RELATABLE CHARACTERS
I feel like Coraline is a very relatable character. I feel like she is relatable because she is going through a struggle that every kid feels like they have. Not getting enough attention. Her parents are always busy with work and don't have time to have quality time with her. "He had his back to the door as her typed. 'Go away," he said cheerfully as she walked in. 'I'm bored,' she said. 'Learn how to tap-dance,' he suggested, without turning around. Coraline shook her head. 'Why don't you play with me?' she asked. 'Busy,' he said. 'Working,' he added" (18). Coraline just wants to be loved and appreciated because her parents are busy and she has no siblings and no young people around her. She goes into this somewhat fantasy world and finds someone who wants to be around her and wants to love her. I know I sometimes go into my own world when I want to get away from the real world, so I could relate to her in that sense. I think that we can also relate to the other mother in some way too. She wants something in her life (Coraline) so badly, but it just won't stay around. At some point in our lives there has been something that we want so badly that we would do anything to get our hands on it. The other mother lures Coraline in with games and treats, and then kidnaps Coraline's parents when she gets away. Kind of like how we'll use bribes to get what we want.
I feel like Coraline is a very relatable character. I feel like she is relatable because she is going through a struggle that every kid feels like they have. Not getting enough attention. Her parents are always busy with work and don't have time to have quality time with her. "He had his back to the door as her typed. 'Go away," he said cheerfully as she walked in. 'I'm bored,' she said. 'Learn how to tap-dance,' he suggested, without turning around. Coraline shook her head. 'Why don't you play with me?' she asked. 'Busy,' he said. 'Working,' he added" (18). Coraline just wants to be loved and appreciated because her parents are busy and she has no siblings and no young people around her. She goes into this somewhat fantasy world and finds someone who wants to be around her and wants to love her. I know I sometimes go into my own world when I want to get away from the real world, so I could relate to her in that sense. I think that we can also relate to the other mother in some way too. She wants something in her life (Coraline) so badly, but it just won't stay around. At some point in our lives there has been something that we want so badly that we would do anything to get our hands on it. The other mother lures Coraline in with games and treats, and then kidnaps Coraline's parents when she gets away. Kind of like how we'll use bribes to get what we want.
SUSPENSE
In the novel Coraline, there are a few examples of suspense. The element of suspense adds a lot of excitement to the story. You get the feeling of suspense what Coraline opens the door in the drawing room and discovers that it is bricked off. "The door swung open. Her mother was right. The door didn't go anywhere. It opened into a brick wall" (9). You also get the feeling of suspense when she opens the door for a second time and there are no bricks anymore. "Then Coraline put her hand on the doorknob and turned it; and, finally, she opened the door. It opened on to a dark hallway. The bricks had gone as if they'd never been there" (26). Another example of suspense is when Coraline makes her way home and her parents are no where to be found. You have a small pit in your stomach because you have a small idea on what happened to them. When you finally do discover what happened to them, you then get worried about what the other mother has done to them. "She waited for her parents to come back. When it began to get dark, Coraline microwaved herself a frozen pizza... In the morning she went into her parents' room, but their bed hadn't been slept in, and they weren't around" (49, 50). A final moment of suspense is one I mustn't share with you for it would ruin the fun.
In the novel Coraline, there are a few examples of suspense. The element of suspense adds a lot of excitement to the story. You get the feeling of suspense what Coraline opens the door in the drawing room and discovers that it is bricked off. "The door swung open. Her mother was right. The door didn't go anywhere. It opened into a brick wall" (9). You also get the feeling of suspense when she opens the door for a second time and there are no bricks anymore. "Then Coraline put her hand on the doorknob and turned it; and, finally, she opened the door. It opened on to a dark hallway. The bricks had gone as if they'd never been there" (26). Another example of suspense is when Coraline makes her way home and her parents are no where to be found. You have a small pit in your stomach because you have a small idea on what happened to them. When you finally do discover what happened to them, you then get worried about what the other mother has done to them. "She waited for her parents to come back. When it began to get dark, Coraline microwaved herself a frozen pizza... In the morning she went into her parents' room, but their bed hadn't been slept in, and they weren't around" (49, 50). A final moment of suspense is one I mustn't share with you for it would ruin the fun.
