In the novel, Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole Matthews shows trustworthiness and Humility, but also lacks both of them. Cole was hurtful to others because Peter tries to protect himself and his peers (Mikalesen, 10-13).He also was careless because he didn’t care about others. For example, he didn’t care if Peter got hurt when he smashed Peters head against the sidewalk (Mikalesen, 7-8). Lastly, he was judgmental because he would pick who he wants to beat up by their actions and words (Mikalesen, 35). For example, he committed crimes because others treated him bad. Cole Matthews lacked but then gained compassion in the novel Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Michaelson.
Cole lacked some trust at the beginning of the book, but at the end of the Touching Spirit Bear. He lacked trustworthiness when he gave a log cabin that Garvey had built for him, and Cole burnt it to the ground. “The flames of the burning
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shelter rumbled like a freight train and sucked at the air,” (Mikalesen, 35). He also lost trust when he was given the at.oṓw form Garvey and he threw it in the fire. “Shielding his face from the burning heat, Cole snatched up the at.oṓw, and with one swift motion, flung it toward the fire,” (Mikalesen, 35). First, he showed trustworthiness when Garvey left the spark plugs in the boat and Cole didn’t take the boat. “As Edwin and Garvey crawled into the aluminum skiff, Cole called, ‘Don’t forget to put the spark plugs back in.’ ‘it’s been in for two days,’ Edwin said” (Mikalesen, 210-211). He also showed trustworthiness when he dragged the log back to the cabin and he was tempted to carve a canoe to escape but then carved a deep line in the middle to carve a totem pole. “There was something else this log would work for. The thought frightened him, and he pushed it out of his head,” (Mikalesen, 214). Cole Matthews lacked trustworthiness, but eventually learned how to be trusted. Cole showed humility in many ways, but he lacked it in the beginning.
When Cole robbed the Hardware Store and told every, he was showing a lacked of humility. “After robbing the place, he had trashed it. The police might not have caught him, but after a week passed, he bragged about the break-in at school,” (Mikalesen, 7). He also lacked humility when he refused to took Edwin’s gloves that he offered Cole. “Edwin handed Cole the pair of gloves. ‘Here, these will keep you from getting blisters.’ ‘I might have a bum arm, but I’m not a wimp,’ Cole said,” (Mikalesen, 177). Cole started showing humility when he finally realized that he couldn’t control everything. “How could he have ever thought he could control….,” (Mikalesen, 92). He also shows humility when he was worried about the baby sparrows. “Mustering all his strength, he raised his head, and with a weak and pinched voice he called into the darkness branches, ‘Are you okay?’ asked Cole,” (Mikalesen, 92). Cole Matthews started showing humility once he learned and lived with his own thoughts for a
while. Cole Matthews has grown his character by changing after being mauled by a bear on his first visit to the island. He didn’t care about others at the beginning of the Touching Spirit Bear he lacked trustworthiness and humility. By the middle of the book, he was learning how to show characteristics but wasn’t a pro at it yet. Fortunately, by the end of the book, he was able to show mostly all the character traits. Cole Matthews was not a friendly boy before he was sent to the island. The first trip wasn’t a success, but he was so compassionate about him wanting to try and get a new start. His way of doing this was to sell all his personal belongings (snow mobile, dirt bike, etc.) just to fund the second trip to the island. In conclusion, Cole Matthews has changed throughout the novel Touching Spirit Bear and learned to show character.
Before Cole went to the island he didn't forgive anyone. He had a chip on his shoulder and didn't have respect for anyone, He beat up Peter and knew nothing but to fight. When he got to the island for the first time he blamed everyone for him getting sent to the island, he never thought that he was the issue. Later on the island he almost died after being attacked by the spirit bear. Being attacked really changed him, When he went back to the island after recovering from his injuries he learned how to forgive. He then forgave himself for everything has done such as beating up peter and letting his anger get to him. He learned to forgive while dancing the anger dance on the island. He truly changed by the end of the book and learned to forgive.
