At the beginning of Coraline, our heroine is bored at home: her parents are too busy for her, the place she lives is dull, and she has exhausted all the exploring there is to do. It takes being in a crazy and super scary alternate world to make Coraline realize just how much she appreciates her real home. The real world might be dull sometimes, but it's home for Coraline. This is a common trope (common device) in literature and film. "There's no place like home..." – ring a bell?
Questions About The Home
- What sorts of things did the other mother get wrong when she created a "perfect" home for Coraline? What did she get right?
- How do the descriptions of Coraline's real home help to set up the atmosphere for the story?
- When Coraline first moves into her new house, she doesn't really feel at home. Has this changed by the end of the story?
- What would Coraline say makes a place feel like home?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Sometimes home is really about what's familiar; even though Coraline might like her room in the other world better, it's just not home.
All it takes to be at home is the right company. Coraline learns this lesson the hard way.