Touching Spirit Bear Questions and Answers
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the major theme in Touching Spirit Bear?
The major theme of the book is that you need to overcome your past before you can move forward. Cole learns that he cannot run away from his past. He has suffered, but that suffering is a part of...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the conflict of the book Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen?
The primary conflict in Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear is primarily an internal one. Cole Matthews is an angry young man. He grew up in a dysfunctional family; his mother is weak and timid...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the realization that Cole has during the storm in Touching Spirit Bear?
Cole realizes that he is small and insignificant in nature, and all alone. Cole is a very angry young man. He blames everyone else for his shortcomings and his mistakes. When he agrees to Circle...
Touching Spirit Bear
What are the conflicts in Touching Spirit Bear
All four major conflicts of literature are in Ben Mikaelsen's coming-of-age novel. Man vs. Society The protagonist, Cole Matthew, a juvenile delinquent has agrees to be part of a rehabilitation...
Touching Spirit Bear
What are some examples of metaphor in Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen?
In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, the protagonist, Cole Matthews, attacks fellow teenager Peter Driscal. In order to avoid jail time, Cole enters a Native American justice program called...
Touching Spirit Bear
What are the metaphorical lessons that Edwin and Garvey taught Cole in Touching Spirit Bear? What did Cole learn from...
In Touching Spirit Bear, Edwin and Garvey taught Cole several important lessons regarding healing and forgiveness using metaphors. Before Cole was sent to the island, Garvey used cake ingredients...
Touching Spirit Bear
Why is the Circle Justice important in Touching Spirit Bear?
Circle Justice is an alternative to prison. It is meant to heal, not punish. “Circle Justice is for those ready for healing. It’s not an easy way out. In fact, a healing path is often much...
Touching Spirit Bear
How do Cole's relationships with his family, community, and country affect his actions and decisions in Touching...
Cole did not have a positive relationship with his family. His father was abusive, and his mother’s unhappiness led her to drink. He blamed them for everything, and became a very angry person....
Touching Spirit Bear
What are the conflict(s) the main character of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen goes through?
The book, Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelsen, is full of conflicts for the protagonist, Cole. Cole is abused by his father, and his mother does nothing to help him. When he gets in trouble, he...
Touching Spirit Bear
In chapter 5 of Touching Spirit Bear, when Cole tries to escape and fails, what does he try to find?
Cole's so desperate to escape the island that he doesn't take the tide into account. He ends up swimming against the tide, and the more the struggles, the less progress he makes. Suddenly, Cole...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is a theme of Touching Spirit Bear and textual evidence that explains the theme?
One of the book’s themes is that you must forgive yourself in order to move on with your life. Cole was a very angry kid. His anger was a result of self-loathing. His parents were both negligent...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the genre of Touching Spirit Bear?
A genre can best be described as a category of something, usually art, music, or literature. In music, there are divisions such as jazz, classical, and rap, and these are called genres. There are...
Touching Spirit Bear
Why is the detention center important in Touching Spirit Bear?
The detention center is meant to detain juveniles who have committed crimes and keep them off the street until they go to trial or jail. Cole has been in trouble many times in the past. However,...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is a theme of Touching Spirit Bear and textual evidence that explains the theme?
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen is a coming-of-age story about a young man named Cole who undergoes a healing treatment on a deserted island as punishment for violently attacking another boy....
Touching Spirit Bear
In Touching Spirit Bear, what does Edwin tell Cole to do as soon as he sees him? Why does Cole have to do this? What...
When Edwin first meets Cole in Drake, he takes one look at him and, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction, tells him to go and put his clothes on inside out. This strange request is...
Touching Spirit Bear
What was Cole's motivation for beating up Peter Driscal?
Touching Spirit Bear is a novel written by Ben Mikaelsen. The main character in this book is a young boy named Cole Matthews. Cole has a lot of anger issues, and he often uses violence to deal with...
Touching Spirit Bear
Why does Cole think the bear attacked him?
Angry, delinquent teen Cole Matthews is the main character in Ben Mikaelsen's novel Touching Spirit Bear. When Cole first arrives at the island he is supposed to spend a year on as a part of his...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is a theme of Touching Spirit Bear and what is some textual evidence that explains the theme?
The theme is the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is important in this novel because Cole has to forgive his parents, Peter has to forgive him, and he has to forgive himself. The novel’s...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the significance of the circle on the totem pole in Touching Spirit Bear?
In Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, Cole Matthews chooses to undergo a form of justice called "Circle Justice" to atone for smashing a boy's skull into the sidewalk. "Circle Justice" is a...
Touching Spirit Bear
What exactly is the Bear? In Touching Spirit Bear.
The spirit bear is actually a subspecies of a black bear. They are called Kermode Bears after the man who studied them. They are NOT a form of polar bear; their white color comes from a recessive...
