Home → Releases → 4 (56) →

THE SYMBOLISM OF NEIL GAIMAN’S NOVEL «CORALINE»

Literary Science , UDC: 821.111-31.06 DOI: 10.24412/2076-913X-2024-456-23-33

Authors

  • Norets Maksim V. D. Sc. (Philology), docent
  • Kislitsyna Natalya N. D. Sc. (Philology), docent

Annotation

Modern English-language prose is a symbiosis of genres, forms and methods of literary presentation of the text. Unusual literary works — graphic novels and comics — are getting especially popular among modern readers. The science fiction writer Neil Richard McKinnon Gaiman should be pointed out among such authors. Neil Gaiman’s novels are characterized by a special style of writing and approach to describing fantastical incarnations, including myths, fairy tales and elements of modern reality. The purpose of the investigation is to study the use of symbols in N. Gaiman’s novel «Coraline». Using discourse analysis and careful reading the authors draw attention to the main aspects of N. Gaiman’s work: a combination of reality and fiction, vivid images, unique worlds, ethics and morality, satire and irony. One of the most remarkable peculiarities of the text’s architectonics is the use of many symbolic images and metaphors. One of the most striking aspects of Neil Gaiman’s work is his ability to use symbolic elements to explore deep themes and ideas in Coraline. The novel demonstrates a masterly use of genre elements, which makes it attractive to a wide range of readers. Gaiman skillfully combines adventurous elements, fantastic aspects and even mystical nuances, adding depth and richness to the narrative. One of the main features of Neil Gaiman’s work is his ability to create a world that is organically intertwined with reality. This approach allows him to push the boundaries of fantasy and introduce new elements to the concept of the genre.
Tags:
Coraline , Fantasy , Genre , Intertextuality , Neil Gaiman , symbolism

