Musings of a Mentor

Touching Spirit Bear

By Ben Mikaelsen

Cameron

I learned the importance of honor from this book because Cole had to gain honor so that he could heal. Before he was banished to the island nobody trusted him, most people feared him,and everybody knew he was a con-artist. Cole was full of hate and lies, mostly self-hate. His anger almost destroyed his chance for healing. After a near death experience, Cole found within himself the desire to change and he realized that change had to start with honest and honor.

Cole knew he had to prove that he had really changed. Edwin and Garvey believed in him, but understood Cole needed to do the hard work of on his own. At first it was all about staying out of prison, but it became about a new way of living. So, Cole worked on trust and honor, before repentance.

Repentance and forgiveness were the next healing steps. Cole had to admit what he did was wrong and that he was sorry, then he had to forgive his parents, others he thought wronged him, and especially himself. Then he was ready to heal. It was Cole's healing that allowed Peter to heal. When Peter truly understood how sorry Cole was for everything he had done, Peter was able to begin moving forward himself.

The first and possibly the most important step in the process was finding honor. If Cole hadn't gained honor he would not have been able to heal, neither would Peter, or many others whose lives touched Cole's. That is why I think of learning honor when I think about this book.

Brandon H

The Spirit Bear represented the Holy Spirit in this story. He was like the Holy Spirit because he was always there when Cole made new discoveries about himself. Spirit Bear was the one who killed the old Cole and allowed a new stronger Cole to live, making Cole a better person. Spirit Bear forgave Cole for attacking him. He was also like the Holy Spirit because he kept guiding Cole down the right path.

Cole learned how to control his anger with the help of the Spirit Bear. The Spirit Bear help him figure out why he was so angry all the time. When Cole figured out 'why' he was able to take control of his own life and make positive changes. He was able to begin listening to his elders. Cole learned from Edwin and Garvey ways to deal with and tame his anger.

Violence was all Cole knew because it was what his dad had taught him. The Spirit Bear was near the pond when Cole was sorting out his angry feelings. Cole learned that his grandfather had beaten his father. He figured out that his father beat him because that was what he had been taught, and so on. Once Cole understood this, he was able to forgive his father. This made controlling his own anger a bit easier. Cole understood that anger would always be part of him, but he could choose how to act and respond to it. He knew not to let it loose on others.

The Spirit bear was also there after Peter attacked Cole and all Cole did was hold him and show him forgiveness. The boys realized they were all part of the circle of life and that every action affects others in ways they don't even see.

That is how Yahweh would want us to act. He would want us to show control, to be truly sorry for our wrong actions, and to forgive others so that we can be forgiven. He will always be there to heal us. So, the Spirit Bear was like the Holy Spirit being there when Cole needed him the most and leading the way to forgiveness and healing.

Brandon B

I have been in many situations similar to Cole. For instance, one time at school last year people kept picking on me, I took my anger out on somebody else. The kid that I got in a fight with told the principal and I got suspended from school.

While I was out of school, I started thinking about what I did and what I should have done differently. I thought I should have talked to him, or gone to the principal myself. While I was suspended my mom gave me extra chores like, cleaning the pool, cooking dinner, taking out the trash, and cutting the grass.

Once my week was over, I went back to school. The kid I had beaten up and myself had to go to the front desk and talk about what happened. I apologized and he did too. We were friends for the rest of the school year.

This situation was similar to the story because Cole and Peter had gotten into a fight Cole was removed from the school. He had to do extra work while he thought about what he did. And at the end Cole and Peter came to an understand and each forgave the other.

The changes in Peter and Cole happened at the end of the book when Peter came to the island. Cole taught him all the things he had been learning about anger and control. Learning to carve, learning the animal dances, carrying the ancestor rock up the hill, and soaking in the cold water were all ways Cole and later Peter learned self-control.

Cole figured out that the reason he got into the fight in the first place was because he felt worthless. Peter felt the same way when he attacked Cole on the island. The boys learned that when you feel worthless you want to bring others down too, but when you learn to feel positive about yourself, you want to bring others up with you. I had to learn these lessons the hard way, I hope others learn them without all the pain Cole, Peter and I went through.

Gabriel

Two characters that stand out to me are, Garvey and Edwin. I believe they represent Jesus and Moses. First Garvey, I believe he represents Jesus because he is like a shepherd and Cole is the lost sheep. Garvey is also a teacher using parables to get Cole to see deeper truths, and Garvey is like Jesus because he gives of his whole self even to perfect strangers.

Edwin is like Moses. Moses lead people across the Red Sea to a promised better life, and Edwin takes Cole across the sea to a better life. Moses handed down the Ten Commandments or The Law and Edwin hands down the Law to Cole. Moses was a messenger between God and the people and Edwin is the messenger between the Justice Counsel and Cole. However, the biggest reason Edwin is like Moses is because Moses freed his people from slavery and Edwin frees Cole. He frees him from being a slave to his anger, allowing him the possibility of a new life.

