Coraline-Hard Truths-Chapters 5 & 6

[Emily Spencer]

We continue our journey with Coraline, who is beginning to realize the consequences of her actions. Truth can be a very bitter pill to swallow at times, especially if one doesn't know how to go about rectifying the wrong they have done.

Please remember to use spoilers for those bits of the story that you discuss, but said discussion might be giving the plot away to people who haven't read Coraline yet.

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Chapter 5 Discussion

Read the chapter and, below, discuss it. You may write of anything from Chapter 5 (or previous chapters, as they tie into Chapter 5)...

If nothing else occurs to you to discuss, answer this question!

Coraline learns about the importance of choices and begins to realize that all choices have consequences. She chooses to confront her fear of the Other Mother head-on in order to rescue her parents. Given what we know about the Other Mother, do you believe that this was her best course of action? Would you have chosen the same actions as Coraline or come up with another solution?

Chapter 6 Discussion

Read the chapter and, below, discuss it. You may write of anything from Chapter 6 (or previous chapters, as they tie into Chapter 6)...

If nothing else occurs to you to discuss, answer this question!

Other Father tells Coraline that Other Mother is responsible for everything, suggesting that he is only an unwilling puppet. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think that erases his culpability or not? Or do you think it was merely a bid for sympathy?

Be sure to have at least 100 words in your discussions for each chapter to earn credit towards the awesome awards!



Remember that while there is no hurry to get this done, know that our Event ends and everything is due 11:59 PM, June 8th, HOL time.

Enjoy!

[River Fenwick]

Chapter 5:
Chapter five shows some growth from Coraline. Her parents are now trapped and no longer around, which has likely given Coraline some time to reflect and miss them despite her downfalls with them. I'm relieved that she seems to be an intelligent child, not believing everything she sees to be the truth, such as with the mirror illusion her other mother showed her of her parents in an attempt to turn her against them. It also clicked with me in this chapter that the fact of Coraline always being called the wrong name and the cat consistently refusing to be addressed by any name may be connected, as I'd assume it will result in a lesson regarding identity.

Chapter 6:
Chapter six got more in-depth about the other mother and the other world, with the other mother having created everything. By now, it's been reiterated that this other world is under the control of the other mother, who is a creature of some sort, as she seeks out Coraline's affection. However, since she puts Coraline in the mirror to learn manners, it becomes more evident that she wants something else she can control rather than actual affection from Coraline. The chapter seemed filled with prey vs. predator aspects, heavily showing that Coraline is the other mother's prey, especially when the cat made the simile of "Spiders' webs only have to be large enough to catch flies" in regards to how small the other mother made this other world.

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

I'm loving the book so far and kinda wish I got off my butt and read it years ago when I first saw the movie. (Still really love the movie but the book is, like usual, much better.)

Chapter Five

Oh boy, this chapter kicked up the creepy factor. I do feel for Coraline that none of the adults she talked to believed her when she said her parents were missing. When she told the Misses Spink and Forcible, she described them missing in such a way that it felt like a joke or a game. And the policeman just disregarding her entirely after finding her parents stuck in a mirror in their hallway. Though it's a bit understandable for the adults since Coraline was telling the truth, it is quite an unbelievable tale to be told. My heart broke for her when she started crying and slept in their bed until the black cat woke her up and took her to the mirror.

Her story about her dad and the wasps was very sweet in a weird way. Her dad standing still to be the target for the wasps so Coraline could get away is something I feel 99% of parents would do for their child. Her description of how someone can be brave is very true. Being scared but doing what you need to do is being very brave and she’s very brave to go back to the other world to save her parents from the other mother. Who has gotten even creepier than the last time we saw her. Her teeth being longer and her embrace being cold is very telling on how she can look and sound exactly like Coraline’s mother but never really be her.

Coraline making sure to get the hag stone as well as food shows how smart she is while also still showing how much of a young girl she is. Only took two apples and the hag stone while forgetting to take the key with her after she unlocked the door.

Chapter Six

My copy of the book has pictures at the start of each chapter and OH BOY this one was very creepy to see. Like, look at this. It’s so weird to look at.

I’m glad she has the hag stone since it helps keep her mind clear from whatever magic the Other Mother is using to try and make Coraline more compliant with her whims. Her discussion with the other father was very telling on what the Other Mother wants. She’s fixing doors, which probably means she’s locking Coraline in as much as possible and that the Other Mother used her powers to make the other world look exactly like where Coraline lives in the real world. She’s also trying to keep the cat out and I think it's because he’s not something she made and can help Coraline get away. Also the fact he looks so much like her real father but not at all and that he has a study just like her father’s but he doesn’t do the right things while in it shows how unsettling this all is for her. It's unsettling for me as I read it.

