Coraline - the Beginning - Chapters 1 & 2

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Emily is allowing Sky and me join in with this Spring Read Along featuring Coraline. \o/ I won the paper, rock, scissors game and get to post for Chapters 1 and 2.

Please refresh your memory of how we are doing this Read Along with Emily's post here in Book Club.

Also, for these chapters, and subsequent chapters, if it occurs to you that what you write might be spoilers for people who join in on this activity later on, please use the 'Spoiler' option above. No one wants to read that the butler did it ....

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First off, I didn't want to do Coraline as a Read Along. 'Why?' you might ask.

Answer: It is terrifying.

There are a few things about Coraline which are not terrifying:
1) ISBN: 0-380-97778-8 [978-0-380-97778-9]; Publisher: HarperCollins
2) The author, the genius who wrote Coraline, is Neil Gaiman.
3) The book is copyright 2002 (with several editions published since then).
4) An odd coincidence with the date of copyright -- the movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, came out in 2002.

That said, have you heard of Coraline before? You have maybe heard of Neil Gaiman (author of Neverwhere, Stardust, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Good Omens, Norse Mythology, American Gods, and many many other books and comics), but have you heard of Coraline before?

Your answer can be part of the discussion for Chapters 1 and 2. Speaking of which, let's jump into the Chapters for this week.

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Chapter One - Discussion

Read the chapter and, below, discuss it. You may write of anything of Chapter 1.

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

What would you do if a door, which was locked, was unlocked and opened onto a brick wall?

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Chapter Two - Discussion

Again, read the chapter and discuss it below (in the same post that you've started for Chapter One).

Does nothing jump out at you to discuss? If not, try this!

Who are Angus, Hamish and Bruce? Why do you think they are in the story?

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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!

Okay, maybe not enjoy because the story acquires some terrifying aspects and it gets difficult to read if it is a dark and stormy night, but other than that, enjoy .....

[River Fenwick]

Chapter 1:
I've heard of the movie based on this book, though I've never actually watched or read either. The first chapter of Coraline shows how much of a child she is. She's curious and bored while stuck inside the house due to the rain. She seems a bit lonely and misunderstood, with her parents busy with work, though they try to give her tasks to occupy her mind. Her neighbors call her by the wrong name, despite her correcting them multiple times in this chapter, and I'm sure plenty before these events occurred. The door that leads to nowhere is given a great emphasis, so I guess it will significantly affect the story later on. The singing dream at the end of the chapter solidifies the creep factor of this book for me.

Chapter 2:
The second chapter makes me feel that something is definitely off about everything, especially concerning that door. Despite the mother saying there was no point in locking that door, Coraline discovered it to be locked again when she checked in this chapter. I thought the strange neighbors were typical neighbors: you have to accept that they're a bit weird, but it's not your business. However, the fact that the older man's rats had a message that called her by her correct name when he believed it was "Caroline" and warned her of the door suggests that perhaps some things (the rats, at least) know a great deal about it. The women downstairs read Coraline's tea leaves, which told of her being in danger, furthering the point that something was going on with that door. There's foreshadowing, and then there's straight-up telling like this is doing.

[Anne-Marie Gagne]

Before getting into the chapters, I have heard of Coraline before! I actually heard of Neil Gaimen when I first heard of Coraline, which was when I saw the movie for the first time. I've since then been meaning to read the book (and his other works) but I never really got around to it so this activity really gave me that push to do so! I'm excited to see what the movie changed and what it kept the same from the book.

Now to the chapter discussions!

For chapter one, Coraline exploring around is very similar to the movie, which isn't much of a surprise really! It's interesting to read her thoughts as she goes around instead of just seeing them play out on her face. If I had moved to an old home with a large area of land around it like the Joneses, I'd be just like Coraline and be exploring every nook and cranny I could. But unlike Coraline, I'd also probably read or watch movies when it was raining so much that I couldn't go outside. And as a little side note, I've never heard movies be called videos before but it makes sense since they were on video cassettes still in the early 2000s. Even probably still used by some people once DVDs started being the popular form to get movies.

About the locked door that just opened to a brick wall, I'd probably make sure to lock it back! Just because it was bricked up doesn't mean we need to unlock it. It may be redundant but the apartment on the other side won't be empty forever and it's just better to keep it locked up. Or at least, that's what my dad would say and I'd most likely just agree with him haha!

Now to chapter two!

The first change between book and movie so far is that Coraline's coat is blue in the book but yellow in the movie. But Coraline's hair is blue in the movie so having a yellow coat makes sense. Also, mist and fog in any media always gives me the heebie jeebies. Anything could be hiding in there! Which is the point for most horror genre media pieces. You'll never know what's there until it's too late. Unlike Coraline, I wouldn't go outside in that unless I absolutely had too. I'd probably explore the house more or read a book.

Hearing that the old man's mice have said to not go in the door and then the tea leaves saying I was in danger would have me really freaked out. Especially since they got Coraline's name correct while the old man still calls her "Caroline" despite being corrected numerous times by her. I would be checking that little door everyday to make sure it was locked and if one day it wasn't, I'd keep the key on me to lock it each time it was unlocked. Though it getting unlocked despite me having the key would have me asking my parents to move again even though I know they wouldn't.

[Maeve Madden]

Ever since the movie came out in 2009, I have loved Coraline. However… this is the first time I’ve ever read the book (thank you Spring Read Along team for gently nudging me to finally read it!).