Touching Spirit Bear
In what way does Cole become a better person in Touching Spirit Bear?
Cole becomes a better person because he stops being violent and blaming others for his problems. When the story starts, Cole is a very angry young man. He is facing a jail sentence for severely...
Touching Spirit Bear
Write a hook for a essay about coming of age in Touching Spirit Bear and The Outsiders.
Writing a hook ("attention getter") can be a very difficult thing to do. Writing is hard work, and sometimes putting down that first sentence is the most difficult part of the entire essay or...
Touching Spirit Bear
What was the conflict in the book Touching Spirit Bear?
The main conflict is an internal conflict Cole has with himself. Cole is a very angry kid. It is because Cole is so angry that he gets into trouble. Cole is at war with himself. He is trying to...
Touching Spirit Bear
Any idea "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen is appropriate for what grade level? Any idea "Touching Spirit Bear"...
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen is a story that deals with a teenage main character in isolation, and also presents issues with which he is dealing in his regular life. Among these issues...
Touching Spirit Bear
Do you think Garvey agreed to be Cole’s sponsor for the Circle because Cole genuinely had changed? Why or why not?
As Cole prepares to enter the Circle Justice program, he must have a sponsor to do so. Garvey, as a probation officer, has experience with young offenders and has a realistic or skeptical...
Touching Spirit Bear
Please provide details about the main character of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.
Fifteen-year-old Cole Matthews is the main character of Ben Mikaelsen's novel Touching Spirit Bear. He is the protagonist of the story, but for most of the novel he is busy antagonizing anyone he...
Touching Spirit Bear
How does the spirit bear help Cole find peace in Touching Spirit Bear?
Ben Mikaelson's young adult novel Touching Spirit Bear tells the story of an angry and troubled young man named Cole. At the age of fifteen, Cole is in enough trouble with the law that he only has...
Touching Spirit Bear
In Touching Spirit Bear, what causes Garvey to say that there is not enough room on the island for Cole and his...
Garvey is explaining to Cole that he cannot continue to maintain his angry attitude if he wishes to live on the island and be successful. The idea that there is "not room for both" stems from the...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the hook about coming of age in Touching Spirit Bear?
The link or hook between Touching Spirit Bear and coming of age is that our main character, Cole Matthews, is just 15 years old when he is sent to begin his year of banishment on an island in...
Touching Spirit Bear
Any idea about what are the major events in the book "Touching Spirit Bear" written by Ben Mikaelsen.
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson is a novel that resonates with young adult readers. Cole Matthews is filled with rage, and he steals and fights as a result of it. When he catches Peter...
Touching Spirit Bear
what happens when Cole and Peter go to soak in Toughing Spirit Bear?
Since his return to the island, Cole has been going for regular soaks in the cold water of the pond. Edwin instructs him to do this as a way to soak the anger out of him. In the final chapter,...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the purpose of the Hearing Circle?
According to Garvey, the Hearing Circle is where people gather together to look for solutions. After Cole caps off his most recent felonious activity by beating up a boy who reported him, it...
Touching Spirit Bear
In Touching Spirit Bear, who is Peter?
The main character of Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear is a teenage boy named Cole Matthews. To avoid going to jail, it is decided that he will spend a year on a remote island in Alaska, where...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is Cole trying to avoid by going to Alaska?
Cole has got into trouble. Again. He's assaulted a young boy by the name of Peter, and is within a hair's breadth of going to jail in Minneapolis. But he's been given a second chance—with strings...
Touching Spirit Bear
What central problem confronts the main character in Touching Spirit Bear?
Cole was unable to manage his anger and blamed his violent outburst and bitterness on his parents. He blamed his father for hitting him and his mother for doing nothing about it. Cole meted out the...
Touching Spirit Bear
Any suggestions for other noteworthy coming-of-age novels that draw the reader in as well as Touching Spirit Bear by...
I have two more ideas for you that I just could not think of when I answered your question: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements Of all the books I suggested, it...
Touching Spirit Bear
What is the main philosophy/value in the book Touching Spirit Bear?
Touching Spirit Bear conveys ideas about the importance of forgiveness, sincerity, and compassion. The idea that forgiveness is a dual process is emphasized through the characters of Peter and...
Touching Spirit Bear
Does anyone have a multiple choice/ matching exam created for the novel Touching Spirit Bear?
I just posted a true/false, matching, and short answer test over Touching Spirit Bear to the documents tab. It's a "quick" test that I used primarily to test comprehension for independent reading....
Touching Spirit Bear
Any idea about the major events that took place in the book "Touching Spirit Bear," written by Ben Mikaelsen?
Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson is a novel that resonates with young adult readers. Cole Matthews is filled with rage, and he steals and fights as a result of it. When he catches Peter...