Analysis of Coraline and Future Research

Coraline is a very grotesque and dark fantasy book. There were moments that genuinely grossed me out. Despite some of the things being a little too grotesque for me, like the other mothers hand being cut off, this was by far my favorite book we read this semester. I enjoyed the journey Coraline went on as she tried to find her real parents and escape from having her soul taken by her “other mother.” Over the holidays when I have plenty of spare time, I hope to further my research on Coraline and other books that are considered to be grotesque. I also plan to further my research by watching the movie for the first time. I have heard good things about the movie and look forward to seeing it and comparing it to the book

Notable Moment: Coraline

The cat in Coraline is a very notable worthy character in my opinion. I find it interesting that he does not have a counterpart in the “other world” being able to go and leave whenever he wants. The cat, who has no name, acts as a guide for Coraline and helps her as she struggles with finding her real parents and escaping from her “other mother.” I also think it is interesting how feline the cat acts despite being able to talk. Even in the “other world” cat keeps feline type traits that shapes who he is as a character.

Anticapting: Coraline

I am very hesitant to let myself look forward to reading this book. I have heard nothing but awesome things from my roommate about Coraline the movie and the book. I don’t want my expectations to be to high and set myself up for disappointment if the book does not reach my expectations. Despite these hesitations I hope to agree with my roommate and not be let down by the grotesque book.

Analysis: The Bad Beginning

The Bad Beginning is definitely unique in many ways. I think it is peculiar that Lemony Snickett wrote a whole series on unfortunate events and the bad thing that happen to three children. Although their parents just died and they are left in the care of an evil uncle, Violet, Cloauss and Sunny all protect each other. Without the help from each other and their individual talents the bad things that happen to them would worsen.

Rhetorical Reflections: The Bad Beginning

My notable moment from this book is just how different it is from the movie. I almost feel like they could be two different stories that just happened to have the same characters. One of the most intense scenes in the movie was when the Uncle Olaf tried to kill them by locking them in the care and leaving it on train tracks. The children were barely able to escape only because of their special abilities to chew, read and invent. Their uncles attempted murder was not even mentioned through the book. I find it very interesting just how different the movie and book are.

Analysis: James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant peach starts with a cynical attitude and the reader is introduced to the depressing story of James who is an orphan living with two horrible aunts. James soon finds his life to be changed after dropping magic crystals into the ground. It seemed to be a common theme throughout the book that when something good would happen something bad would soon follow. Despite dropping the crystals their magic still worked and created a giant peach and giant insects. James and the insects traveled inside the peach all the way to New York. While making the journey all the way to America, they are faced with sharks, bad weather cloud men and other things that caused chaos and also friendship.

Notable Moment: James and the Giant Peach

The dialogue between the characters after the peach rolled through the city and landed in water, was a moment that stuck out in my mind. This is the part in the book when I started to bond with the characters and see who they are. After being thrown around in the peach while it rolled and bounce down the hill and through the city the insects were all a little shaken up. In this time of fear and pain, their mannerisms are made pretty obvious. The grasshopper showed optimism and wisdom saying "Perhaps we are in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a beautiful day." The earthworm on the other hand, revealed his negative attitude of always presuming the worse. My favorite insect was the ladybug. Her mother like attitude brought everyone together and helped James become a silent leader.

Rhetorical Reflection: James and the Gaint Peach

I loved James and the Giant Peach. I think the book has a sense of weirdness that I enjoyed as a child and later, now that I am older, intriguing. Although some people may argue that the beginning of the book is too depressing, I rather like it. I think that his parent’s death by being eaten by rhinos reveals that death is not meant to be taken too seriously in this book. My favorite part in James and the Giant Peach is when James attaches the giant peach to seagulls in order to escape the shark. I enjoyed getting to experience James becoming a leader and saving the day.

Analysis: The City of Ember

The City of Ember was my favorite out of the four dystopia book we read. Along with Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.M.H, I found it to be more adventurous and less sci-fy as Lina tried to piece together the torn directions that can save her city. Similar to the other dystopia books, the government’s role in The City of Ember is important. The government controls the underground city and hides from its people the potential danger of running out of supplies and electricity. Most of the citizens of Ember have no idea the severity of the problems that resulted from living underground for so many years. Their lack of education also reveals the peoples powerlessness. No one has any knowledge about other societies or technologies that may exist.

Despite the limited amount of knowledge available, Doon is a very intelligent boy who expressed “wanting to learn.” With Doons’ brains and Linas determination, the two unlikely pair up and work together to save the people of Ember and reveal the secrets of the government. Their adventure together begins after Lina discovers destroyed instructions that she believes to be the solution to her town’s problems. Doon and Lina piece together the chewed up instructions and which lead them to boats that will take them out of Ember by way of river. Lina, Doon, and Lina’s sister are the first to leave the tunnels of Ember and discover that there is another world above gound.

Notable Moment: The City of Ember

The moment when Lina bought colored pencils stuck out to me. The main thing that I found interesting about her buying the colored pencils was the two colors she chose. Out of all the colors, Lena picked blue and green. Immediately green and blue reminded me of grass and the sky. To me this was pretty obvious forshadowing that Lina’s dreams about another colorful world were real. The main reason why this moment in particular impacted me was because this is when I first thought they might be living in an underground city. When I thought about Lina and the city that she dreamed about which she described to be “somewhat like Ember, except that its buildings were lighter and taller and had more windows” and then the moment when she buys a green and blue colored pencils it clicked in my head that the reason Ember is so dark is that it is underground.

Throughout this book color, or lack there of, played an important part in the story. From something as little as Lina’s drawings to the importance of light to keep their city going, color seemed to be a minor theme. Out of everything that the city had already ran out of, I think it was foreshadowing that blue and green pencils, the colors of sky, water and grass, were still available for Lina to buy.