“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman
“Coraline” is a story about a little girl that is on a quest for adventure. She is the type of little girl that always wants to be busy learning things and gaining new experiences. She is constantly looking for attention but due to being the only child and having very busy parents she feels neglected. Later on in the book she finds a doorway that at first glance is a doorway that serves no purpose. It’s a portal to a new dimension. She meets a replica of her parents, neighbors, and animals in that other world. This is a place where her parents and neighbors are complete opposites and she feels like she is getting all the adventure and attention she craved. The worlds collide and she even loses her real parents in the process. This is a journey of a child becoming an adult.
Joseph Campbell has a book named “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” and I found a chart that represents the key points here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heroesjourney.svg. Coraline is a hero in many ways. She not only rescued her family but she also rescued herself. Coraline got called to the adventure when she discovered that the door was open and led to some other destination. She received supernatural aid when she discovered that the cat could speak and he gave her advice to make sure to protect herself. She hits a transformation point when she experiences the difference between the real and “other world”. She begins to understand that the “other world” may seem great but she is not willing to give up her parents or real home. That was the biggest challenge and temptation and that demonstrates a sense of maturity in a child that is as young as Coraline.
Coraline’s revelation is when she returns home after being told that she must get rid of her eyes and let her “other mother” sew buttons as a replacement. Then she sees her parent’s as prisoners of the “other mother” in a mirror. She realizes that she has to return to the “other world” and save them. The transformation is when she tricks the “other mother” and finds the way to save her real parents. Atonement has to be when her family is set free and they manage to escape from the “other mother”, all thanks to her magic stone and bravery. I believe that the gift of the goddess is when she realizes that she made the right decision when she got home. She chose to live the not so interesting life that she had because it was the right thing to do. She is not willing to compromise her life or her parent’s life for a nice dinner and attention, she knew there was more to life and that’s what makes her a true hero.
After taking the Caroline Pearson’s archetypes quiz I figured out that I am an altruist. An altruist is a person who exudes selflessness. This person is a giving person, and a person that put everyone else’s needs before their own. Coraline shows some traits that are compared to the traits that an altruist would have. For example, Coraline saw her parents trapped in a mirror asking her for help. If she was any other ordinary child she would’ve been frightened and not even try just because it was scary. But being the true altruist that she is she went to rescue her parents since she caused the dilemma. On page 53 it says, “Coraline turned on the light in the hall. The mirror showed the corridor behind her; that was only to be expected. But in reflected in the mirror were her parents. They stood awkwardly in the reflection of the hall. They seemed sad and alone. As Coraline watched, they waved to her, slowly, with limp hands. Coraline’s father had his arm around her mother.” She witnesses her parents in danger and being trapped. This causes her to react and try to make things right. On page 54 it says, “She walked into her father’s study. She sat down at his desk. Then she picked up the telephone, and she opened the phonebook and telephoned the local police.” Ultimately this did no good and she had to take matters into her own hands. She had to be an altruist. She had to rescue her parents herself. This was the beginning of a true altruist hero.
Coraline has a lot to do with “Goblin Market” because they are both speaking about young women who fall into temptation and afterwards ends up hurting someone close to them because of that weak moment. It was said in Coraline on page 9, “She shut the door and put the string of keys back on top of the kitchen doorframe. ‘You didn’t lock it,’ said Coraline. Her mother shrugged. ‘Why should I lock it?’ she asked. “It doesn’t go anywhere.” If Coraline was told that the door had no significance, why would she try to go back? Well that curiosity caused her and her parents to have a harmful experience. In “Goblin Market” one of the sisters knew that she should not eat any of the things that the goblins were offering but her curiosity caused her to want a taste and that also caused harm to her and her sister who had to rescue her and jeopardize her own life. These two have that natural sense of curious adventure. They want to experience the unknown and feed off the excitement of being able to get a full experience because they feel that their lives seem so dull. A good example of a symbol is the warnings. Coraline received a warning from the cat and one sister received a warning from another sister about the fruit. These two young women are very similar.
I believe that every story needs a form of a monster to make it realistic or even relevant to anything. A monster does not have to be something that is obvious like a werewolf, or vampire. It could be a regular person that is trying to do harm and would hurt anyone with any type of regret. A monster is a person that has no morals, or values like a villain. In “Coraline” the “other mother” is a monster figuratively and later on physically when she becomes a witch. Her “other mother” leads her to believe that everything is good, and everything will be for the best interest of Coraline. But later on the “other mother” shows her true identity and her hidden agenda. This is a form of a monster because her “other mother” does not care about the well being of Coraline. The other mother only cares about conquering Coraline’s soul. People choose to constantly put monsters in books, art, even television commercials, because it’s something that everyone can relate to. I believe it’s a good idea because it helps generate the mind and warn you that monsters come in many forms. To explain it in simple terms everyone loves to be scared, and experience a true villain because a hero always emerges from those circumstances.
