Quotes From Touching Spirit Bear

“There in the palm of his hand was a wad of hair. Cole stared. The hair was white. All white. ‘It’s true,’ he whispered. ‘I wasn’t lying.’ Deliberately, he raised his hand and tossed the hair into the water. Beginning today, he would tell the truth. His words would become his only proof” (112). In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole is a kid who focused on anger and lied a lot. In this part of the book Cole swore not to lie which is a big change. Cole was beaten up by his parents when he was younger and was raised in an environment of anger. He was forced to go to and island in Alaska because he smashed Peter Driscal’s head into the pavement. On the island in Alaska he was mauled by a bear for threatening it. Almost dead, Cole realized that he needed to change. So after going to rehab Cole gets one more chance on the island to fully

Matthews doesn’t know any better, than to beat up his son when he gets angry. Only because this is how he was treated when he was younger. Mr. Matthew’s bubble of life is filled with anger. To not feel anything Mr. Matthews is always drunk and never in control. When Mr. Matthews was younger he went through the same treatment that Cole is treated with. Beating. This type of abuse taught Mr. Matthews that it is right to beat your child with all you have got and it is right to be angry. Even when you are in a meeting. When Cole and his family were meeting with the whole community Mr. Matthews was angry. Anger just controls him front the top of his head to the tip of his toes. “Cole’s father sat up taller in his chair. ‘I’m William Matthews,’ he announced importantly. ‘ I'm here to make sure that my son never causes problems again.’ He turned and glared at Cole” (40). Mr. Matthews doesn’t even care about Cole; all he wants is to get out of this mess. Mr. Matthews doesn’t care about anyone except himself and the anger that controls him now will control him forever because he doesn’t care to change and mostly doesn’t want