Analysis Of Touching Spirit Bear By Ben Mikaelsen

The book talks about multiple points of view of the 40 year war between the tribe and the American government and its’ citizens, and the raid on the Parker family who had traveled

In Ben Mikealsen’s novel – Touching Spirit Bear, Cole is a 14 year old juvenile delinquent from Minneapolis. He is a very angry, furious, fierce and violent boy who does not seem to have any control over his anger. Although he might be a very angry and impatient, he is also honest, strong, reflective and hardworking person by the end of the book. What is the cause of Cole’s anger? What helped Cole changed into a better person? What role does the Spirit Bear play?

Cole Matthews is not an uncommon young man that one would find in today’s society. Cole has not had a life I would call “easy” or “fair.” He had parents that as Cole stated, “all my parents do is drink.” (p27) His father beat him profusely. This is evidenced in the Circle Justice meetings when Cole said, “Or you’ll what?” “Beat me?” …..” “You’re still lying!” he shouted. “You’re usually too drunk to know your own name!” Cole knew these words guaranteed him a terrible beating next time he was alone…(p47-48) Cole didn’t feel he had any other emotions other than anger and fear. Many of us have had the same feelings as Cole, “He didn’t trust anyone who wasn’t afraid of him.” (p4) This is an

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.

Touching Spirit Bear is a very interesting book about forgiveness and redemption. The book covers the story of Cole Matthews, a juvenile delinquent who got exiled to an island for a crime he committed and how he learned to overcome his anger. While covering Cole’s path to redemption the book also teaches the reader many lessons about life. Some of the most important life lessons in “Touching Spirit Bear” are: “animals can teach people more about ourselves”(Mikaelsen,17), “forgiving isn’t forgiving”(Mikaelsen,38) and “life catches people off guard”(Mikaelsen,152)

Cole Matthews asks readers, “’Do you know what it's like waking up every morning knowing you're not good enough?’” and many young adults do. Young adults will relate to the characters in Touching Spirit Bear. “Touching Spirit Bear” is a young adult novel written by Ben Mikaelsen. It is about a teenager named Cole who, instead of going to prison for beating someone up, does a program called ‘Circle Justice’ where he is sent to a remote Alaskan island to heal. When he gets to the island he tries to escape, and attacks a bear, which almost kills him. After recovering in the hospital, he goes back to the island and tries again, this time with a willingness to change. While he’s there, he learns about himself, nature, and gains a new appreciation for life and for himself. He learns to be a better person, and forgive himself, and he realizes to fully heal he needs to help Peter, the person he beat up, heal too. Peter and Cole heal together, and eventually become friends. Touching Spirit Bear is a compelling piece of young adult fiction that will do well on the shelves, and should be published. It will do well because it is relatable, it is well written, and it fulfils a need in the genre for realistic fiction in young adult literature.

Conflict shapes people's lives in many different ways, somethings that conflict can shape are our emotions, and personal beliefs. Cole emotions were scattered and mixed up throughout the book. Cole has lots of regrets in life, one big one is beating Peters head into the ground. Now does Coles anger get out of hand? Cole expresses anger through dancing anger away. One thing about Cole that is misleading is Cole does not trust anyone who is not afraid of Cole. So this makes Cole very uneasy and sensitive when things go wrong. The name of this book is Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen. In the book by Ben Mikaelsen, inside Cole lies rage and anger Coles gets away with anything except for when he beats up Peter Driscal, and this is the last

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.

No goal was ever met without hardwork - Unknown In his novel , Touching Spirit Bear, Ben Mikaelsen shows how a significant event can change someone's life and make them appreciate the little beauties in life. This is demonstrated after Cole, the protagonist is mauled by a bear. After he is mauled he lies there and begins to value life, understands there is good, even in negative situations, and begins to work to change his perspective on life. When cole is snitched on by a kid named Peter Driscal, Cole gets revenge by furiously beating peter, Peter suffers from head injuries and Peter can now not speak without stuttering or slurring.

People like Cole who have gone through hard times and struggles know that facing adversity and succeeding is a hard process but it is possible. In the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen Cole has been facing adversity for a long time and taking his feelings out on others but after he beats up Peter Driscal his parents and the police think it's time for him to change. So they send him to an island but Cole doesn't want to change and causes problems for himself that he must solve later. Relationships, experiences, and the mindset of a person can be the difference between failing and succeeding in the face of Adversity. Everyone knows having positive relationships with people is vital to survival in the world.

In life, people have made mistakes, but it doesn’t matter how far down the wrong road you go, you can always turn back. In the book, “Touching Spirit Bear”, by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole has always made bad choices, but goes to Circle Justice for it. He learns his way there because he realized that he can control his emotions. Also, when he soaks in the pond and throws the ancestor rock, he feels his mistakes and anger forgiving him because his feelings are no longer taking control of Cole. Finally, Cole can forgive and help his victim (Peter) heal after he learned his way at Circle Justice.

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.

In Touching Spirit Bear Ben Mikaelsen, the author, develops the idea that overcoming hatred, grudges, and your fears is possible if you let people help you. This can be seen through the characterization of Cole and how his personality changes throughout the book and by the way his actions change and how he begins to show compassion when before he just would demonstrate hate. The development of the main character, Cole, during his journey to Alaska and back home shows the change of his personality from the beginning to the end of the story. In the beginning of the book Cole’s personality was self centered and rude.

Charles Eastman is an inspirational American Indian that accomplished more than he ever thought possible. Charles was born a Santee Sioux and lived out the Santee Sioux lifestyle until he was 15. He has written thirteen books that describe his live and the experiences he went through. The period that Charles grew up in was a transition period for the American Indians. Children were taken from their families, American Indian men were hung, and most American Indians were stripped of their native beliefs and forced to follow the “white man’s way”. These were not pleasant times, to say the least, but Charles Eastman persevered though family, education, and self-determination.

“He ignored the thistles as the bear sank its teeth into his thigh, lifting him like a rag doll.” Cole Matthews, a 15 year old juvenile delinquent was attacked by a bear shortly after he said he was going to kill it. Matthews ended up in this situation by beating up a fellow classmate, Peter Driscal. Cole did not want to go to jail for the amount of time he was required, so he decided to join Circle Justice and go to an island for a year to think about what he has done. While Cole was on the island he ran into a Spirit Bear, resulting in the bear attacking him.