Analysis Of Touching Spirit Bear

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 sent 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.

In the book “Touching Spirit Bear” by Ben Mikaelsen, the main character Cole shows that it is never too late to change. Cole went from violent and careless to peaceful and sorry. Even after beating Peter Driscal’s head against the sidewalk.

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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

The three most important life lessons in the book “Touching Spirit Bear” are that “Anger keeps people lost” (Mikaelsen, 20), “A man is only as good as his word” (Mikaelsen, 21), and last “Whatever you do to the animals you do to yourself” (Mikaelsen, 1). With these three lessons, it led to a lot of character development in characters like Cole, who was the protagonist in the book and even people who had less of a role in the journey like Peter who came to support Cole even though Cole maltreated him.     One of the most important quotes is that “Anger keeps people lost” (Mikaelsen, 75). This point can be proven when Cole is delirious on page 75. On this page, he burns down his own home on the Alaskan island where he was put to make up for

So far in the book, Cole has changed in many ways. First of all, Cole has changed because he has begun to have empathy for other living beings. Cole continuously refers back to the baby sparrows that died. After he is rescued from the island, at the Circle Justice meeting, he feels that each living being is important because he understands how horrible it is to be slowly waiting for your death. Nextly, Cole has changed because he has begun to realize that he cannot control everything and there are always going to be forces that are bigger and more powerful than him. Furthermore, Cole has also started to be honest and learned that since, “his life had become filled with lies, and the more he lied the more he always tried to prove he was right,”(111)

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.

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.

How would Cole have known, that the conflict with his dad, would affect his self-esteem. That is my question. In Touching spirit bear, by Ben Mikkelsen, Cole a punk, beats up Peter. He goes to an island to heal and does. But I’m not here to talk about that.