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What Is The Theme Of Touching Spirit Bear By Ben Mikaelsen

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Andrew Gilmet Mr. Ian McIsaac English 10 30 May 2023 Touching Spirit Bear— By Ben Mikaelsen Do you really believe that locking him up is the best option for a person like Cole? Cole is a troublemaker who, despite being locked up, will never change his ways. Additionally, the only chance we got to save Cole is by enrolling him in the Circle Justice program which will help him in his recovery. Please consider my primary arguments on why I think this is the only possibility for the best outcome. First, Garvey explains why Circle is more than just avoiding jail in Chapter 1, page 12, by Ben Mikaelsen. Furthermore, he claims that "if you enter jail angry, you stay angry." Follow your heart; it is how you will return. It is …show more content…

We still hate each other, I still feel bad about my cat, and you’re angry because you have to pay a fine. In Circle Justice, you sign a healing contract”. Basically, what he is trying to say here is that even if you put Cole in jail, Peter and Cole will still hold a grudge against each other. All jail is going to do is harden Cole and make him worse than he is now because the police don't care about the inmates or about trying to heal them. Moreover, jail will scar Cole’s soul, so I know for a fact that circle justice is the right thing to do because he has a chance to fix his mistakes by knowing up to them. Therefore, he will be able to heal properly. Hatred can never be taken away, but if you learn how to suppress it and control it, you will be able to live a happy life. We have to start realizing that putting people in jail is something that won’t fix anything. The only time that this should be done is when someone kills multiple people. Last, people need to learn from their mistakes. When you put someone in jail, both sides will still be angry, so we should start trying to fix the problem instead of avoiding …show more content…

I lived my early years here in Drake, but no one cared enough to take me through Circle justice. If they had, maybe things would have been different”. “Take my word for it, jail scars the soul. And I was never able to help those I hurt”. Previously, Garvey already discussed why circle justice is better than jail. However, he is now disclosing his true identity by saying that he has experienced the same troubles as Cole. He's telling us that because circle justice didn't exist for him, he couldn't heal. He claims that things could have been different if he had gone through circle justice, but it appears to me that nobody cares about individuals like Cole anymore because all we want to do is lock them up and forget about them. Furthermore, Garvey explains that he couldn't heal the individuals he wounded because he didn't have circle justice. Moreover, jail left a wound to his spirit. This breaks my heart because both Garvey and his victims didn’t receive fair treatment, They both were left

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In the novel Touching Spirit Bear, troubled protagonist Cole Matthews has severely injured another boy. Instead of being taken into custody, he is given a second chance, and sent to a remote island. The program responsible for this alternate adhesion of justice, Circle Justice, is something that helps kids everywhere escape a life of crime, and become functioning adults. The arrogant teen takes full advantage of his luck, and manages to get himself into a deadly situation. Now, it is up to officials to decide whether he should return to the island, or carry out the rest of his sentence in prison.

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In the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, a boy named Cole who beats up this kid name Peter because he told on him for robbing a hardware store. Cole was about to go to jail for what he did but then his parole officer named Garvey told him about this thing called the Circle Justice. The Circle Justice is a native american form a justice where they seek more for healing then for just having a normal punishment.

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When Cole finally forgave, he allowed himself to move on and allows us to find happiness

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Wait, I think I'm going too far and putting my life here, so now Cole is banished to an island and mauled by the Spirit Bear. And I honestly think that Cole deserved it, because it changed him to become better and not worse, and he has found meaning in life and has changed for the better. And I think Cole will be able to change, because after he has touched the Spirit Bear, he feels trusted and he trusts the Spirit Bear in return, and he finally views the world as beautiful unlike before. Lastly, I think after Cole returns from his banishment, the people in circle justice will want him to undergo normal justice, and then Cole does some crazy things to prove that he has changed, for example pushing a rock up and down a hill. So in summary, I think Cole is broken, Cole

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In the book Touching Spirit Bear, Cole does many things with major consequences. His anger mainly controls these things, but when Cole finds himself lying on the ground as good as dead, he realizes that he's not a good person, and he realizes what he has done. Here are some consequences and mistakes that Cole has made in the past to get to this point. In the first few chapters, Cole was ruthless.

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Cole is already a very troubled kid with a lot of anger issues, attitude, and jail sentences, which, therefore, led him to beating up Peter Driscal and giving him a permanent injury. “Justice should heal not punish” is a quote by Garvey (Mikaelsen 13). Circle Justice is a wonderful opportunity for Cole to turn around and make his life better. If he goes to jail with love,

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In the beginning of the novel, Cole repeatedly claims he does not regret the beating of Peter. Mikaelsen writes, “Instead Peter was hospitalized. Doctors’ reports warned he might suffer permanent damage. ‘Serves him right,’ Cole mumbled, ”(8). As Cole is being told his actions have caused for one to possibly suffer from severe damage, he demonstrates no remorse whatsoever.

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Cole was beaten by him throughout his childhood. This pain and anger gave him the personality and characteristic to inflict pain on other people. The two final themes have a very strong connection. In order to heal, mentally and physically, you have to learn to forgive and receive forgiveness. This was a lesson the reader and the main character, Cole, experience throughout the book.

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They sent him to an island instead of prison, so he can learn some lessons about his actions. Throughout the book, Cole has many realizations about himself. Things he would have never known if he was sent to jail. He learns peace, through soaking

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That’s what’s important’”(285). This shows the trust and close bong that has grown in their relationship. One of the steps to overcoming adversity is fixing a broken bond and Cole did that which had a big impact on him overcoming his adversity. Cole’s relationships have impacted him and helped him overcome his challenges, identical to his environment and how that helps

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At the beginning of the novel, Cole Matthews is a vicious teenager who thinks he is superior to everyone, but is, in fact, hiding behind a shield of anger, the result of being brutally abused by his drunken father. Cole’s father, Mr. Matthews, drinks non stop until he becomes a monster, and then ruthlessly beats Cole up. When talking to Garvey, a proud, Tlingit indian, who is also his parole officer, Cole opens up about his father’s abuse saying, “‘You don’t know what it’s like being hit over and over until you’re so numb you don’t feel anything!” (Mikaelsen 28).

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When Cole Matthews was given banishment, he had many opportunities to reflect on his numerous crimes, and his behavior. As the chapters are progressed it is clear that Cole does not treat banishment for its actual reason. Banishment was for Cole to realize his actions and how he could make up for them. Cole wanted to take banishment as a subsitide for jail, because he didn’t want to be incarcerated. Cole’s constant negative attitude, discouraging behavior, and actions got the best out of him.

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Having them put into care systems that are semi-isolated is likely to help them improve and work on themselves. Having youths work with people to help them mentally could help with a significant increase in youths being rehabilitated. When they receive care and appreciation for their work there is a significant chance of improvement. When Cole receives Garvey's attention and care he starts to slowly care more. While he is manipulating the circle justice committee he slowly shows signs of guilt at the end before he is taken to the island.

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