cake made from the same ingredients, Garvey gave Cole direction on how to handle his history of abuse at the hands of his father. Just as the individual cake ingredients were primarily distasteful when consumed alone, the anger and abuse of Cole’s past and the violent actions of his present were, in themselves, horrible experiences. However, the cake made from those ingredients tasted good to Cole. Although Cole did not yet seem to understand the lessons Garvey was attempting to teach him, Garvey’s goal was to show Cole that a person can still forge a positive future out of the negative experiences of the past. What a person does with their “ingredients” is up to them, and so far Cole had not used his experiences to become a better person or to help those around him.

Later on the island, Edwin and Garvey taught Cole a similar lesson to that of the cake ingredients, but this time with a hot dog. After Cole’s mediocre meal of a roasted hot dog, Edwin showed Cole how a hot dog should be prepared. By cooking it slowly over the fire to a perfect temperature, adding toppings with great care, and sharing it with Garvey, Edwin taught Cole that one receives from like what one puts into it. Cole put little effort into his meal and only got fed. Edwin put great effort into it and got an experience, a celebration. They were endeavoring to teach Cole that his experience on this island would be a celebration and a positive experience only if Cole put effort into it.

Another of Edwin’s metaphorical lessons to Cole is his use of a stick and the horizon to get Cole to focus on something else besides his anger. Asking Cole to break off the left end of the stick—and thus get rid of his anger—was impossible, because even after breaking it the stick still had a left end. Anger, as Edwin was attempting to explain, never goes away. He then used the sky to get Cole to focus only on the positive. In one direction, the sky appeared stormy, but in another, it was clear. Cole needed to stop thinking his whole sky was stormy and instead change his perspective.

Finally, Edwin and Garvey wanted Cole to learn from the nature around him. The rock he carried up the hill every morning was a metaphor to show Cole how he needed the help of others—his ancestors specifically—to forgive those who hurt him and forgive himself. Pushing the rock down the hill afterwards was a lesson to Cole that overcoming anger was an active process he must do for himself.

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 actually a very important part of the ancient tribal custom concerning banishment.

As punishment for beating up a kid who informed on him to the police, Cole will be banished to a remote Alaskan island, where he is expected to fend for himself for a whole year. As part of his punishment Cole must wear his clothes inside out for the first two weeks of his banishment. As Edwin points out, this is meant to show humility and shame. Initially, however, Cole doesn't show much in the way of either. His immediate reaction to Edwin's order is to tell the old man to get real.