She picked up the snow globe with her parents in it and didn’t realize it. Oof.

I’m curious if the reason the trees didn’t open to a meadow or the tennis court was because it didn’t exist when the Other Mother made her home in the dimension in the house. But I believe Coraline is right about why the details got less and less and less until there was just the white misty-mess. The Other Mother didn’t care to make it go that far because she never thought any of her victims would go that far out. And she woulda been right if it was anyone other than Coraline.

Oh the ending of the chapter was the creepiest of all. The Other Mother eating the black beetles. The Other Mother standing up and becoming taller than she has been and looking less like Coraline’s real mother. A beetle stuck on the Other Mother’s mouth (I assume) as Coraline was taken to the room behind the mirror. The room being just all black like the void. Creepy creepy creepy.

[Emily Spencer]

I would agree that the creep factor has really ramped up in these chapters! LOL if I have nightmares it will be because of that picture that I can't get out of my mind now.

[Maeve Madden]

Chapter 5:
What really stood out to me in this chapter is how much Coraline is brushed off in regards to her missing parents. First, she brings up to Miss Spink and Miss Forcible that her parents have “vanished under mysterious circumstances.” The two women don’t even bat an eye and completely ignore her. Then, she phones the police and explains her circumstances (which, to be fair, sound outlandish); the policeman thinks Coraline is making up a story and doesn’t take her seriously. In my opinion, the policeman should have inquired more about Coraline’s missing parents. Even if he thought she was making up a story as to how they went missing, the bottom line is that they ARE missing. This really goes to show how much children can be ignored, even when they’re talking about serious things.

Chapter 6:
This chapter gives us a bit more insight into the Other Mother’s world, her personality, and her objectives. The world is small and really only exists around the house; as the cat said, “Spiders’ webs only have to be large enough to catch flies.” The Other Mother, who doesn’t appear in mirrors and who eats blackbeetles, continues to try and break Coraline down. Coraline doesn’t relent, however, and this earns her time in a small space behind the mirror.

My favourite part of this chapter is when the cat is playing with the rat, and Coraline is appalled. The cat replies with “There are those who have suggested that the tendency of a cat to play with its prey is a merciful one – after all, it permits the occasional funny little running snack to escape, from time to time. How often does your dinner get to escape?” This passage absolutely screams foreshadowing and it does it in such a clever way.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Chapter Five:
I do believe that it was Coraline’s best course of action to confront her fear of the Other Mother head-on, in order to rescue her parents. However, if I was in her position, I would do a couple more things before going against the Other Mother. First, I would share the entire incident with Miss Spink and Miss Forcible after learning about their apparent interest and knowledge of the supernatural. I think, if nothing else, they could have at least helped her some more, and chalked out a better course of action for her.

Also, if I were in place of Coraline, before going to face the Other Mother, I would have searched for a key maker and made several copies of the old black key. One copy would be hidden in the field outside, one copy for Miss Spink and Miss Forcible after telling them all about what was going on, one copy for the cat to hide somewhere so that it could fetch it whenever needed, and the last copy would be hidden inside my socks. This way, even if the Other Mother took away the original old black key, I would still have other copies to help me escape. However, one thing that I would have to take care of with this plan would be to prevent the mice from learning about it, and that would be the hard part.


Chapter Six:
I do believe that the Other Father was indeed innocent, and was just a puppet of the Other Mother, as she was the one who created him, and the entire world as well. The Other Father was simply another part of Coraline’s real life, that the Other Mother tried to imitate. And in such a world, the beings like the Other Father had no other option or personal choice. They had to do what they were made to, by the Other Mother, otherwise she would either destroy them or hurt them very badly.

Later in the story, when we see the following dialogue, it becomes even more evident, that there was some good in the Other Father, but he simply had no way to help or protect Coraline, until this moment when he says the following words.

“Run, child. Leave this place. She wants me to hurt you, to keep you here forever, so that you can never finish the game and she will win. She is pushing me so hard to hurt you. I cannot fight her.”

This shows, that the Other Father helped Coraline to the best of his abilities as soon as he could, and before this, on multiple occasions, we have seen how he was silenced by the Other Mother, whenever he said something that could raise suspicions in Coraline’s mind or help her.

