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High, even overwrought emotion |
The narration may be highly emotional, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common. |
· High and overwrought emotion could be observed during Coraline’s impassioned interaction with the ghost inside the “hidden” closet: “Art thou-art thou alive?” (p.55). The conversation was dense with emotion, for only sadness, grief, and pity seemed to be exchanged. The reader’s seemed to almost feel as much pity for the characters as the characters themselves, for they seemed to be in disheartening state of despair (p55-p.59).
The mysterious songs the mice upstairs in the world of the Other Mother were another example of high, overwrought emotion, for their characteristic songs, such as the one in p. 79 were rather unpleasant, for they seemed to convey to that they desired to hurt Coraline, in the most unpleasant of ways, for they often seemed to sing of unpleasant factors, such as their sharp teeth (p.79) in their many songs: We have teeth and we have tails, we have tails, we have teeth. We were here before you fell, you will be here when we rise.’ (p.23). The reader is made more aware from such aspects of the story’ that little Coraline is facing evil that is far greater than her on all spheres. Such a message seems to result in the reader admiring Coraline for her brave efforts, and steering away because of her fear (of the Other Mother) from her most important goal, to escape the Other Mother’s grasp, as well as save her parents and the souls of the children in the cupboard hidden behind the Other Mother’s mirror. Additionally, the reader also seems to pity Coraline, for they seem to feel that no child her age must ever experience such a deadly force as the Other Mother.
The mysterious songs the mice upstairs in the world of the Other Mother were another example of high, overwrought emotion, for their characteristic songs, such as the one in p. 79 were rather unpleasant, for they seemed to convey to that they desired to hurt Coraline, in the most unpleasant of ways, for they often seemed to sing of unpleasant factors, such as their sharp teeth (p.79) in their many songs: We have teeth and we have tails, we have tails, we have teeth. We were here before you fell, you will be here when we rise.’ (p.23). The reader is made more aware from such aspects of the story’ that little Coraline is facing evil that is far greater than her on all spheres. Such a message seems to result in the reader admiring Coraline for her brave efforts, and steering away because of her fear (of the Other Mother) from her most important goal, to escape the Other Mother’s grasp, as well as save her parents and the souls of the children in the cupboard hidden behind the Other Mother’s mirror. Additionally, the reader also seems to pity Coraline, for they seem to feel that no child her age must ever experience such a deadly force as the Other Mother.
An atmosphere of mystery, suspense and dread |
The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. Often the plot itself is built around a mystery, such as unknown parentage, a disappearance, or some other inexplicable event, including murders. |
· It seems that the room hidden behind the mirror in Coraline’s “apartment” in the Other Mother’s world was seemed to emanate, as well be filled with sadness and dread, for a majority of the children it had imprisoned seemed have lost nearly everything, even their names and lives: “’The names are the first things to go, after the breath has gone…’” (p.57) The fact that the children sharing the cupboard with Coraline were all ghosts seems to infuse within the atmosphere of the cupboard a deep sense of dread and seems to intensify the sense of lifelessness created by the cold temperature within the cupboard.
· The fact that the Other Mother forced Coraline and so many other children to stay with her in her world through not only trapping them there, but through separating them from their parents, seemed to create an everlasting impassioned atmosphere of dread throughout the latter stages, precisely the second half of the plot, which also seemed fill the reader with dread, for we all have the right to freedom, which the Other Mother had almost completely taken away from all the children, and almost from Coraline. The fact that the Other Mother abused nearly all of the children, stealing their hearts and souls, taking their lives away and then trapping them within the “cupboard” behind the mirror (p.58) seemed to ignite an intense feeling of hatred for the Other Mother both within the reader, as well as within the atmosphere of the story.
Additionally, the fact that the Other Mother exploited the living creatures that she had created as mere puppets seemed to dispose of them as mere objects in the dump she had created in the cellar of her home in her world seemed to further anger readers, for as I have stated previously, all creatures deserve to live free: “’She is not best pleased,’ said the thing that was once the other father…’Poor thing,’ she said. ‘You’re just a thing she made and threw away’…” (p.76). Detail such as that seemed to cause the reader to not only deeply pity the living things the Other Mother had created, but also seemed to further feel a high degree of contempt and hate for the Other Mother.
· The fact that the Other Mother forced Coraline and so many other children to stay with her in her world through not only trapping them there, but through separating them from their parents, seemed to create an everlasting impassioned atmosphere of dread throughout the latter stages, precisely the second half of the plot, which also seemed fill the reader with dread, for we all have the right to freedom, which the Other Mother had almost completely taken away from all the children, and almost from Coraline. The fact that the Other Mother abused nearly all of the children, stealing their hearts and souls, taking their lives away and then trapping them within the “cupboard” behind the mirror (p.58) seemed to ignite an intense feeling of hatred for the Other Mother both within the reader, as well as within the atmosphere of the story.
Additionally, the fact that the Other Mother exploited the living creatures that she had created as mere puppets seemed to dispose of them as mere objects in the dump she had created in the cellar of her home in her world seemed to further anger readers, for as I have stated previously, all creatures deserve to live free: “’She is not best pleased,’ said the thing that was once the other father…’Poor thing,’ she said. ‘You’re just a thing she made and threw away’…” (p.76). Detail such as that seemed to cause the reader to not only deeply pity the living things the Other Mother had created, but also seemed to further feel a high degree of contempt and hate for the Other Mother.