Theme Of Touching Spirit Bear

In the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. Everyone agreed that cole was a terrible person in the beginning of the book. The relationships of a few people made cole change into a nicer and better person. Cole a bad boy gets in big trouble by beating up peter. Then gets banished to an island. Cole transforms into a better person because of his relationships. Cole has many interesting relationships that change him. The 3 best relationships are Gravey, Peter, his Parents.

In the novel, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben MiIkaelsen, Cole Matthews develops humility and trust worthiness through his experiences during his circle justice banishment. Cole Matthews picks on a ninth grader, Peter Driscal and one day, very harshly in the parking lot on the sidewalk (7). Although, Cole Matthews has got beaten up by his father his whole life (257).Cole beat up anyone or anything that got in his way. He had so much anger that he couldn’t control himself. His father got beaten up by his father so that is all he knows. Cole doesn’t care about anyone else but himself. He also thinks that he knows everything and he always has the right answer. Later on in the book he starts to change his personality.

The book I chose for this assignment was Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. I chose to write about Cole Matthews, the main character, because he changed very much throughout the story. At first he thought any offer of help was out of pity. He also never took responsibility for his actions or accepted consequences. Lastly he only cared about himself. By the end of the book, all of this changed.

Have you ever read Touching Spirit Bear? Well, I have My class and I have read this book as a big group. In the next 3 paragraphs I will tell you 3 reasons what I know about if we should practice the Circle Of Justice.

In Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole Matthews, the protagonist, is a troublemaker. He always has been. But, when he smashes Peter Driscal’s head into the concrete sidewalk, he ends up having to make a decision; prison time, or a year on a remote Alaskan island. But, that’s not the only crime he has done. This leads to me seeing him as a sociopath. Sociopaths tend to lie, break laws, act impulsively, and lack regard to the safety of themselves and others, all of which, he does.

In the novel Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, a boy named Cole Matthews has a big problem. After several crimes, Cole gets in trouble and ends up in jail. Since he does not want to face a lot of jail time, he decides to join Circle Justice. Circle Justice requires Cole to want to change. However, Cole Matthews instead avoids responsibility and accuses someone else for everything that happens to him. His responses are pernicious to himself, and he needs to learn to have the courage to honestly examine his behaviors. Throughout Chapters 1-10, there are several examples of Cole blaming others for things he did.

The Book we read was “Touching Spirit Bear.” Honestly, it was not the best to me. Although I would recommend it to mature readers. This is because it maybe either violent or disturbing to younger readers.

What is a crime? An action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law. Cole Matthews is classified as a criminal. We see him commit numerous crimes throughout Touching Spirit Bear, such as, breaking into a hardware store, trashing that same hardware store, assaulting Peter Driscal, etc. Our intuition of Cole Matthews at the beginning of the book is not very pleasant but, as we read on, we see how Cole Matthews does change into a more responsible and calm individual. Cole Matthews is obviously responsible for this change but, there were many other people that had a vast influence on him. By examining Garvey’s guidance, Edwin’s wisdom and Mrs. Matthews’

In the book Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, the theme is healing. The main character Cole was sent away to an Island for a year to change his behavior and life ways. But a few weeks into the task assigned by the Circle of Justice he fails. As Cole returns home he is sad that he would end up going to jail but he believed it was okay if he ended up going. But while on the island he learned how to control his anger, learned life lessons, and most of all he had a new perspective on life. Fortunately for Cole, he had learned how to control his anger but also he learned many important life lessons.“People change two ways- with slow persistent pressure, or with one single traumatic experience. That’s why some people change so much when they

Responsibility is a theme that is carried throughout both books, but used in extremely diverse ways. Touching Spirit Bear is a story about forgiveness and healing, and Cole has to take responsibility for his past actions, and on improving himself emotionally. He has to forgive his father, the people around him, the Spirit Bear, and most importantly he has to forgive himself. Cole also takes responsibility for helping Peter heal from Cole’s beating, emotionally, because Peter is suicidal. Cole tells Peter, “’My dad has beaten me my whole life,’ he explained. ‘But I know now he never meant to hurt me. He was beaten by his father, and that’s all he knew.’ Cole swallowed a big lump that had formed in his throat. ‘I learned to forgive,’ he said. ‘Not just others, but also myself.’” (Mikaelsen, 214). The Last Dog on Earth, in comparison, is a coming of age story, where Logan must learn responsibility through order. His step-father Robert, through getting him a

I read the book Ghost Of Spirit Bear, which is the sequel to Touching Spirit Bear. I decided I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Touching Spirit Bear. There are amazing conflicts and themes in this series, it truly inspires me.

The hero's journey structure is present in literature. The hero's journey includes twelve different parts, three of them being the ordinary world, the call to adventure, and a mentor or helper. The novel “Touching Spirit Bear” features the hero's journey as a boy named Cole struggles to stay out of trouble and doesn’t know the purpose of his life. All he knows is how to be in control of others, he likes to have the power and has lots of anger inside of him. Throughout Cole's journey, he learns how to get rid of his anger and that blaming others isn't the solution to his problems.

Perseverance is a hard task to master, but it will help you in the long run. When it comes to this you must continue to believe in yourself no matter what happens; you can’t give up. In Ben Michaelsen’s novel Touching Spirit Bear, as Cole lies near death, he creates goals that he will have to work toward.

I’ve never committed a crime, but author Ben Mikaelsen made me feel as if I was right there in the library waiting for my final judgement for beating a poor little kid. The book “Touching Spirit Bear” and its sequel “The Ghost of Spirit Bear” are both books written by novelist Ben Mikaelsen about two boys and their intertwined life. The first book takes place when teen delinquent Cole Matthews beats up a boy at school named Peter for telling on him. Peter’s injury leads to a permanent speech impediment and because of this Cole goes to jail. When Cole’s probation officer, Garvey, tells about a tribal version of punishment called Circle Justice, which is where the two people involved in the crime must heal together, and move forward from their quarrel, Cole jumps at the idea to get out of jail. When this doesn’t work they decide to send Cole to an Alaskan island, which Peter is eventually condemned to. Eventually they become friends and they get past their problems. It is the next book where they face challenges of going back to school and fitting in.

I had the same feelings when I read the back of the book. I truly enjoyed the novel. The description and detail of the bear mauling was intense. This story shows that children are a product of their environment. Cole's parents were alcoholics and his mother wouldn't / couldn't defend him against the constant beatings from his father. I felt so sorry for Cole but at the same time got so angry with his behavior. I believe everyone can change regardless of what environment they were brought up in and Cole proved that in the story. It is weird how the circle of