Touching Spirit Bear
By: Ben Mikaelsen
Characterization
Garvey, who is he? A lot of people think of him as just a parol officer, but he is really like a guardian angel sent to watch over Cole. Garvey stood by cole through all the rough things he went through. Edwin is similar to the ghosts from the Christmas Carol because he is trying to help Cole but he also knows what Cole is going through because he once went through it himself. Peter was very badly injured by Cole and later tried to commit suicide, he may never be the same again. Cole, where do I start? Well he started off as the bad boy who acted like he didn't care about anything. But the truth is that he was really just using his dads beating him as an excuse and expected people to feel sorry for him yet be scared of him at the same time. Later on cole goes to an island, gets attacked by a bear , and changed of the better.
Symbolism/Motifs
The at.'oo shows trust. The stick shows that anger cannot go away but you can look at the better side of things. The hot dog shows that life is what you make of it so make it a celebration. The ancestors rock shows that you can take your ancestors with you the rest of your life. The spirit bear shows trust and courage and as well it can also be seen as a reflection of cole and how by hurting the spirit bear, he hurt himself.
"A strange thought occurred to Cole: the world was beautiful. Yes, the world was beautiful...He wondered why he had never noticed all this before. How much beauty had Cole missed in his lifetime? How much beauty had he destroyed?"
The narrater lets us into Coles thoughts as he lies on the floor just after the spirit bear attacked him. It was from this position of vulnerability that he understands the wonder of nature. He is for the first time excited about his surroundings, and this is weird because with so many of his bones broken, he can no longer move around to see them or enjoy them.
"I Am"
I am Cole Mathews
I am troubled and changed
I wonder if I can truly help Peter
I hear the cries of the dying birds
I see the tree and nest fall to the ground
I want to be healed
I am Cole Matthews
I pretend not to care about my father
I feel angry
I touch the spirit bear
I worry I can't help Peter
I cry at how I have hurt Peter
I am Cole Matthews
I understand I cannot be trusted
I say I touched the Spirit bear
I dream of the spirit bear
I try to help Peter
I hope to become a new and improved me
I am Cole Matthews