Chapter 3:

The next day, Coraline and her mother are out shopping. Coraline points out some bright green gloves she wants. Her mom tells her no though, and continues to buy her bland school uniforms. Her mom heads to the grocery store, leaving Coraline behind. She only gets bored, as per usual, and decides to take the black key that opens the mysterious door she is so curious about. Coraline opens the door and sees a hallway instead of a brick door. Without much hesitation, she walks through to the other side. To her surprise, she arrives to the room she was just in, in her own home. Confused, Coraline walks into the kitchen and sees her mother. Except, it is not her mother! It is a woman who looks just like her mother, only taller, skinnier, and paler. She has buttons for eyes, as well. Her dad appears for lunch, and Coraline notices he also has button eyes. They have cooked her a huge meal - nothing like her real parents would make for her. She is told to go to her room and play with the rats. When Coraline walks into her room, she notices that it is painted bright green and pink. It is also filled with magical toys. Rats appear out from under her bed and sing her a weird song, and the old man comes down to collect the rats because they are his. He leaves and Coraline decides to go explore outside. 

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Chapter 4: 

She walks over to Miss Forcible and Miss Spink's place, but is stopped by a black cat. It is a very sassy cat who tells Coraline that it does not have a name because cats already know who they are, unlike humans. She heads into ladies flat like she had planned, and in it, there is a stage. They are performing on it, and in the audience, there are a lot of dogs. She is asked to help with the performance, and she agrees. Up on stage, she has a knife thrown right above her head and she gets chocolate for helping out. She leaves back to her other mothers house, where she finds her other parents. Her other mother says she wants Coraline to stay with her there forever and get black button eyes just like them. Coraline is frightened by this, so she heads back to her real home. Her other mother says that she will see her again soon when they are together forever, like the family they are meant to be. She arrives home and finds that the hallway she just came out of is now just a brick wall.

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Analysis:

The chapter starts off with Coraline's mother denying her something she wants. They happen to be bright green. Since Coraline gets bored easily, the second her mother leaves her alone at the house, she begins to look for the key to the door. Would Coraline have done this if her parents paid more attention to her? Coraline barely gives it a second thought before walking through the door, proving that Coraline really is so bored, she does not know what to do with herself. Isabella Martinez of Duquesne University states that “This door was Coraline’s way of coping with the absence of a strong parental presence because she ultimately creates it to serve as a form of escape from her disappointing reality” (8). Keeping this in mind, Coraline is surprised to find her other mother on the opposite side. This world is already conforming to Coraline’s interests when she arrives. She is fed well, she has a bright green and pink room, and her other parents are paying much more attention to her. The appearance of the people in the other world also shines light to the idea that Coraline’s other parents are a little too good to be true. The button eyes and the horror-like appearance do not match the personalities they portray. Coraline’s only luck in these chapters is finding a sassy black cat. This cat seems to be the only genuine thing in the entire universe, even though it gives Coraline some tough love. Her trip to Miss Spink and Miss Forcibles flat only leads Coraline further down this rabbit hole of danger. Near the end of Chapter 4, Coraline’s other mother tells her that she is excited for Coraline to stay with her forever, but Coraline is already slightly wigged out by this interaction. She leaves, to find bricks covering the entrance again, which we now know are there for a good reason.