Chapter 9:

When Coraline walks outside, she notices that the world is gray and swirly. Her mother continues to pretend to be nice to her and she gives her the key to an empty flat next door. Coraline hears the voices in her head advising her not to go in because it might be a trap, but she is so confident that she heads on in anyways. The room is empty but there is a cellar door that has a bad smell coming out of it. She lowers herself into the cellar and sees garbage everywhere. She also sees her other father tied to the floor - and he looks unrecognizable. Coraline pities her other father and tries to convince him to turn against her other mother, but he tells Coraline that he cannot. He suddenly attacks her but she yanks out his button eyes. She runs away and slams the cellar door on him. Coraline is noticably tired and frightened, but she carries on to the old man's apartment upstairs.  

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Analysis:

The atmosphere in this chapter is much different than previously. The world outside is described as "a formless, swirling mist with no shapes or shadows behind it, while the house itself seemed to have twisted and stretched" (Gaiman 103). This scenery provokes a more chilling mood. In the beginning of Chapter 9, Coraline's other mother is already sweet talking her, and trying to trick her. Since Coraline is such a defiant little girl, she does not listen to the voices that guide her, but instead does what her other mother tells her to do. Coraline's other father was in the cellar because he upset the other mother by telling Coraline about the world. Coraline shows some sympathy for her other father and tells him that he should fight back against the other mother. Even though Coraline knows the other universe is evil, she still feels the urge to help. She exemplifies her great bravery when she tears out his button eyes, because she is only eleven, and needed to escape somehow. Coraline knows what she needs to do, and she does it. She continues this act of bravery by continuing forward even though she has been through so much. She gathers herself and walks to complete her next task, scared but confident.