Author’s Note: I wrote this piece
for my character development project. When I wrote this, it reminded me how
much character’s change throughout the book . It also reminded me of some other
books I have read and how they are similar to this one.
In the beginning of the book Touching Spirit bear , by Ben
Mikaelson, the main character, Cole has
a horrible reputation. He doesn’t get
along with anyone including his parents and his parole officers. When Cole is sent to Jail for beating up a
kid, he decides that he can’t stay in a jail cell. Cole is given the option to
go to a group called “Justice Circle” where they send you to an island for a
year so that you can get a chance to find yourself. When Cole gets to the
island he gets off to a bad start. Yet, when he gets a chance to go back, he
takes it more seriously. He starts to
make decisions that change his personality in great ways.
When Cole first gets on the island,
he makes some very bad decisions by trying to escape the island but does not succeed.
When Cole gets mauled by the spirit bear, he gives more respect to people and
animals. He gets a second chance to go
back and starts to understand why he was sent there . To learn his lesson. He starts to do things that he wouldn’t have thought in a million
years he would do. The things his therapist and parole officer teach him affect
him greatly. At first he refuses to do the things like carrying the ancestor
rock in the morning or going for a
morning soak. This helps Cole think about what he did wrong and why he
shouldn’t have done it. He starts a routine in which helps him develop a kinder
and more calm personality. When his
parole officer comes to see how he is
doing, he is shocked that Cole is using his methods and that they are really helping
him.
Furthermore, Cole’s attitude
changed toward Peter, the kid who Cole beat up and got sent to prison for doing
so. Before the island, Cole thought that changing his personality would never
happen. Turns out that it wasn’t really that hard. When Cole realized what he
did to Peter he felt horrible and wanted to undo it knowing that he couldn’t. Garvey,
Cole’s parole officer, tells Cole that he had beaten Peter so bad that he has
tried to commit suicide. Cole takes this very personally. He wants to help
Peter. People like Garvey and Cole’s therapist see that he isn’t a self
obsessed jerk anymore. They see that he really wants to help Peter and that he
now respects him.
Not only did Cole’s attitude change
towards the Peter, but it changed towards his parents who he thought he hated.
Before Cole was sent back to the island for a second chance. He got a chance to
talk to his mother. She told him how his father was no in prison because of the
fact that before the island Cole’s father was abusive to him. Cole’s attitude
changes towards his Father because his mother tells him how his father was
abused as a child. Cole knows now that getting beat up was a life style for his
father and forgives him and gets why he did it. He also forgives his mother for
never standing up for him. Cole realizes that it wasn’t his parents fault for
his horrible behavior.
In the book Touching Spirit Bear, Cole reminds me of Roger, the main character
in the short story Thank you ma’am.
In the story roger is a poor boy who just thinks he can do whatever he wants
and can get away with it, just like Cole. Roger then gets caught doing
something terrible to Mrs. Jones and she takes him back to her house to teach
him a lesson just like how the island was supposed to teach Cole a lesson. When
Roger gets to Mrs. Jones house , he is surprised how respectfully she was
treating him. Roger ended up getting all that he needed and all he needed to do
was have a good attitude, just like Cole.
In the end of the book, Cole’s new
image has given everyone a shock. Instead of people being afraid of Cole, they
now want to be friends with him. Cole’s mother is now more active in her sons
life and his attitude reflects off of that because he knows someone finally
cares about him. Peter has also taken a liking to Cole. Since Cole helped Peter
get out of this mess, Peter understands that Cole is a better person and
doesn’t have to be afraid of him anymore.
Cole finally appreciates the help he got and the new relationships with
the ones who care for him.
