Role
Geppetto is introduced when carpenter Mister Antonio finds a talking block of pinewood which he was about to carve into a leg for his table. When Geppetto drops by looking for a piece of wood to build a marionette, Antonio gives the block to Geppetto. Geppetto, being extremely poor and thinking on making a living as a puppeteer in hopes of earning "a crust of bread and a glass of wine", carves the block into a boy and names him "Pinocchio". Before he is even built Pinocchio already has a mischievous attitude; no sooner than Geppetto is finished carving Pinocchio's feet does the puppet proceed to kick him. Once the puppet has been finished and Geppetto teaches him to walk, Pinocchio runs out the door and away into the town. He is caught by a carabiniere (a police officer), but when people say that Geppetto dislikes children, the carabiniere assumes that Pinocchio has been treated poorly and imprisons Geppetto. The next morning, Geppetto is released from jail and finds that Pinocchio's feet have burnt off where upon he replaces them. Geppetto has with him three pears for a meal, and since Pinocchio says he is starving, Geppetto gives him the pears and teaches Pinocchio to waste nothing. In gratitude, Pinocchio promises to go to school. Since Geppetto has no money to buy school books, he sells his only coat.
Pinocchio disappears when, instead of attending school, he decides to sell his school book and attend a marionette show. Geppetto is next seen when Pinocchio believes that the Fairy with Turquoise Hair has died and a pigeon carries him to the seashore, where Geppetto is building a boat to search for Pinocchio. Pinocchio tries to swim to Geppetto, but is washed underwater as Geppetto is swallowed by The Terrible Dogfish, and not seen again until Pinocchio is himself swallowed thereby. Pinocchio and Geppetto escape the Dogfish, and are thence conveyed to shore by a tuna.
After several months of hard work supporting the ailing Geppetto, Pinocchio goes to town with what money he has saved to buy himself a new suit, and Geppetto and Pinocchio are not reunited until the puppet has become a boy, and Geppetto is seen healthy and resuming woodcarving.
Read more about this topic: Mister Geppetto
Famous quotes containing the word role:
“Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off torpor, the surprising things which surround us and which our senses record mechanically.”
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)
“My role in society, or any artist or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.”
—John Lennon (1940–1980)
“When things turn out pretty much as expected, parents give little thought to how much they have influenced the outcome. When things don’t turn out as expected, parents give a great deal of thought to the role they play.”
—Arlene Harder (20th century)