Hey, I didn’t see you there, how are you?I'm just wondering whether or not a big ol' grizzly bear is going to come charging at me at any point in my life, but seeing as grizzly bears are endangered that probably won't happen. In the past, there were thought to be around 50,000 grizzly bears in North America, nowadays they are growing sparse there are estimated to be only around 1800, now not even a 20th of the population in the past. Most of these grizzlies are located in Yellowstone National Park and Alaska, but they can also be found in Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and Montana. Some are thought to be in Washington.
“Another source of greatness is difficulty. When any work seems to have required immense force and labour to effect it, the idea is grand” (Edmund Burke).We may not enjoy tremendous obstacles while we’re experiencing them, but when they’re over, we can definitely see the benefits. In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, the protagonist, Cole, has had to face many obstacles in his life, such as his abusive father, his neglectful mother and his anger. Many people can relate to Cole because they, too, have had many obstacles in their life. Overcoming obstacles makes Cole more empathetic and emotionally stable. Empathy is important because it is what allows humans to be human. Being mentally
Yes, he is responsible for his actions. Everyone has a conscience that acts as a so called ‘voice’ that leads them to do right things or wrong things, but in my opinion, your conscience is just you deciding whether or not to do something on your own. Cole didn’t have to steal from stores, and he didn’t have to beat Peter up. He didn’t have to do any of it and now his actions are his responsibility. “The kid, Peter Driscal, was a ninth grader Cole had picked on many times before just for the fun of it. Still, no one ratted on Cole Matthews without paying the price. That day, he caught up to Peter in the hallway at school. ‘You’re a dead man,’ he warned the skinny red-haired boy, giving him a hard shove. He laughed when he saw the fear in Peter’s eyes.” (pg. 7, Touching Spirit Bear) Cole didn’t have to do that, but he did anyway. If Cole only knew how to take responsibility for his actions or not even do them at all, life would be great for the characters in the story. But, if you were wondering, obviously if someone like Cole beat other kids up, their had to be someone or something making him behave like this. Like maybe someone was picking on him? Clearly we know it is not someone at his school, “He hated being called Champ. And he hated being touched. Nobody ever touched him except to hit him.
I am reading Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen. I have enjoyed reading the book so far. The book is about a boy named Cole whose parents have not treated him very well, so he makes poor decisions. One of the decisions he made was beating up a boy at school to the point where he was bleeding and helpless. This decision that he made caused him to either be tried as an adult at court, or to be part of the circle of justice program, which would require him to be by himslef on an island and he would have to fend for himself and this would hopefully get him to be in touch with his inner peace. When cole got to the island he was not positive about it at all. It stated “Cole felt his anger
In “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman, the whole story revolves around Lia, the thirteenth child of Lee family. Lee family was a refugee family in USA and Lia was their first child to be born in US. At the time of time of birth, she was declared as a healthy child but at the age of three it was founded that she is suffering from epilepsy. In the words of western or scientific world the term epilepsy mean mental disorder of a person and in Hmong culture, epilepsy is referred to as qaug dab peg (translated in English, "the spirit catches you and you fall down"), in which epileptic attacks are perceived as evidence of the epileptic's ability to enter and journey momentarily into the spirit realm (Wikipedia, 2014)
Your insight, words of encouragement and advice are much appreciated. You have hit on all the hot spots: listening skills, time management skills, zoning out, and working independently. I, too, think that he is a bright child, but Cole has always had less than desirable
One fact that is interesting is how Joan Halifax explains those previously mentioned “those eyes and hands” which were fierce and wrathful were used tenderly and wisely as well. She describes of people who have those characteristics would “touch” other’s lives for the better when she gave many emotionally touching examples. She mentions stories of kindness or how women, an old man, etc. kindly care for ugly people who others would run away from due to victim’s disgusting appearance. The reason why Joan Halifax mentioned this is because those caretakers are able to see clearly in to victim’s nature of suffering as their own. That is why those kind people can’t be helped to be close to poor souls as they feel familiar with. That is why people
Chaya and Cole are fighting for their lives against harsh climate and society. In Touching Spirit Bear and The Devil’s Arithmetic,their characters face the same conflicts in different times and places. While Touching Spirit Bear and The Devil’s Arithmetic both have similar themes centered on survival the characters learn and develop in different ways.
