Coraline

Neil Gaiman

Teen fiction/gothic/adventure/mystery/fantasy


Coraline, a curious girl who moves into a new house, discovers a drawing room with a mysterious door in the corner. It looks old, and her interest in what lies behind the door gets the better of her as she starts to explore her new home. She searches high and low for a way to get behind the door. She finds an old, rusty, black key that happens to open the odd door in the drawing room. At first when she opens it, it is just a brick wall and there is no way she can get through it. However, the second time she opens it, later at night, it reveals a dark passageway. She walks for a short distance, until she reaches a painting that looks similar to one in her flat, but the boy has an evil look on his face. In the next couple minutes everything is a blur, she meets her “Other” Mother and “Other” Father, which she didn’t even know she had, and she gets even more confused with this strange parallel world.
Coraline and the “Other” Mother are main characters in this book. Coraline is a small, witty girl of about nine years old, who has a passion for exploring, and proves her bravery and courage to the “Other” Mother. The “Other” Mother has skin as white as paper, taller and thinner, but similar to Coraline’s mother, and her fingers are too long, always moving, with unnatural dark red fingernails that are curved and sharp. Her eyes are big, black buttons that make it hard to tell if and when she is looking at you. Coraline is somewhat realistic because she is just a normal, inquisitive girl; however, she is also unrealistic, because she takes her curiosity too far, which leads to causing problems with the “Other” Mother, who is not someone to tamper with. The “Other” Mother is also both an unrealistic and realistic character who lives in a bizarre world that she has lived in for a long time. Her personality is manipulative because she seeks power, which any evil person craves for, which makes her realistic, but the way she seeks power and strength in such an exaggerated manner, makes her unrealistic. The “Other” Mother is not a stereotype, because she thrives on power and strength in a way that is inhuman. However, Coraline’s character is stereotypical because children of nine years old tend to be very curious and always wonder about things that aren’t any of their business. But, Coraline demonstrates courage, bravery, and persistence that is not usually displayed by little girls or boys her age. I like Coraline as she is an asset to this book, but I think the “Other” Mother is too evil for her own good. Coraline is important because if she hadn’t been more curious than an average girl, she would have never tried to open the door in the drawing room, she would’ve never met the “Other” Mother, and the battle to earn her freedom and the freedom of the people whom the “Other” Mother had captured and kidnapped never would’ve commenced. The “Other” Mother is important because nobody is as devious and sneaky as her, and she would’ve never lured Coraline into her clutch, and she would have never captured her parents, and the challenging scavenger hunt would never have begun…
The book relates to power and strength and how it feels so good to dominate over people when you both know that they’re weak, that overwhelming sensation when you know you reign over people and you both know they will not get out of your clutches. It explains that the “Other” Mother wants so much to be on top and have the most power that she is willing to do whatever it takes, even if it risks breaking up a family. This book makes you think about if someone is bullying someone so much into thinking that they’re better than them, and no one takes a stand or tries to stop them, then the world will one day be dominated by a forceful dictator.
I enjoyed this book because the entertaining adventures and suspense in this book keep you on the edge of your chair until the very end. I think I realized from this book that if all you seek is power in life, it changes your perspective on everything and emotionally, physically, and possibly mentally affects other people. I learned from Coraline that you shouldn’t take things for granted, because if they slip away it cuts you deep in a way that you didn’t think you would feel. Coraline doesn’t really like her parents because they don’t give her enough attention and they don’t entertain her, but when she loses them because they are captured, she realizes that she loves them and would never want to lose them, so she learns to appreciate them and what they do for her. I’ve also learned that temptations are sometimes used to bribe others into doing stuff for them or for their own benefit. People love power and to dominate others because it makes them feel good, and like they own the world. This story has taught me that things happen for a reason, they make you a better person and they keep you modest, also they make you understand that things don’t happen because you are unlucky, they have a purpose, and so does every unique person in this world. Coraline benefited from her journey and adventures in this story and it changes her outlook on life.