Character Devlopment

Author's Note: Touching Spirit Bear is a book about a boy that has always been an outcast and has problems controlling his temper.

Cole in Touching Spirit Bear has always had a problem with most kids at school. He has took a lot of bad turns in life, but it's not his fault his parents are never home and when his dad is home he's always drunk. Cole has no one to tell him right from wrong and he doesn't have anyone there for him when he just wants to talk to someone. 

Sometimes it takes a long time for people to change and sometimes it doesn't. Cole in Touching Spirit Bear has always been the one to stand out in a crowd but not because he's different but because he's the one to always cause the problem. Many kids have always been mean to Cole and when Peter starts to bully him at school and Cole goes out of control. After slamming Peter's head into the ground at school he was sent to an island that has been deserted for years. He has no food and no shelter and no one to help him along the way. He is forced to forge for food and to build his own shelter. His parole officer Garvey comes to the island to try and help him find food. Cole has always just thought of another person that hates him but when they get to know him he realizes that Garvey isn't that bad after all, he ends up liking Garvey and gets his first friend ever. Garvey helped Cole figure out how to get his anger out other ways, Cole realizes that there are other ways to express your feelings and that hurting people is terrible way to express your feelings. He learned when he was at the island that he shouldn't hurt people and beat them up anymore because, when you hurt people, you generally have some form of a punishment. 

When Garvey thinks that Cole's ready to go back home he makes him meet Peter first. Garvey brought Cole down to the hospital were Peter was healing and he had Cole explain how sorry he was and that he really did change. Peter had a couple of problems with Cole being back at school and being able to go back but when they started talking to each other Peter realized that maybe Cole really did change.

Cole reminds me of Lilly from Secret of Bees just like Lilly he doesn't really have any parents that care about him. He's dad always is drunk and his mom always beats him. He has no family that really cares for him, just like Lilly he also went on an adventure that changed who he is and affected how he acted after he went back home.