Everyone needs these two types of people in their lives. You need someone who demands you learn and follow the rules, but that needs to be balanced with someone who teaches you to look inside yourself and encourages you to be the very best you can be.

Ben

Self-reliance helps build self-esteem. In the story Cole had to learn to rely on himself. At home he would always con his way out of trouble, but alone on the island he can only rely upon himself. He has to take responsibility or die, there is no other option. This helps him build confidence and self-esteem. He gets to the point where he can forgive himself and truly apologize to Peter. This new self-esteem also helps him get better control of his anger.

From the book, I learned you need to rely on yourself. You can't get people to do everything for you. If you can get them to do everything for you, you don't learn anything and you feel worthless. Not being able to get and education or hold a job might lead to homelessness, which will just increase the feelings of worthlessness. Those feelings come out in very harmful ways that you wouldn't expect, like hurting others.

I wonder how weird it would feel to have to rely on yourself after being used to having everything done for you or conning your way out of all consequences. Unfortunately, it took being mauled by a bear for Cole to realize that he need to rely on himself. The more the book goes on the more and more Cole relies on himself. By the end of the book he has learned to fully take care of himself, mind, body and soul.

Austin

The Spirit Bear represents the eyes of the Universe constantly watching. He is also the balance of light and dark, the eternal yin and yang of the forest. He is also protection beyond all bounds.

Your life is changed forever when this being gazes upon you. It's gaze is deep and penetrating, as calm as a still lake in the dead of the night. Ghostlike it wanders through the shadows aware of all things.

Cole is left tattered, but cleansed after his encounter with the Spirit Bear. His opinions are changed by the graceful paws that so deeply clean the flesh of what once resembled the body of Cole Matthews.

When Peter finally lays eyes on the Spirit Bear he is no longer afraid of Cole. He recognizes the changes in Cole and accepts them. Once the giant's job is done he disappears into the forest, like the moon behind a cloud. Waiting for another soul in need of direction.

When Cole came to the island he was unbalanced. Anger controlled him like a puppet. His mind was like a world without sun. It was dark, cold, and undiscovered. The vast void of his mind was closed to all influence. The Spirit Bear opened the gates to that mind and help him find balance. No longer was Cole controlled by rage, the rage was controlled by him. His inner Chi was now calm and rested, thanks in great part to the Spirit Bear.

Asia

I identify most with Cole Matthews because he and I share the same issues, mostly our anger. Cole and I react to negative issues in negative ways. When placed in a bad situation we take the easy way out by threating, arguing and even fighting.

The three main situations in the book where Cole allowed his anger to control his life were, when he beat up Peter, when he tried to leave the island by swimming away, and when he tried to fight the bear. Cole used the excuse that Peter told on him to the cops to beat him to within and inch of his life. If someone hadn't stopped him he would have killed Peter because of blind anger. When Cole was left on the island the first time, he was still so angry and blaming others for his problems that he allowed that anger to push him into a cold ocean, in the middle of night, and he was trying to swim against the tide. This action alone almost killed him. However, he still hadn't spent all his anger. He need something to be afraid of him and when the bear refused to flinch Cole attacked it bare handed. This fight did kill the old Cole and finally allowed a new one to replace him.

I have been found myself in many situations where I needed to consider choosing a safer way out. I have been in two fights where I hurt people pretty badly. It is not like I wanted to hurt them, but something inside me told me to and I acted upon it. One of the situations was with my friend we were goofing off and it got out of control quickly and I ended up hurting her much more than I intended. The second fight was with an acquaintance who was pestering me and threatening me, so I hurt her. I felt very bad for causing them both pain afterwards, but I felt if I didn't hurt them they would hurt me.

Cole learned to handle his anger by dancing, swimming in a freezing pond, and rolling a rock down a hill. The dancing was to mimic the other animals and all the traits he was learning from them. Swimming in the freezing pond helped to eliminate the thought of fighting, yelling, and arguing. Rolling a rock down the hill definitely was the best way for Cole to get rid of his anger. By carrying the rock up the hill then rolling it down he felt how heavy the anger was, then how great it felt to get rid of it.

I now think that walking away from a bed situation or even staying calm could ease the tension if not completely settle the situation. After reading this book I realize that I can be the bigger person and I can turn a bad situation into a positive one. The ways I have been working on my anger are being quiet and actually listening to what the other person is saying, writing a note to tell the person how I feel, and analyzing each situation before I speak up.

I definitely need to work on my anger issues because in the future it will cause me many problems. Not only will it hurt my record, but it could possibly ruin my life, my appearance, and my inner emotions. It could also go the other way and I could really hurt someone like Cole hurt Peter. That is not something I want to do.

This book has taught me that you can't get rid of anger, but rather blank it out or forget it. Anger needs to be acknowledged and worked through. In coming situations, I would hope that I could handle my anger in ways that are safe and appropriate for everyone.

Call of the Wild

Essays

Austin: The “Call of the Wild” is freedom. The yearning to be free. All contradicting thoughts are abandoned and instincts take over, instincts passed down from generations. It is the urge to hunt and to avoid being hunted. It’s the desire to mate with the sole purpose of keeping the species going. It is the need to howl at the moon, the wind brushing across you during a dewy morning run. It is salvation beyond proportions.

