Coraline

Can you give me the rest of themes and motifs since I cannot read more?

...

Asked by
Last updated by Jill W
1 Answers
Log in to answer

Love and the different types of love is one of the major themes in the novel. The major issue in the novel is the comparison between the way that Coraline’s parents show their love for her and the way that the other mother shows her love for Coraline. Although Coraline’s parents obviously love her and take care of her, they also tend to neglect her a little bit. They are often busy with work and don’t stop to play with her or entertain her. Instead, they encourage her to entertain herself or visit with the neighbors to pass the time. When Coraline’s mother takes the girl shopping, she buys practical clothes instead of the Day-glo green gloves that Coraline wants. For a child, this refusal to buy a novelty can be seen as a lack of love when in reality, it’s just a matter of practicality.

With the other mother, Coraline comes to realize that this creature loves her only as one might love a possession. As the other mother gets more and more frustrated with Coraline when she will not bow to her wishes, Coraline sees how the other mother’s love wanes. Based on her experience with the other father, Coraline has seen how the other mother treats those things that frustrate her or cause her unhappiness. Coraline knows that the other mother’s love for her will fade, just as the other mother’s love has faded for the other children she has captured in the past.

Happiness, another theme, is an aspect of life that Coraline learns about during her experience with the other mother. One of the arguments in favor of Coraline staying with the other mother presented by the other crazy old man is that she will be happy if she stays in the other world. He argues that in the real world, people will continue to pronounce her name wrong, a mistake Coraline hates and that her parents will continue to ignore her. The old man insists that the other mother will give Coraline whatever she wants. While most children would believe that getting what one wants when he wants it would be the best thing ever, Coraline is smart enough to realize that these things will not bring her happiness. She knows that without working for and earning the things she wants, they will be worth nothing to her.

Source(s)

BookRags