The buttons over eyes represents the Other Mother's unlimited control.
Eyes are very significant in Coraline. When Coraline sees a person's eyes, she is in the real world. For example, her real mother and father both have eyes. However, in the other world, eyes are replaced with buttons. Other Mother has buttons for eyes, as do the ghost children. The symbolism behind buttons for eyes is quite clear: "They were looking at her with their black button eyes. Or at least she thought they were looking at her. She couldn't be sure."
Buttons are a way to limit the humanity of another person. We speak with our eyes. They are a form of communication. Coraline's Other Mother replaces people's eyes with buttons as a way to silence their voices. Buttons are her means of limiting people's expressions in her world.
Coraline recoils at the thought of exchanging her eyes for buttons. Put another way, Coraline does not want to lose her unique individuality. When faced with the prospect of having buttons for eyes, Coraline rejects such a sacrifice. This repudiation is one of the first moments where she understands the importance of going home. Coraline clearly grasps that she is not going to be happy in a world of buttons.
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