranger feigns helpfulness, returning to dump water on Pinocchio's head. Pinocchio's gullibility is also on display when he meets the Fox and the Cat, who have no trouble convincing him to follow them to the Field of Miracles. On the way, Pinocchio has several opportunities to realize they are not trustworthy, such as when they trick him into spending a gold coin on their meals at an inn. He also sees the Cat has lost its paw but fails to connect it to the paw he bit off of one of the assassins who tried to rob him. By the end of the book, Pinocchio overcomes his gullibility and resists the Fox and the Cat when they try to con him a final time.
Donkey Transformation (Symbol)
Pinocchio's vacation in the Land of Boobies, while pleasant for the first five months, eventually results in his turning into a donkey—a symbol of laziness. Lured by a mysterious man who brings children to another country where there are no adults, rules, or pressure to work or go to school, Pinocchio and his friend Candlewick live a life of leisure and play for several months, and their decision to leave the real world seems to have no consequences. However, one morning they both wake up with donkey ears and tail sprouting from their bodies. Within hours they transform completely into donkeys. The mysterious man returns to fetch them and sell them off to men who put them to work. It turns out that it is the fate of all lazy little boys to become donkeys. In a nightmarish reversal of expectations, the boys are forced to do nothing but labor because of their workshy natures. While Pinocchio is lucky to turn back into a puppet, Candlewick serves out his short life toiling for a peasant farmer who happily works him to death.
Painted Fireplace (Symbol)
The painted fireplace in Geppetto's room is a symbol of extreme poverty. When detailing the small room Geppetto lives in, the narrator notes that he owns only simple, broken furniture, which he has arranged by a fireplace of burning logs. However, the narrator reveals that the cozy impression is false, as the fireplace has been painted on the wall. There is even a pot of something simmering over the flame—would-be food that fools Pinocchio when he comes home hungry. At the end of the novel, however, the Fairy has replaced the fake fireplace with real burning logs that keep Geppetto and Pinocchio warm.
Geppetto's Coat (Symbol)
The coat Geppetto sells so he can buy Pinocchio the spelling book he needs for school is a symbol of sacrifice. Soon after Pinocchio's creation, Geppetto and the Talking Cricket pressure him into attending school—an idea Pinocchio hates. However, Pinocchio's brush with starvation during the night his papa is in prison convinces Pinocchio that he should be a good boy and do what his father says. To attend school, Pinocchio must first have clothing, which Geppetto creates out of materials he has handy. When he learns Pinocchio also needs a spelling book that has to be purchased from a bookshop, Geppetto sacrifices his comfort by selling his coat and using the money to buy Pinocchio the book.
