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.

Harry Potter and the Moral Issues

  “Harry potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is a novel by JK Rowling that follows a young wizard who gets sent to wizard school with a strong reputation built upon by an evil wizard. Sounds like a typical kids adventure but becomes surprisingly deep through long moral metaphors, character studies and philosophy up the wazoo.

  It all starts with our main character, Harry Potter. Growing up in an almost Roald Dahl like family of obnoxious, cartoony and bratty side family, Harry easily becomes a saint and an easy character to relate to. He’s humble, polite and sweet as can be, open to anything and blind to most of the world’s issues. This is all in relation to his parents who unfortunately were killed by an evil wizard. You see a lot of them in him throughout the story and it’s apparent their presence is still within his conscience.

  Harry quickly becomes the most popular kid in school but somehow this doesn’t affect his ego. His best friends are a clumsy and dorky Ron Weasley and a Snobby Hermione Granger who are a fantastic trio for comedic and serious moments. They have major faults but Harry looks past that, friends are friends and while he easily could’ve become pals with the more popular students, he can’t ignore who his feelings relate to more. It’s more of a don’t judge anyone case which leads me to my next case.

  Draco Malfoy, the school bully that torments poor Harry and everyone in his class. This kid is a giant bugger but it never really goes beyond a casual rivalry to Harry (at least in this first book). Draco will bite back with insults and nastiness but Harry kind of just lets it happen. I think this is a definite theme of not giving judgment, Harry doesn’t really like this kid but he’s not going to stoop to his level and go off on him. It’s more of a “wow what a jerk” and the dichotomy of their feelings create a barrier of innocence to bullying.

  From contrast to judgment to morality, Potter displays its themes with tons of subtlety and thought making it relatable to the reader. If the six other books, film series and spinoffs proved anything, it’s that it did that job well.

The Hobbit and the Hero’s Journey

  The Hobbit is classic fantasy story by the great J.R.R Tolkien following a young Bilbo Baggins and his journey across Middle Earth to stop a dragon and restore peace. Sound familiar? It’s an incredibly typical plot to what’s known as the hero’s journey. An outline from Greek mythology that has been used billions of times in “Star Wars”, “Harry Potter” and pretty much most big name franchises you can think of. The Hobbit was one of the first to follow this guideline in a more modern approach.

  Starts with his typical life in a Hobbit home, explaining exposition and building the world around him. He meets Gandalf a wizard who calls him to adventure, he refuses only to call back and leave his normal world. They fight monsters, talk politics then dragon fight and boom, all is restored. Only to come full circle back to his Hobbit life where no sequels will ever happen…

  I personally believe The Hobbit nails the hero’s journey better than most and most of it is due to it’s incredible setting. Middle Earth is a land filled to the brim with details and constant discoveries, it’s a fantasy paradise. From many races, large towns/kingdoms, monsters and hell, a couple languages thrown in, it’s a land where multiple books have been written just to flourish it to the extreme. We also have a ton of fun characters here, Bilbo and Gandalf’s friendship seems so genuine and Smaug makes for a great villain. It’s also paced perfectly in around 300 pages, unlike the nine-hour Peter Jackson extravaganza.

  To say this book didn’t revolutionize the way we tell stories today would be the biggest understatement of the century. It modernized the hero’s journey to an extent where anybody could pick it up and enjoy it. It’s a timeless classic that will never lose it’s touch or historical merit. The amount of fantasy knock offs and cinematic copiers it’s had since it’s release solidifies it to the extreme. Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery there is, at least until the Tolkien family hears about it, then the lawyers come in.