So even if someone thinks he must be held accountable for his actions, I think, that he was in a position where trying to help would do nothing to actually help Coraline, but would lead to his destruction, so he waited as long as he could, so that he could do something that will actually help Coraline escape with her parents from the Other Mother’s clutches, which redeems him from any wrongdoings.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Chapter 5:
What really stood out to me in this chapter is how much Coraline is brushed off in regards to her missing parents. First, she brings up to Miss Spink and Miss Forcible that her parents have “vanished under mysterious circumstances.” The two women don’t even bat an eye and completely ignore her. Then, she phones the police and explains her circumstances (which, to be fair, sound outlandish); the policeman thinks Coraline is making up a story and doesn’t take her seriously. In my opinion, the policeman should have inquired more about Coraline’s missing parents. Even if he thought she was making up a story as to how they went missing, the bottom line is that they ARE missing. This really goes to show how much children can be ignored, even when they’re talking about serious things.
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Maeve, I totally agree with you on this. When I was reading the book, I was a bit irritated when Coraline tells Miss Spink and Miss Forcible about her missing parents, and they simply ignore it. It showed how self-obsessed they were, that after hearing about a child's missing parents, they do not even reply to it, and instead start talking about Miss Spink's niece and start showing her photos of her, as if nothing had happened. As for the police man, I think they receive such calls from children, a lot, and if Coraline had not described the outlandish stories of the Other Mother, he would have possibly taken it more seriously. But yes, I agree again, that despite his scepticism, he should have still checked it out, because children can often frame their words in a way that sounds funny or cute, but can actually mean something very serious, which they just could not interpret properly due to their immaturity.

[Adeline Morior]

Chapter 5

Although a lot happened, the biggest thing that stood out for me in this chapter was how wonderfully she is represented as the child that she is. Children often think themselves grown up enough so she takes care of herself in a very cute and childlike way. Making food she can make, getting the bath going but not knowing how to exactly and precisely measure the bubblebath and saying things as straightforward as her understanding goes like when she says her parents are missing, she is a one child family. The conversation with the police also made me smile as it was very innocent and cute. The other side of it was when she was shown this image of her parents being happy without her and speaking of being happy her other mother would take care of her. She almost believes it and never considered that they never knew about the other mother. To her, she saw something about something she knew and it played with her, making her doubt.
Although children often think they don’t need their parents, it was at this moment she realises she misses them and does need them. Thinking back on decisions she made that had consequences and her parents were there even though they suffered through them, they were still there.

Chapter 6

As children think they know who they are, they are still in fact discovering it. Playing imaginary things and being other characters in play is a part of discovering that so forgetting who she is reminds me of these things. I love how she is vaguely aware of what is not hers and tries to associate it with another ‘other’ child or version of herself. Something that stood out was the mirroring of the cat playing with the rat which almost hints towards how the other mother is ‘playing’ with Coraline. Predator and prey. You can also see the ‘comfort’ the other mother has started to take in Coraline already being her child so she hides less of the ugly of who she is and the world. She seems to become more careless in impressing Caroline in choosing to stay and have accepted more that she is already there and a part of the world. This is shown by her lack of care in the world, her appearance and the fact that she eats beetles in front of Coraline like candy. “A spider and its web” being the key hit to me in this chapter.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Chapter 5

Although a lot happened, the biggest thing that stood out for me in this chapter was how wonderfully she is represented as the child that she is. Children often think themselves grown up enough so she takes care of herself in a very cute and childlike way. Making food she can make, getting the bath going but not knowing how to exactly and precisely measure the bubblebath and saying things as straightforward as her understanding goes like when she says her parents are missing, she is a one child family. The conversation with the police also made me smile as it was very innocent and cute. The other side of it was when she was shown this image of her parents being happy without her and speaking of being happy her other mother would take care of her. She almost believes it and never considered that they never knew about the other mother. To her, she saw something about something she knew and it played with her, making her doubt.
Although children often think they don’t need their parents, it was at this moment she realises she misses them and does need them. Thinking back on decisions she made that had consequences and her parents were there even though they suffered through them, they were still there.
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I found this part very cute as well! The whole section made me giggle, and reminded me of my cousin sister. However, I found it a bit weird that the policeman did not even check it out when a child called him to report her missing parents. Children usually do not prank call without any reason, they might, but they do not always do so necessarily. And children have a tendency to frame their sentences using childish languages and analogies that make sense to them to explain real world "grown-up stuff", and it might often be rooted in a very serious issue. So as adults, we should not just dismiss their words, and actually verify if the children are in some sort of danger or facing some other problem.