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Conflict:
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Coraline’s external conflict was against her other mother and herself. The other mother doesn’t understand that Coraline does not want to stay with her forever. She just wants to free the ghost children and her missing parents. Including with saving the children and her parents, her other mother is being a witch and playing tricks on Coraline. She just wants to be freed from the other world that the other mother has trapped her in. Coraline doesn’t want to become a soulless child with button eyes. Can Coraline save the children, find her parents, and get by her wicked other mother or will she be held captive there forever and get buttons sewed to her eyes?
Support (1):
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Coraline: Other Mother:
Character Traits:

Character Traits:

Curious Evil
Intelligent Persuasive
Appearance:

Adventurous Addicted to Children
Appearance:

c * Classic Look Vintage Look * Dark Brown Hair Stringy Black Hair * **********************************************************************
Sunken Eyes Long Red Nails
Mood/Tone:
Mood: The book made me feel very sad and depressed for poor Coraline because the way the god awful other mother was treating her.
Tone: Neil Gaiman’s language gave so many feelings, for example, when Coraline described the dark cellar. He really describes his work to make a clear visual picture in your mind.

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Setting:
Coraline takes place in one whole area, but it is broken up into sections. * Coraline’s Flat * The Other Flat * Miss Spink & Miss Forcible’s Flat * The Other Spink & Miss Forcible’s Flat * Mister BoBo’s Flat *
The Other Mister BoBo’s Flat

1.)
Textual Evidence:
The first time Coraline went down into the cellar was to look for her lost parents. The other father was thrown down there for punishment, by the other mother. He supposedly made the other mother upset because he told Coraline to much of her plan. The enforcement of the other mother made the other father attack Coraline, even though he didn’t want to. To protect her she pulled out the buttons of the other father and he collapsed on the floor (pages 108-114). The last time Coraline and the other mother communicated the other mother said, “Well, produce them. Would you like to look in the cellar again? I have some other interesting things hidden down there, you know (page 129).”
The other mother included that when her other father attacked her, that was only one of the many mischievous thing the other mother did to Coraline.
2.)

One of Coraline’s internal struggles in the text was when she’s going up against herself. She has to repeatedly tell herself that she’s not scared when she knows she was. For example,
“It was grayish white, twice the size of Coraline herself, and it was stack to the back wall like a slug. Coraline took a deep breath. “I’m not afraid,” she told herself. “I’m not.” She did not believe herself, but she scrambled up onto the old stage, fingers sinking into the rotting wood as she pulled herself up (page 100). As you can tell that Coraline was really trying to be strong and keep moving forward, because children, parents, and her lives were at stake. Even though if she was really scared, what counts was that she made an effort to keep going.
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Habits:
The other mother constantly tells Coraline that she loves her, however does she really? If she loved Coraline so much, wouldn’t she have let her go back to her real family? If Coraline was her top priority, why would she put her in dangerous situations that may cause death? In the book, Coraline also started questioning her for her so called love. For example,
“You know I love you,” said the other mother flatly.
“You have a very funny way of showing it,” said Coraline (page 127).
In the scene of the book, I understand what Coraline was talking about. I would not feel like somebody loved me, if they held me captive and treated me like the other mother like she did.
*************************************************************************Solution:
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The solution of Coraline was a much relived ending. After Coraline saved the soulless children, found her parents, escaped the other mother, and got back home into her own flat, it was the first solution. Discovering that she was still in danger by a dream, scared Coraline, but being an intelligent person gave her an advantage. A piece of the beldam, or other mother was on the same side as Coraline. But what could be a part of the other mother that had the capability of crossing sides? The beldam’s hand, which had five inch nails that could scratch like no other, even gave one of Miss Spink’s dogs a gash in its side. The hand not only wanted revenge on Coraline, but also the key to the door; Coraline had the key on a string around her neck to keep it safe. She knew that somehow the hand would get her, so she had to think fast and get the key hidden were the other mother would never find it. One day Coraline set up a tea party by the tennis courts close to her home. She knew the hand would be there listening, so to intensify her noise she started to sing. While singing she laid a blanket over an ancient well that went at least a half mile down. Coraline sat the dolls and tea cups along the edge of the well. Very carefully she placed the key and the string in the center of the blanket hoping that it wouldn’t fall through. Coraline turned her back on purpose listening for the hand the jump out. Eventually, the hand came sprinting out of know where and leaped on the center of the blanket for the key. Before the hand knew it, she was collapsing down in a well that she would never be able to climb out of. Coraline was very happy and proud of herself for all that she had done and relieved that it was finally over.
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Explanation: I simply chose to stick with the way Neil Gaiman wrote the story because it seemed like he was wrapping up the story. And then surprisingly he comes out with this hand that’s very dangerous. If the book didn’t contain everything it has right now it would just feel like something’s always missing. The book just gives you a thrill ride experience, and there no way that it could be better than how it already is right now. In the book Coraline, there is a great exciting conflict and a bumpy solution, and I just love it.
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Support (2):
Coraline visits Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. They ask to read here tea leaves and immediately they are astounded.
“You know, Caroline,” she said, after a while, “you are in terrible danger (page 20).”
After Miss Spink says that, it’s foreshadowing that something is going to happen to Coraline.
Coraline also become fishy when Mister Bobo tells her something that she knows part of, but she doesn’t understand all of it.
“The mice have a message for you,” he whispered. Coraline didn’t know what to say. “The message is this. Don’t go through the door.” He paused (page 16).” After Coraline had a bad experience with the other mother and rushed home, she found her parents were missing. The whole night she was very scared and lonely. When walking down the hall something caught her eye. “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
SU PLEH with the tip of her forefinger (page 53).” Out of the whole book, that paragraph gave me the most chills. It really makes you feel the sad and depressed emotions. The other mothers punishment is very abusive and in the book it gives you this sensation to just want the go attack her. For example, “She picked Coraline up and pushed her into the dim space behind the mirror. A fragment of beetle was sticking to her lower lip, and there was no expression at all in her black button eyes (page 79-80).” Finally, Coraline realized what she wanted and told the other mother with strength and power. “I don’t want your love,” said Coraline. “I don’t want anything from you (page 106).” It gives the book a proud moment and really lifts the spirits of the audience.