She has felt this way ever since she committed some act that provoked the McKenna family to have distaste in Bailey. So far in the book, it has not yet been revealed what Bailey actually did to Cole McKenna or his family. She does, however, still have feelings for Cole but knows deep down that nothing will ever happen with them because of “what happened”. She has expressed her surprise at his compassion on multiple accounts throughout the novel up until this point. Quite frequently when the author writes in the perspective of Bailey, she (Bailey) tells the reader her thoughts which, most often than not, are degenerative of herself because of “what she has done.” She lives life in worry and almost in a state of paranoia because she fears what other people will think of
Cole’s main chorus in this song is, “All we wanna do is take the chains off, All we wanna do is break the chains off, All we wanna do is be free,” which clearly demonstrates that there is slavery within. He wants to break the chains off and be free instead of feeling trapped and stuck in this almost absurd world, as he describes it. Finally, Cole brilliantly pulls the emotion out by saying, “That there ain't no gun they make that can kill my soul.” A person’s soul is one’s true self. It’s ultimately the spiritual embodiment of whom you really are. It contains everything that makes you, including your morals and
He is athletic, attractive and social. When we first meet Julius, we see him as a typical popular boy. However, we soon realize that his intentions are pure. The way Noel first describes Julius is by saying, “And when Julius arrived and everyone, including Fall, was drawn to him” (McAdam 23). Julius was someone everyone wanted to know. He was friendly with everyone but his weakness was trusting everyone including Noel. Even after Julius’s friend Chuck tells Julius about the arm biting incident that Noel was involved in, he still doesn’t care. Chuck proclaims, “There’s something I don’t trust, J.” Julius simply replies with: “Ok.” (McAdam 114). Julius wants to see the good in everyone and thinks that Noel is just a nice and sad person. After Fall goes missing, his attitude changes and he realizes that he may be trusting the wrong people. Julius no longer sees Noel as he used to be as he states: “You hang around. You’re always around. I don’t just mean in the room. You’re always right fuckin’ there, whenever I turn around” (McAdam 327). We get a sense of just how creepy Noel is. He follows Julius everywhere and watches everything her does like a stalker. He knows more about Julius’s life than he needs to. In a way, Julius overcomes his weakness of giving out his trust after the person most important to him is gone. At the same time, he changes from a strong and independent person to someone who has second thoughts. Both of
For my work of art, I decided to appeal to the sense of smell. The animal in which I created this work of art for was an American black bear. I chose this specific animal because according to the National Park Service, bears in general are believed to have the “keenest sense of smell in the animal kingdom.” A bear’s sense of smell is by far its strongest sense. Black bears, specifically, have been estimated at smelling food from 18 to 20 miles away. Their nasal mucosa (lining of the nasal cavity) has been found to be 100 times greater than that of humans. Within my art work, I have included several foods like pears, cherries, peaches, peanut butter, bread, and jelly to appeal to the black bears sense of smell. I found that fruits, especially,
There are three elements of compassion. They are self-kindness, common humanity and mindfulness. Self-kindness is often referred to as a way of self-compassion. Common humanity reflects on embracing self-compassion. To be mindfulness means to observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without giving a negative or positive judgement.
Ascione said, “In a climate of pervasive terror, the roots of human empathy may wither and die, or fail to develop at all.” Children raised in violent homes may blunt or diminish their emotional responses to trauma as an adaptation. These emotional responses are often referred to as empathy. Webster defines empathy as, “the feeling that you understand and share another person’s experiences and emotions; the ability to share someone else’s feelings”. However, this specific study focuses on cognitive empathy, which is an intellectual understanding of another’s experience. In terms of cognitive empathy (and other emotions) it becomes a use it or lose it situation. This is when children do not exercise their “I feel bad about doing this” feelings so they weaken. The Hartman et al study states that lower levels of cognitive empathy predict animal abuse in children. Think about it in Grinch terms. His heart gets smaller the less and less he uses it. While lower levels of cognitive empathy are a predictor, so are high CU trait scores. CU traits are callous-unemotional trails which exemplify lack of empathy, guilt, and regard for others. When a child has higher CU traits, they are generally more aggressive and have a tendency for delinquency and