Neil Gaiman's Coraline, Nobody Owens, And Anansi Boys

Neil Gaiman is a novelist with a propensity for the surreal. He has written several fantasy novels such as Coraline, The Graveyard Book, and Anansi Boys. As in many novels, Gaiman’s characters propel the plot, but Gaiman writes dynamic main characters: Coraline, Nobody Owens, and Fat Charlie Nancy. His stories are not just fiction; they reveal his own beliefs. Gaiman succeeds in connecting with individual readers through his flawed characters--that is why they grow. Gaiman’s characters experience growth and a turning point where they take control and drive the plot. Gaiman’s children’s novel Coraline follows a young girl in a new home who discovers another world that is a slightly-off parallel of her own. Coming from a home where she is neglected,

This novel follows a man, Fat Charlie Nancy, who is suddenly introduced to a side of the world he had never known. His father's death reveals the gods in Fat Charlie’s ancestry, as well plunges Fat Charlie into a world of magic and murder. Fat Charlie’s father, Mr. Nancy, impacts his son’s fate even after his death. It is the reason Fat Charlie’s perfectly normal life goes awry. However, Fat Charlie is used to his father’s influence. It is the reason he has been called “Fat” Charlie since his youth: “But the name Fat Charlie clung to him, like chewing gum to the sole of a tennis shoe… It was, he knew irrationally, because his father had given him the nickname, and when his father gave things names, they stuck” (Source C 3). This illustrates the power Mr. Nancy has and Fat Charlie does not have. Fat Charlie despises his nickname. He has tried and failed so many times to eliminate it that he has given up. By accepting his nickname, he accepts his lack of autonomy. He permits his father to continue to have a hold over his future. Gaiman utilizes a manifestation of Mr. Nancy’s power to demonstrate Fat Charlie’s options. He is his father’s son, and he could have the abilities his father has, but he is not yet in control. Until he finds himself, Fat Charlie’s choices are limited--he can only remain weak. Just as his father drove his past, Mr. Nancy prompts Fat Charlie’s future. His death and the subsequent events guide Fat Charlie to procure his independence and grow into the powers of his father: “Like any impersonation, like any perfect caricature, it had the effect of making what it made fun of intrinsically ridiculous. No one would ever hear Tiger roar again without hearing Charlie’s roar underneath it” (Source C 413). The parallel Gaiman makes of Mr. Nancy’s lasting nickname and Charlie’s