Coraline: The Graphic Novel

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While the writing style is descriptive and child-like in nature, the tone of the novel is calm and curious. It does not betray any emotions and carries on in a level-headed manner even if there are frightening circumstances occurring in the story. Such a tone makes it easy for children to read, as it does not require the use of complicated sentences or words.

The story in Coraline graphic novel follows the creepy adventure of Coraline Jones, a young intelligent and courageous girl who likes to explore. She lives with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. Both her parents love and care about her very much, but they are often too busy to spend time with her. This situation makes Caroline grow into an independent and adventurous girl. Schwartz, Dana (18 October 2017). "Neil Gaiman would love to see a Sandman parody on The Simpsons". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 29 October 2017.Coraline is constantly bored and looking for ways to spice up her everyday life. She often turns towards her imagination to make her life better. Once, when she was asked where she had gone, Coraline makes up a story about alien abduction that is much more exciting than the mundane reality. The fact that Coraline has a vivid imagination calls the truth of her adventure into question. Did she really meet with the Other Mother in the parallel universe or was it all just her imagination? Mr. Bobo – A retired circus performer living in the flat above Coraline's; he is commonly referred to as the Crazy Old Man Upstairs. Over the course of the book, he claims to be training mice to perform in a mouse circus, and often brings Coraline messages from them. His Other World counterpart however, trains rats and is in fact made of rats. Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - Charlie Jones – Coraline's father works at his house on the computer which he spends most of his time on his job. He cares about Coraline very much and is very nice, gentlemanly, handsome, and helpful. But like Coraline's mother, she finds him rather boring.

At first glance, everything feels better in the other world, her other parents are there for her, the food tastes better, her neighbors are more interesting. However, everything changes when Coraline’s other mother persuades her to have the button eyes to become one with the other world and live forever there. Coraline then meets the ghosts of the children from the past who had let their other mothers put the button eyes. Coraline Jones – Coraline is the 11-year-old main character. She is a young explorer who is curious, intelligent, resourceful, and courageous. Coraline is often irritated by rain, crazy grown-ups (as they all seem to be), and not being taken seriously because of her young age. She is described as being "small for her age". Rudd, David " An Eye for an 'I': Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and the Question of Identity" Children’s Literature and Education 39(3), 2008, pp.159–168 The next day, Coraline visits her neighbors who warn her of impending danger and arm her with a protective stone.

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The souls of the ghost children are set free and Coraline’s parents have no recollection of any of the incidents that occurred in the parallel universe. The button eyes of the Other Mother and the Other Father are the main distinguishing features between the parallel universe and the original universe. The buttons represent the inhumanness of the Other Mother and her evil nature. They prevent Coraline from understanding the Other Mother beyond a certain extent and thereby provide a more menacing air to the beldam. The buttons are also representative of the loss of virtue and morality, as Coraline is expected to sew on the button eyes onto her own face by the Other Mother. The Ghost Children – The spirits of three children who were previous victims of the Beldam: two girls and one boy. The boy is described as having a dirty face and red trousers. One of the girls has brown hair, a pink blouse, and a pink skirt. The other has a brown bonnet and brown dress. They were trapped by the Beldam at different times before Coraline, and reside in the dark space behind the mirror. After having their souls restored, they go to the afterlife. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Mel Jones – Coraline's mother works at her house on the computer. She is very busy most of the time, and sometimes a little inattentive, but she loves and cares about Coraline. She is married to Mr. Jones, Coraline's father. She is pretty, nice, helpful, and outgoing, though Coraline considers her to be rather boring.

Mr. Jones – Coraline's father. He is usually found working at the house on his computer. He cares about Coraline very much and is kind, brave, and helpful. He makes "creative" food creations that Coraline strongly dislikes. He, too, is usually too busy to spend time with Coraline. April Spink& Miriam Forcible – A retired actress who live next door to Coraline. They own several Scottie dogs, and talk in theater jargon, often referencing their time as actresses. They recognize the danger Coraline is in after reading her fortune through tea leaves and give her a stone with a hole in it to help protect her. Their copies in the Other Mother's world are young, pretty, and perform forever in front of the Scottie dogs, who in the Other Mother's world behave like humans. However, during the Other Mother's dangerous game the copies are reshaped into an amalgamated spider-like creature and encased in a silken cocoon to serve as guardians for one of the Three Ghost Children's souls. Coraline also learns to find contentment in her everyday reality. She understands that there is magic in the mundane and the boring, and learns to appreciate what she has. The key to the door at the end of the corridor represents safety and freedom. Coraline and the Other Mother undergo a fierce fight for the key, with Coraline emerging victorious in the end. Coraline also cleverly ensures her safety by trapping the key itself, thereby preventing the Other Mother from getting a hold of it for the rest of her life. Coraline Jones – The young heroine and self proclaimed explorer, she is young, clever, curious, resourceful, and brave. Coraline is often irritated by rain, crazy grown-ups (as they all seem to be), and not being taken seriously because of her young age and quiet demeanour, though perhaps her biggest annoyance is that everyone mistakes her name for Caroline (everyone in the real world at least, except the mice and her parents). She also likes apples and limeade, which she finds very curious.

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Despite being a 9-year-old girl, Coraline is fairly self-sufficient. Since her parents are always busy and have no time to play with her, Coraline learns to amuse herself and keep herself busy. In the absence of her parents, she is even able to sustain for 3 whole days by herself. Coraline is also capable of defeating the Other Mother through her own courageous spirit and witty personality – although she is not opposed to receiving help when required. The writing style of Coralineis simple, matter of fact, and child-like. The story is narrated from a third-person limited perspective from the point of view of the protagonist, a young 9-year-old girl named Coraline Jones. The narrative, therefore, focuses on descriptions of actions and surroundings, and simply “tells it like it is.” For instance, read this quote from Coraline, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible – A pair of retired actresses who live in the flat under Coraline's. They own many aging Scotties and talk in theater jargon, often referencing their time as actresses. In the Other World, they are youthful and perform continuously in front of many different dogs, who, in the Other World, are anthropomorphic. See Neil speaking about his new novel, Fortunately, the Milk, a time-travelling adventure for young readers featuring aliens, dinosaurs, volcano gods and a pint of milk that saves the universe!