In the story, Buck was subjected to the “The Call of the Wild” numerous times. For example when he chased down that moose for days, he did so not because that was the only food, but because his instinct told him to. He desired to hunt the moose. The desire to survive. Buck gave into the “Call of the Wild.” He desired leadership, to be the “Alpha Male,” to rule over others. “The Call” is taking the responsibility to lead others and being strong enough to defeat any that oppose you. Buck took on this responsibility when he killed Spitz.

Domestic dogs have this instinct. In a way they are smarter than we are. When they are born they know to communicate and walk. They know how to reproduce as soon as their instincts kick in. We lack such skill. If all the adults in the world were eliminated and nothing was left but babies, humanity would crumble. Without older people to teach them the babies couldn’t talk or eat; and, even if they did there is the trouble of mating. With no one to explain the “birds and the bees” there would be nothing. The “Call of the Wild” to which countless animals can tap into, is out of our reach.

Brandon: The “Call of the Wild” is your inner, wilder side that is trying to come to the surface. It also your natural instincts. Therefore, the “Call of the Wild” means your wilder side is being called out to take control.

Buck was being called throughout the story. He started being called towards the beginning of the story by fighting with Spitz and wanting to be lead dog, which he succeeded in doing. Towards the middle of the story, Buck’s instinct of protecting Thornton took over. He protected him by attacking Matthison. Another incident was when he met a wolf pack. His wilder side was showing then because his natural instinct took over and he went to become apart of the pack. Also, his natural instinct of hunting showed when he stalked a moose for three days before killing it.

The “Call of the Wild” is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a bad thing. It is a good thing when you are stranded somewhere. You want the natural instinct to take over so that you can survive. Although, it is a bad thing when you don’t have any manners or self-control. So, you will have to determine when to let it take over and when not to.

Ben: The “Call of the Wild” is the returning of Buck’s animal instincts. At the beginning of the book, Buck had everything he ever needed, but when later he doesn’t have anything to eat, he steals food. Before he would have rather die of starvation than steal anything.

Later Buck hunts a lot. One time Buck chased a moose for a very long time. He even got in a fight with another dog over food. He also chased after a wolf.

At the end of the book, Buck joins a pack of wolves, he attacks humans and he becomes totally wild. He wouldn’t dare attack humans or hurt other animals on purpose at the beginning of the story. Buck changed a lot from the beginning of the book. He started as a pet and become a wild dog.

Asia: The “Law of Club and Fang” is the law of submit or be killed. In other words, if there is a superior force fighting against you, you should submit to the superior force or die trying. When concerning the law of club and fang it is always better to surrender; even when the superior forces are in the wrong.

An example of this in the book was when Buck saw his fellow partner, Curly, ripped to pieces by wild huskies. Buck thought, “either surrender or be killed, once you’re down you’re done.” This means, mostly, if you surrender to a superior they will leave you alone but if you keep bothering them or nagging at them you are likely to get yourself killed.

An example of this in my life is trying to use the club and fang law with my grandmother. I have to learn that because she is my superior I owe her a certain kind of respect. Like Buck, after I stopped and listened I learned that it is much better to surrender than put my life at stake.

This book taught me that my superiors hold my life in their hands, basically. If they are arguing at or with me than I should give them the respect to shut my mouth and listen, or put my state of being in jeopardy.

Gabe: Throughout the book there was a law between Buck and humans. This law gave humans great power over Buck. This was the law of “Club and Fang.” Buck finds out early in the book that he is out-matched when he is up against a human with a club. He is beaten, his viciousness isn’t enough to stop a human from beating him. In the book, Buck is beaten when he tries to attack the man in the red sweater. This puts Buck into place saying almost man can be killed. But later, Buck finds out that humans without their clubs are just as easy to kill as rabbits. Heck, dogs are harder to kill than humans.

I think that the “law of club and fang” is like a king and his subjects. A king is a very powerful man and can put his subjects to death, if he wishes, but strip away that power and he is just another mortal man, as easy to kill as the rest. This is what I think that the law means. I also think that the club represents absolute power and order.

Cameron: The “Law of Club and Fang“ is what the sled dogs lived by. The Law of Club and Fang is a way of life: kill or be killed, survival of the fittest, you have to prove yourself worthy to work in the group or even to eat. Many dogs that did not adapt to this law fast enough would be killed because they could not defend themselves. “The Club” is your master, who you have to obey or you'll be beat by his club. “The Fang” is the other dogs, who you have to prove yourself worthy to be among.

Buck was introduced to this law on the day he landed in that frozen wasteland. The other dogs jumped him and he lost a friend. Buck proved himself after he realized this place was nothing like Santa Clara Valley.

The “Law of Club and Fang” represented how harsh the new land was and the hardships Buck had to go through to obtain the status of “Top Dog.” It was these challenges that formed Buck into the great dog he became.