Coraline is one of the bravest little girls in literary history. She comes across so much horror anywhere ranging from talking animals to evil clones of her family members. The way she develops over time has a lot to do with her level of bravery in that time and her connection to her parents. Coraline portrays bravery when she heads back into the other world to get her parents back. Coraline portrays wisdom by defeating the other mother with a trick. Finally, Coraline portrays a newfound gratitude by the time her journey is over. 

    From the beginning of the story, Coraline has always been a brave, spunky girl, but nevertheless, she is still a little girl. And, when her parents disappear, she has to be very brave to travel into another world and attempt to save them from the clutches of her other, evil mothers fists. One of the most notable scenes from this book is when Coraline tells this story about her dad saving her from bees, but not being brave because of it. She believes that he was only brave when he went back to retrieve his glasses, since he already knew the danger would be waiting for him. Coraline is aware of the danger awaiting her on the other side of the door, but she walks through anyway, believing that her parents would have done the same for her. This is her first, but not only, extraordinary portrayal of bravery, and a large point in her development as a brave girl. Other memorable scenes where Coraline is brave is when Coraline agreed to stay with the other mother forever if she loses the proposed game. This proves that Coraline is willing to sacrifice a lot for her family. The last time we notice Coraline’s courage is when she lures the other mother’s hand to her, and traps it in a well forever. And, she does this all without mentioning a single part of it to her parents. Now, that is brave. 

    Coraline, with the help of her new friend, the cat, eventually defeats her other mother by outsmarting her. She may make some questionable decisions throughout the story, but she leads herself with the help of others' guidance and her own conscience. Even Coraline finds her real parents by herself with a little bit of thought. She realized that “she knew exactly where her parents were. If she had stopped to think, she might have known where they were all along. The other mother could not create. She could only transform, and twist, and change.” (Gaiman 122). By picking up on the environment around her, Coraline is able to successfully locate her parents with just a little bit of logic. She realizes that her parents were put into the snowglobe, and when she is escaping with another trick, he grabs it to save her parents for good. Another example or Coraline’s wisdom, is tricking the hand at the end of the book. She places her picnic blanket above the hole to the well, and down the hand goes. It may have been a cliche trick, but it was very clever at the moment. 

    At the end of the story, Coraline discovers a new gratitude for her life that she used to believe was so boring. When she arrived back to her original home, she “looked down at her lap, at the way that the rich sunlight brushed every hair on the cat's head, turning each white whisker to gold. Nothing, she thought, had ever been so interesting”. (Gaiman 135) Through her scary journey, she gained gratitude for her real world, discovering that her wishes were not all she thought they would be, and that the real world was underappreciated before. It is evident that Coraline begins to believe that “Dreams teach us what we should strive for, whereas nightmares allow us to appreciate our reality.” (Martinez 11) It is safe to assume that Coraline will not wish for anymore green gloves, and definitely not another mother.