DARK AND SCARY
Throughout the book, there are many creepy moments. One of the creepy moments is when Coraline walks into the other house, and sees her other mother. "She looked a little like Coraline's mother. Only... Only her skin was white as paper. Only she was taller and thinner. Only her fingers were too long, and they never stopped moving, and her dark red fingernails were curved and sharp... And then she turned around. Her eyes were big black buttons" (27, 28). Another sort of creepy part is when the cat starts to talk. "'Good afternoon,' said the cat" (35). A third creepy thing is when the other father tells Coraline that she can stay in the other world forever if she sews buttons on her eyes. "'If you want to stay,' said her other father, 'there's only one little things we'll have to do, so you can stay here for ever and always... It won't hurt'" (45). The next creepy moment is when Coraline comes home from the other world, and her real parents aren't there. "'Missing,' said Coraline. "'I haven't seen either of them since yesterday. I'm on my own. I think I've probably become a single child family'" (50). One of the most freakiest moments is when she sees her parents write "help us" in the fog of a mirror. "In the mirror Coraline's mother and father stared at her. Her father opened his mouth and said something, but she could hear nothing at all. Her mother breathed on the inside of the mirror glass, and quickly, before the fog faded, she wrote 'HELP US'" (53). Another experience that is a little strange that involves a mirror is when Coraline's other mother puts her inside of one to teach her a lesson. When she meets the ghost children inside of the mirror you become a little disturbed. "'You may come out when you've learned some manners,' said the other mother. "And when you're ready to be a loving daughter" (79). "And then her hand touched something that felt for all the world like somebody's cheek and lips, small and cold; and a voice whispered in her ear, 'Hush! And shush! Say nothing, for the beldam might be listening!'" (81). After she gets out she has an encounter with the other crazy man that lives upstairs in a strange room. "'Come here, little girl. I know what you want, little girl.' It was a rustling voice, scratchy and dry. It made Coraline think of some kind of enormous dead insect" (120). There are a few other dark and scary moments, but are hard to say without giving away the ending. So once again, I mustn't share with you for it would ruin the fun.
Throughout the book, there are many creepy moments. One of the creepy moments is when Coraline walks into the other house, and sees her other mother. "She looked a little like Coraline's mother. Only... Only her skin was white as paper. Only she was taller and thinner. Only her fingers were too long, and they never stopped moving, and her dark red fingernails were curved and sharp... And then she turned around. Her eyes were big black buttons" (27, 28). Another sort of creepy part is when the cat starts to talk. "'Good afternoon,' said the cat" (35). A third creepy thing is when the other father tells Coraline that she can stay in the other world forever if she sews buttons on her eyes. "'If you want to stay,' said her other father, 'there's only one little things we'll have to do, so you can stay here for ever and always... It won't hurt'" (45). The next creepy moment is when Coraline comes home from the other world, and her real parents aren't there. "'Missing,' said Coraline. "'I haven't seen either of them since yesterday. I'm on my own. I think I've probably become a single child family'" (50). One of the most freakiest moments is when she sees her parents write "help us" in the fog of a mirror. "In the mirror Coraline's mother and father stared at her. Her father opened his mouth and said something, but she could hear nothing at all. Her mother breathed on the inside of the mirror glass, and quickly, before the fog faded, she wrote 'HELP US'" (53). Another experience that is a little strange that involves a mirror is when Coraline's other mother puts her inside of one to teach her a lesson. When she meets the ghost children inside of the mirror you become a little disturbed. "'You may come out when you've learned some manners,' said the other mother. "And when you're ready to be a loving daughter" (79). "And then her hand touched something that felt for all the world like somebody's cheek and lips, small and cold; and a voice whispered in her ear, 'Hush! And shush! Say nothing, for the beldam might be listening!'" (81). After she gets out she has an encounter with the other crazy man that lives upstairs in a strange room. "'Come here, little girl. I know what you want, little girl.' It was a rustling voice, scratchy and dry. It made Coraline think of some kind of enormous dead insect" (120). There are a few other dark and scary moments, but are hard to say without giving away the ending. So once again, I mustn't share with you for it would ruin the fun.