How to link insert

Norets, M. V. & Kislitsyna, N. N. (2024). THE SYMBOLISM OF NEIL GAIMAN’S NOVEL «CORALINE» Bulletin of the Moscow City Pedagogical University. Series "Pedagogy and Psychology", 4 (56), 23. https://doi.org/10.24412/2076-913X-2024-456-23-33
References
1. 1. Ivanova, S. A., & Filatova, A. A. (2022). Occasionalisms in the fantasy works of Neil Gaiman: linguistic translation aspect (based on the story «The Graveyard Book», the novel «Neverwhere» and the novel «American Gods»). Philological Sciences. Issues of Theory and Practice, Vol. 15, 5, 1633–1639. https://doi.org/10.30853/phil20220271 (In Russ.).
2. 2. Yatskaya, D. D. (2023). Features of the translation of proper names using the example of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s work «Good Omens». Russian Linguistic Bulletin, 8(44). https://doi.org/10.18454/RULB.2023.44.10 (In Russ.).
3. 3. Shadrina, A. A., & Chernysheva, A. S. (2023). Comparative analysis of methods for translating non-equivalent vocabulary using the example of Neil Gaiman’s novel «Never». Territoriya novy`x vozmozhnostej. Vestnik Vladivostokskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, 15, 3(67), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.24866/VVSU/2949-1258/2023-3/147-156 (In Russ.).
4. 4. Norets, M. V., & Krilichenko, A. M. (2023). Historical and literary reception of Neil Gaiman’s novel «Coraline». Russian Linguistic Bulletin, 11(47), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.18454/RULB.2023.47.8 (In Russ.).
5. 5. Volkova, E. V., & Primakina, A. A. (2022). Linguistic analysis of the author’s style of Neil Gaiman. Lexicographic piggy bank (pp. 4–22). Collection of scientific articles. Issue 12. St. Petersburg State Economic University. (In Russ.).
6. 6. Plakhova, O. A. (2022). The mythological archetype of duality in the lingo-semiotic space of N. Gaiman’s literary fairy tale «Coraline». Baltic Humanitarian Journal, 11, 4(41), 40–45. https://doi.org/10.57145/27129780_2022_11_04_09 (In Russ.).
7. 7. Romanova, A. S. (2022). The mythological component of background knowledge in Neil Gaiman’s novel «American Gods»: a translation aspect. Dictum — Factum: from research to strategic decisions, 7–8, 75–80. (In Russ.).
8. 8. Morozova, T. V. (2021). Mythologizing the work of Neil Gaiman (based on the novels «American Gods» and «Sons of Anansi»). Modern Science, 4–1, 325–330. (In Russ.).
9. 9. Kirchanov, M. V. (2022). Pagan motifs as manifestations of anti-modernity in the novels by N. Gaiman «American Gods» and A. Rubanov «The Mahogany Man». Litera, 1, 55–66. https://doi.org/10.25136/2409-8698.2022.1.35266 (In Russ.).
10. 10. Mogish, A. A. (2023). Allusions in the novel «Stardust» by N. Gaiman. Scientific start — 2023, 2, 315–319. Collection of articles by graduate and undergraduate students. (In Russ.).
11. 11. Gimranova, Yu. A., & Sedova, E. S. (2020). Intertextual references to A. K. Doyle’s story «A Study in Scarlet» in modern literature (on the example of the stories of N. Gaiman «A Study in Emerald» and J. Wagner «A Study in Purple»). Scientific Dialogue, 11, 211–227. https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2020-11-211-227 (In Russ.).
12. 12. Muradyan, V. G., & Norets, M. V. (2023). Intertextual forms and their implementation in the text (based on the novel by N. Gaiman and T. Pratchett «Good Omens»). Problems and prospects of modern humanities: pedagogy, teaching methods, philology, organization of work with youth, 4, 20–25. (In Russ.).
13. 13. Melikhov, A. G. (2021). Intertextual interactions in N. Gaiman’s story «The Case of Death and Honey». Philology and Culture, 1(63), 190–194. https://doi.org/10.26907/2074-0239-2021-63-1-190-194 (In Russ.).
14. 14. Paradigms of transition and images of the fantastic world in the artistic space of the 19th–21st centuries: collective monograph. (2019). National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. (In Russ.).
15. 15. Komissarova, A. L. (2019). John Donne’s poem «Song» in the plot of the fantasy novel «Stardust» by Neil Gaiman. Paradigms of transition and images of the fantastic world in the artistic space of the 19th–21st centuries (pp. 243–248). National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. (In Russ.).
16. 16. Afanasjeva, O. V., Baranova, K. M., & Chupryna, O. G. (2020). Precedent phenomena as symbols of cultural identity in ya fiction. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 95, 1098–1106. Conference proceedings. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.11.03.116
17. 17. Schultz, S. A. (2023). Bakhtin and symbolism / post-symbolism / neo-symbolism (Vyacheslav Ivanov, O. E. Mandelstam, A. A. Akhmatova, etc.). Literaturovedcheskii zhurnal, 3(61), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.31249/litzhur/2023.61.12 (In Russ.).
18. 18. Safarova, Z. A.-G. (2022). Symbolism of the system of images in the novel «Moby Dick» by Herman Melville. Ucheny`e zapiski Kry`mskogo inzhenerno-pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Seriya: Filologiya. Istoriya, 2, 41–47. (In Russ.).
19. 19. Gorbachev, M. D. (2022). Sign and symbol. Bulletin of Perm University. Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology, 1, 126–132. https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2022-1-126-132 (In Russ.).
20. 20. Lomakina, I. N. (2016). Mythological and postmodern models of chronotope in the prose of Don DeLillo. Cherepovets State University Bulletin, 2(71), 80–83.
21. 21. Rudd, D. (2008). An Eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity. Children’s Literature in Education, 39(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-008-9067-7
22. 22. Coats, K. (2008). «Between horror, humour, and hope: Neil Gaiman and the psychic work of the Gothic». In The Gothic in Children’s Literature: Haunting the Borders, ed. Anna Jackson, Karen Coats and Roderick McGillis. Routledge.
23. 23. Marlon, James. (2020). The Neil Gaiman Reader. HarperCollins Publishers.
24. 24. Gaiman, N. (2005). Coraline. AST: Luxury. (In Russ.).
Download file .pdf 382.16 kb