Point of View

The story is told from the third person limited point of view from the view of Coraline, the heroine of the novel. Since the novel is a story of Coraline’s development, it could not be told as effectively if it were told from any other point of view. If the story were told from any other character’s point of view it would not have been able to illustrate Coraline’s thoughts and emotions as she went through her discovery of the other mother’s world and the ordeal she faced there. While a third person omniscient narrator could have told the story adequately, it would not have had the central focus on Coraline’s struggle with her own fear and uncertainty.

The story is told through a combination of both exposition and narration. The house and grounds are described so the reader can...