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING
Coraline is a very descriptive novel. The detail keeps the book interesting, and gives you a very detailed mental picture. This was one of my favorite characteristics about the book because it kept me wanting to keep reading it so I could complete the story in my head. These are some of the many examples where Neil Gaiman gives you a descriptive picture: "She stared at the picture hanging on the wall: no, it wasn't the same. The picture they had in their own hallway showed a boy in old-fashioned clothes staring at some bubbles. But now the expression on his face was different-- he was looking at the bubbles as if he was planning to do something very nasty indeed to them. And there was something particular about his eyes" (27); "The rats formed a circle. Then they began to climb on top of each other, carefully but swiftly, until they had formed a pyramid with the largest rat on top" (31); "The largest rat climbed onto the old man's shoulders, swung up on the long gray mustache, past the big black button eyes, and onto the top of the man's head" (32); "Then they unbuttoned their fluffy round coats and opened them. But their coats weren't all that opened: their faces opened too, like empty shells, and out of the empty fluffy round bodies stepped two young women. They were thin, and pale, and quite pretty, and had black button eyes" (40, 41); "There were no regular clothes in the cupboard, though. They were more like dressing-up clothes or (she thought) the kind of clothes she would love to have hanging in her own wardrobe at home: there was a raggedy witch costume; a parched scarecrow costume; a future-warrior costume with little digital lights in it that glittered and blinked; a slinky evening dress all covered in feathers and mirrors. Finally, in a drawer, she found a pain of black jeans that seemed to be made of velvet night, and a gray sweater the color of thick smoke with faint and tiny stars in the fabric which twinkled" (69); "She carefully picked out a particularly large and black beetle, pulled off its legs (which she dropped, neatly, into a big glass ashtray on the small table beside the sofa), and popped the beetle into her mouth. She crunch it happily" (78); "Blood ran from the cuts on her white face-- not red blood but a deep, tarry black stuff" (131). The book is full of very descriptive passages that make it an absolute pleasure to read.
Coraline is a very descriptive novel. The detail keeps the book interesting, and gives you a very detailed mental picture. This was one of my favorite characteristics about the book because it kept me wanting to keep reading it so I could complete the story in my head. These are some of the many examples where Neil Gaiman gives you a descriptive picture: "She stared at the picture hanging on the wall: no, it wasn't the same. The picture they had in their own hallway showed a boy in old-fashioned clothes staring at some bubbles. But now the expression on his face was different-- he was looking at the bubbles as if he was planning to do something very nasty indeed to them. And there was something particular about his eyes" (27); "The rats formed a circle. Then they began to climb on top of each other, carefully but swiftly, until they had formed a pyramid with the largest rat on top" (31); "The largest rat climbed onto the old man's shoulders, swung up on the long gray mustache, past the big black button eyes, and onto the top of the man's head" (32); "Then they unbuttoned their fluffy round coats and opened them. But their coats weren't all that opened: their faces opened too, like empty shells, and out of the empty fluffy round bodies stepped two young women. They were thin, and pale, and quite pretty, and had black button eyes" (40, 41); "There were no regular clothes in the cupboard, though. They were more like dressing-up clothes or (she thought) the kind of clothes she would love to have hanging in her own wardrobe at home: there was a raggedy witch costume; a parched scarecrow costume; a future-warrior costume with little digital lights in it that glittered and blinked; a slinky evening dress all covered in feathers and mirrors. Finally, in a drawer, she found a pain of black jeans that seemed to be made of velvet night, and a gray sweater the color of thick smoke with faint and tiny stars in the fabric which twinkled" (69); "She carefully picked out a particularly large and black beetle, pulled off its legs (which she dropped, neatly, into a big glass ashtray on the small table beside the sofa), and popped the beetle into her mouth. She crunch it happily" (78); "Blood ran from the cuts on her white face-- not red blood but a deep, tarry black stuff" (131). The book is full of very descriptive passages that make it an absolute pleasure to read.
Coraline's Busy Father. Illustration. 2010. Ktismatics. Ktismatics. Web. 4 June 2014.
Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. Illustration. n.d. Coraline Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. Rebloggy. Web. 4 June 2014.
Parents Trapped in Mirror. Illustration. n.d. Coraline. Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 4 June 2014.
Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. Illustration. n.d. Coraline Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. Rebloggy. Web. 4 June 2014.
Parents Trapped in Mirror. Illustration. n.d. Coraline. Rotten Tomatoes. Web. 4 June 2014.