Touching Spirit Bear Analysis

“With anger that had been brewing all day, he attacked him and started hitting him hard in the face with his bare fists. Peter was no match, and soon Cole had pounded him bloody. A dozen students stood watching. When Peter tried to escape, he tripped and fell to the ground. Cole jumped on him again and started smashing his head into the sidewalk” (8). Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen is about a kid named Cole. Cole is an angry kid who does a lot of bad stuff, so he gets put through Circle Justice, and the circle decides to put him on an island in Alaska. While on the island he is mauled by a spirit bear and after healing decides that he wants to become a better person. When he gets put on the island again, he takes it seriously and changes into a better person. Cole was able to overcome his adversity because he wanted to become a better person, he never gave up, and he had people supporting him along the way.

First of all, Cole was able to overcome his adversity because he wanted to change into a better person. At this point of the story, Cole is in Rosey’s hotel and Cole, Garvey, and Edwin are talking about what happened on the island. “Cole nodded. ‘I do, but it’s okay. Whatever happens now, I’m done being mad’“ (131). This shows that Cole actually wants to change and that he doesn’t want to be mad. This is important because Cole is finally realizing that his anger hurt people, and he wants to change so that he doesn’t hurt anyone else. The next