Coraline, a modern day myth

   The novel I read this week was Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline” about a little girl who moves into an apartment complex that holds the secret to an alternate, more perfect world. This was an example of the very popular urban legend. Ever since the owner of the area’s sister disappeared over night, many aren’t allowed in, especially children. Wybie, her grandson and friend of Coraline, is forbidden to go inside. The colorful characters that share the complex with Coraline give subtle warnings to what’s indoors and all of this just makes Coraline more and more curious. It’s reinvented in the sense that it’s a world nobody understands unless they are brave enough to actually experience it. Coraline is the only one who finds out the truth and that’s all through her journey throughout the nightmarish landscapes. What she’s seen has only been seen by those who fell victim to the temptation of a perfect reality. Making a myth only proven by the word of Coraline who tells nobody by the end of it.

  The myth is relevant to the contemporary world through it’s relation through Coraline. She’s loud when bored, always looking for adventure and curious when tempted, a description for any modern day tween girl. I see it as a metaphor for kids discovering light drug use such as marijuana or drinking. Enlightened experiences that are more fun than the real world but have a toll and could leave you reliant on it. The other world in comparison to the regular reality is so much brighter and fun, leaving Coraline little reason not to keep going back. Her refusal and fight back paraphrases the end of an addiction, the other mother’s hand resembles to me the lingering effects on it and how it can come back to attack. It’s incredibly deep and with drugs becoming more and more apparent through today’s youth, the metaphor is definitely relevant and stays true.

   Coraline’s mythological influence is definitely apparent, however it’s metaphorical theme and modern day approach create a bigger meaning that turns it from being just another urban legend to a brand new concept. Just apart of Gaiman’s genius.