Chapter 1:
The book starts off by painting a picture of Coraline and her life at her new house. She loves to explore and spends the first few weeks at her new house discovering the grounds. Her flat neighbours are eccentric and get her name wrong multiple times, even though Coraline corrects them. Her downstairs neighbours, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, make a point to warn her about the well on the property. Coraline immediately sets off to find the well. I bet that this well makes another appearance at some point in the book, as it seems important. Coraline looking for the well even after her neighbours’ warning shows how brave and curious she is, further developing her character.

The song that appears in Coraline’s dream at the end of the chapter is for sure creepy and sets the mood for the rest of the book. I was left wanting to know more about who or what was singing and why they appeared in Coraline’s dream.

Chapter 2:
The chapter starts off benign enough. Until the man upstairs gives Coraline a message from his mice: “Don’t go through the door”. This spooked me! I wonder where the mice got this message. Then, Coraline’s tea leaves read that she’s in danger… This chapter is definitely creepier than the first one.

Coraline’s parents continue to brush her off and ignore her, and because of the mist, she can’t explore the property as well as she wants to. I really felt for Coraline while reading this chapter. I could feel her boredom and sadness about being ignored by her parents, and I could feel her unease about the mice’s message and her tea leaf reading.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Chapter One:
If a door that was locked, was unlocked and opened onto a brick wall, personally I would definitely find it very creepy and odd. Now firstly, I would always inspect a house thoroughly before purchasing, so if there was such an oddity, I would never buy it. But for a moment, let’s assume I did, and now I cannot just immediately sell the house off. So I would have to deal with it one way or another. At this point, I would have three choices. My first choice would be to close and lock the door and forget about it. My second choice would be to remove the door, plaster the brick wall and paint it to match the rest of the wall. My third choice would be to break the brick wall, and inspect whatever is behind it. However, I would never dare do this alone, so I would seek help from someone close, perhaps a friend or relative. If anything suspicious or odd is found behind the wall, I would immediately inform the law enforcement authorities. If it turns out that there was some kind of treasure behind the wall, I would give the person who helped me a share of it and keep the rest.

Chapter Two:
Angus, Hamish and Bruce are Miss Spink and Miss Forcible’s pet Scottish Terriers. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are Coraline’s neighbours, who live downstairs, under Coraline’s flat. Both of the ladies were actresses when they were younger, and now that they were retired, unmarried and did not have any children, in my opinion, they probably decided to adopt the Scottish Terriers to keep them company. Also, the fact that Scotties are known to be good alarm dogs, can also be a contributing factor for security purposes, since both Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are old, hence having alarm dogs can be very beneficial to keep out any intruders.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

Ever since the movie came out in 2009, I have loved Coraline. However… this is the first time I’ve ever read the book (thank you Spring Read Along team for gently nudging me to finally read it!)....

Maeve, I totally agree with that part. When I saw the movie for the first time in 2013, I loved it too! But I was never a reader as a child, so I never got around to reading it. But now, thanks to Spring Read Along, I have started reading the book, and I must say that I have been thoroughly enjoying it so far. I have also been watching the movie in parts, to give myself a refresher.

[Adeline Morior]

I vaguely remember the movie and never read the book before. I am immediately in love it from the first chapter. So thank you for this read.

Chapter 1

Coraline is through and through an innocent child being one hundred percent her weird and quirky self. I deeply resonate with how she sees the world and questions everything. I myself was like this. I see she has a deep love for exploration and animals. A fascination for anything new. She is as children are, set and convinced of what she likes and dislikes. What would I do if a door, which was locked, was unlocked and opened onto a brick wall? Close it. As a child I would investigate it thoroughly and then make sure it is locked. I love doors. I would play with it often. I love locks and keys. If I saw it open after it was closed, now I would freak out and lock it, then as a child, I would try and catch what opened it.

Chapter 2

As exploratory as the first chapter is, I find the next to be deeper concerning the people that came off as silly and unimportant. For instance the seemingly little mad neighbour with the rats that have a lot more than meets the eye. It shows a disconnect between the adults and a connection between what is happening with Coraline and her love for animals and exploration. With the two lady neighbours the same happens. They mention they have dogs, which I believe to show a parallel to the animals' connection and the adults' disconnection. Lastly I would like to mention the connection with fear in adults versus children. Coraline found the idea of danger exciting while her mother ended up locking a bricked up wall probably by my guess because it was unnerving to her in the back of her mind.

Really, really enjoying this story so far.

[Dibyarup James Potter]

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Lastly I would like to mention the connection with fear in adults versus children. Coraline found the idea of danger exciting while her mother ended up locking a bricked up wall probably by my guess because it was unnerving to her in the back of her mind.
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Adeline, I found your whole analysis really interesting, but when I read this last part, something that immediately popped into my mind was the following dialogue between Coraline and her mother.

“You didn’t lock it,” said Coraline.
Her mother shrugged. “Why should I lock it?” she asked.
“It doesn’t go anywhere.”

Now that shows, how we as adults sometimes ignore odd things at first, considering it not worth our time, until suddenly when we are not busy, we get a thought which strikes us about the oddity, and only then we truly think about it and try to deal with it if possible. But children, on the other hand, will often notice these things immediately, and they would question it, and upon seeing the adults not find it out, they would be slightly confused and that ultimately sparks their curiosity even more about this odd thing.

Which is why Coraline comes back to the door later on because she is curious, only to find it locked, possibly because her mother later realised how odd it was, despite her initial reaction.