Touching Spirit Bear Essay free essay sample

Nobody cares about me. All my life I’ve been dumped on† (Page 27). As a result, the anger that was building inside of him eventually got out of control. He has been thinking that violence is the answer to any conflict. He began beating anyone who came in his way. For instance, he beat up Peter up for turning him down, even though he did not mean it. â€Å"How is peter? † â€Å"Not well. Garvey says his bouts of depression keep getting worse. † â€Å"I wish I could help him somehow† (Page 182). In this case, his anger completely overcame him and it made him pound Peter bloody and smash his head against the side walk. Therefore, he has been facing terrible consequences, due to one action caused by the anger inside him. Anger is a memory never forgotten and anger made its most with Cole. I conclude that, Cole’s parents and their irresponsible actions are the cause for his anger, fury and violent behaviour. We will write a custom essay sample on Touching Spirit Bear Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If Cole’s parents had been sensible and cared for his life and wellbeing, Cole would have lived a better life. Although Cole has a lot of negative characteristics, he changes into a better person by the end of the book. One of the main reasons he changed was because of the Spirit Bear. When Cole is banished to a remote Alaskan Island, he encounters the Spirit bear and before he could do anything, it had vanished. Hence, he decides to kill it the next time he sees it. Another reason why he wanted to kill the Spirit Bear was because it wasn’t afraid of him. â€Å"If I saw a spirit bear, I’d kill it. † Cole said (Page 18). The next time Cole sees the Spirit Bear, it changes Cole, and a violent mauling ensues. Cole drifts in and out of consciousness as a violent storm hits the island and strikes a tree that nearly falls on him. He saw a nest of sparrows getting killed in front of his eyes, which taught him the value of life. â€Å"The sparrow Cole imagined was not angry. The young bird was helpless. It knew nothing of pride or control. It pleaded only for help, wanting nothing more than a worm brought by its mother. The worm was food, the food was energy, and energy was life. The baby begged simply for life† (Page 84). He quickly gets hungry and eats everything he finds, including worms, bugs and a mouse. The pain of his torn flesh and broken limbs became almost unbearable. He realizes that his life until then has been insignificant. He desperately wanted to live and be a part of the cycle of nature, but he knew that his desire to live was too late. This major incident Cole’s life was the turning point of the novel. As a result, he has learned to forgive, tell the truth, and has also realized all the mistakes and discomfort he caused to people, especially Peter, and decides to do his best to make up for it. After Cole learns the value of life, he wants to make up for every mistake he had done in the past and looked to improve. After recovering from his injuries, he is again sent to the island and the first improvement he made, was that he did not try to escape from the island when he was not monitored. He chose to face the consequences, rather than running away. The next improvement he made was, he tried his hardest to get his anger into control. He followed Edwin’s and Garvey’s advice and techniques such as, soaking into the pond, rolling down the ancestor rock and his anger down the hill and dancing by the fire each night. Eventually he stopped blaming others for his mistakes. The next improvement he made in his life, was that he made Peter o come to the island and made sure he saw the wonders and value of life. â€Å"There is one way to help him,† Cole blurted, but his voice was drowned out as Edwin revved the engine to steer the boat out away from the rocks. â€Å"You are not listening! † Cole screamed across the water. â€Å"I can help him! † (Page 202) He apologized to Peter and shows that he feels sorry for all the problems he had caused to his life. He changes into an honest, hardworking, reflective and trustworthy person. Cole has learned from his mistakes and tried his hardest to improve and become a better person. His motivation and hard work is the key to his success. At the beginning of the book Cole was an angry, furious, impatient, violent and fierce person. But now, thanks to the Spirit Bear and his hard work, he is now a completely different person. The Cole we know now is a gentle, caring, reflective, honest, hardworking and trustworthy person. He can control his anger and can also make sure, that it does not take control of him. This novel proves that anything can be achieved if you have courage, self-confidence, determination, motivation and a whole hearted effort.