Coraline

by

Neil Gaiman

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Coraline makes teaching easy.

Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones Character Analysis

Coraline’s father is an intensely busy and hardworking man who appears to work as a writer of some sort. Like Coraline’s mother, he’s often too involved in his work to play with Coraline or even pay her much attention—but in spite of his aloofness, there is a warmth and a closeness between him and his daughter. Coraline’s father is always trying to cook fancy new recipes for dinner, dishes that Coraline balks at and refuses to eat because of their obscure ingredients. While Coraline feels that her father doesn’t understand her—and isn’t really interested in learning to do so—she also loves him very much, and one of her most potent memories of him becomes vitally important to Coraline as she sets out to retrieve both her parents from the other mother’s clutches. Coraline remembers her father saving her from a swarm of wasps while exploring together one day years ago—and then returning to the site of the wasps’ nest again to retrieve his glasses, which he dropped while outrunning them. This memory helps Coraline to understand what true bravery is—it’s not the absence of fear, but rather the willingness to soldier on in spite of one’s fear in order to do what’s right.

Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones Quotes in Coraline

The Coraline quotes below are all either spoken by Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones or refer to Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age and Finding Oneself Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“And he said that wasn’t brave of him, doing that, just standing there and being stung,” said Coraline to the cat. “It wasn’t brave because he wasn’t scared: it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared. That was brave.”

Related Characters: Coraline Jones (speaker), The Cat, Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones
Page Number: 56-57
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“I think I like this game. But what kind of game shall it be? A riddle game? A test of knowledge or of skill?”

“An exploring game,” suggested Coraline. “A finding-things game.”

“And what is it you think you should be finding in this hide-and-go-seek game, Coraline Jones?”

Coraline hesitated. Then, “My parents,” said Coraline. “And the souls of the children behind the mirror.”

Related Characters: Coraline Jones (speaker), The Other Mother (speaker), Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones, Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones, The Lost Children
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Coraline LitChart as a printable PDF.
Coraline PDF

Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones Quotes in Coraline

The Coraline quotes below are all either spoken by Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones or refer to Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Coming of Age and Finding Oneself Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“And he said that wasn’t brave of him, doing that, just standing there and being stung,” said Coraline to the cat. “It wasn’t brave because he wasn’t scared: it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared. That was brave.”

Related Characters: Coraline Jones (speaker), The Cat, Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones
Page Number: 56-57
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“I think I like this game. But what kind of game shall it be? A riddle game? A test of knowledge or of skill?”

“An exploring game,” suggested Coraline. “A finding-things game.”

“And what is it you think you should be finding in this hide-and-go-seek game, Coraline Jones?”

Coraline hesitated. Then, “My parents,” said Coraline. “And the souls of the children behind the mirror.”

Related Characters: Coraline Jones (speaker), The Other Mother (speaker), Coraline’s Mother/Mrs. Jones, Coraline’s Father/Mr. Jones, The Lost Children
Page Number: 90
Explanation and Analysis: