The Impact of Childhood Experiences on Protagonist’s Identity in 'Coraline'

Neil Gaiman’s books feature young protagonists who are not like other ‘normal’ kids of their age. The protagonists are precocious, naturally curious to explore. Neil Gaiman's books have a fairy tale aspect combined with dark themes and follow a similar pattern. In Neil Gaiman’s book Coraline parental neglect causes the protagonist to explore which leads her to come to face with evil and fearful challenges. Her childhood occurrences ultimately shape her own identity.

In the book Caroline, a ten-year-old girl named Coraline lives with her parents that moved into an old house. She is an only child and is surrounded by old ladies who read tea leaves and the old man who trains mice as neighbors. Caroline loves exploring, but her parents are workaholics. Parents are depicted in front of their computers, physically present, but mentally absent. “Coraline shook her head. ‘Why don't you play with me?’ she asked. ‘Busy,’ he said. ‘Working,’ he added. He still hadn't turned around to look at her”. Coraline asks her father to spend some time with her, but he won’t even look at her, busy with his work. Coraline wants the attention as kids her age usually do, but her father is unable to provide the care she needs. Coraline's mom also doesn't seem to be listening to her and continues to ignore her. Coraline is often asked to “go away,” “draw something” “read a book, watch a video,” or “count all the doors and windows” so that her parents can get on with their work. Coraline feels ignored and is left nothing to do since she has already done those things.

Caroline goes out exploring that led her into an alternative reality. The house she lives in is dull, and her parents are too busy to entertain her. She has also exhausted all the exploring there is to do around the house. When moving to this house, Coraline notices a locked door in her house but there is a brick wall behind it. Her curiosity about this forbidden space leads her to open it with a key. When she opens the door, there's a hallway back there. It is a magical port which takes her to the Other World, a better reality she has always dreamed of. At the end of the tunnel, Coraline’s Other Parents are waiting for her. Coraline joins them in the alternative reality. “Coraline’s other mother brought them lunch…It was the best chicken that Coraline had ever eaten. Her mother sometimes made chicken, but it was always out of packets or frozen, and was very dry, and it never tasted of anything”. The other parents are sweet, nothing like her boring and uninterested real parents. They load Coraline's plate with food, flatter her and charm her which her real parents had never done. In this reality, she gets the best food which her real mom could never cook. The other parents are more attentive than Coraline’s real parents, particularly the other Mother, who does everything she can to impress Coraline. She seems like a perfect mom.

Even though everything seemed perfect in the alternative world, there is something off. Everyone has shiny black buttons for eyes, her other mother, other father, and other neighbors. “On a china plate on the kitchen table was a spool of black cotton, and a long silver needle, and, besides them, two large black buttons. ‘I don’t think so,’ said Coraline. ‘Oh, but we want you to,’ said her other mother.’ We want you to stay’”. In this scene, the other parents present black buttons to Coraline. They offer her a chance to stay in the other world forever if Coraline will allow buttons to be sewn into her eyes. Now, the perfect world doesn’t seem perfect anymore as the black eye symbolizes stealing one's freedom. Coraline has always had freedom to do what she wants as her real parents aren’t attentive. Coraline realizes that the other mother is binding her victims to herself in order to gain authority over them and now is taking her freedom. The other mother wants Coraline to see things only from her distorted perspective, not having her own thoughts, her own life.

Coraline consequences of opening the door catch up to her and she fears the alternative reality. “Coraline pulled away from the other mother, left the drawing room, and passed before the mirror in the hallway. There was nothing reflected in it but a young girl who looked like she had been crying, but whose eyes were real eyes, not black buttons. ‘I will be brave. No, I am brave!’’’.Coraline had realized that this alternative reality has the mere illusion and a scary imitation of the real world. She needs the reassures to look at her reflection and see that she still has her own real eyes, not the black buttons. She repeats that she is brave in order to convince herself that she can escape this reality, and tolerant the other mother. Coraline has also witnessed the other mother turning into her true self as a monstrous spider-like witch with a bony face and hands fashioned from sewing machines. This form is referred to as the beldam as her aggressiveness and anger are very vividly presented. She puts up a brave front in order to overcome the other mother. . Coraline fear makes her realize that she just wants everything to return to what it was like before she opened the door and forget about this alternative reality.

At this point in the story, Coraline has already realized that she must overcome her fear and fight this horrific nightmare. Her parents are taken away by the mother and now she must overcome her fear and bring back her parents and return to how it was before she opened the door. '’Yes,’ said Coraline. I'm not frightened, she told herself, and as she thought it she knew that it was true” Coraline says she isn't frightened and then realizes she's actually telling the truth about how she feels. This is an uplifting moment and a character development. She becomes very perceptive, which she was not at the start, she is more mature and aware of herself and others.

Coraline's curiosity had led her in trouble and must rely on her wits and bravery to save herself and others. She plays the evil mother in her own game to defeat. “What exactly are you offering?’ ‘Me,’ said Coraline, and she gripped her knees under the table, to stop them from shaking. ‘If I lose I'll stay here with you forever ....”. In order to save her parents, Coraline challenges the other mother to a game, since she never turns down a good game. If she can find her parents and the eyes of the ghost children, everyone goes free; if she loses, she will stay in the other World forever and have the buttons sewn into her eyes. Despite being sacred of the outcome, she is dedicated to pass this fearful challenge and defeat the other mother.

In the beginning, she feels limited by her real parents and aggravated that they don’t pay attention. Coraline’s typical childish behavior and strong temperament are transformed into cleverness. Coraline inner struggle and her deep unconscious desire to free herself from the other mother has given her a better understanding of life. Once returned back to the reality, “Dinner that night was pizza and even though homemade by her father (so crust was alternately thick and doughy and raw, or too thin and burnt), and even though he had put slices of green pepper on it, along with little meatballs and, of all things, pineapple chunks, Coraline ate the entire slice she had been given”. Her initial judgmental thinking that her parents’ constant work makes them neglect her turns into understanding that despite this she would rather have her real parents then any other. She would rather eat that weird pizza then the perfect chicken from the other family. She comes to appreciate the food and her real family. Her inner self develops from a little girl to a hero who ends up saving herself and the others trapped by the other mother.