Ghost Of Spirit Bear

“A good day wasn’t a day without clouds but rather a day when one focused on finding the sunlight behind the clouds.”

Cole came close to death multiple times. Being on the island taught Cole the importance of appreciating each moment that he is alive. Cole remains optimistic and presses forward against the odds and against outside pressures to effect change in his school. He hopes that by doing so it will solidify his belief that he himself has changed.

“A thought kept haunting him: Maybe the monster that Peter once feared still existed.”

When Cole is thrust back into the chaotic environment of his hometown and school, he must learn that Transforming One’s Inner and Outer Reality is a process, one that requires him to address his own personal conflict before he can help others. Cole fears that being in his old environment will evoke the person he used to be. He strives to prove that that person no longer exists, referring to his past self as a “monster.”

“Being in Alaska froze our brains.”

In a sarcastic tone, Cole jokes with Peter about how difficult it is to adjust to life back in the city and away from the isolation and peace of the island. Both boys make fervent attempts to replicate their island experiences, but it just isn’t the same. Instead, they find new ways to maintain their inner peace and change their world.

“He pretended his mind was a calm pond with no waves, but no matter how hard he tried, thoughts of his father left ripples.”

As Cole works to forgive himself and move forward with his life as a better person, he feels held back by lack of resolution with his father. The novel concludes on an optimistic note, however, as Cole’s father seems to be considering attending a Circle and beginning his own journey of healing. The above text uses a metaphor, where something is compared to something else without using “like” or “as”—in this case, comparing the impact of Cole’s father to wavelets in a pond.

“Inside he felt the monster raging—the one who had hurt Peter. Now it wanted to break something or hurt somebody. This hadn’t been his fault!”

When Cole comes back to the city, he almost repeats his old mistakes. It is Garvey who guides and reminds him of what he learned, and of how Cole must take responsibility for his actions. Initially, Cole blames Keith rather than himself for his decision to defend Peter by punching back. Garvey challenges Cole to see through his old reactions to a different type of solution. Cole learns that his inner reality determines his choices, not what someone else says or does.

“You’ve changed, but you have to decide what you’re going to do around people who haven’t changed.”

Garvey points out that Cole was privileged with a unique experience and that the changes he underwent during his time on the island are not universal. He tasks Cole with finding ways to share his newfound wisdom and skills with the world to effect change and inspire kindness and trust as the Spirit Bear intended. When Cole does so, his life becomes filled with Friendship Grown Out of Conflict and Forgiveness.

“There weren’t consequences at this school, not like on the island. There, if he chopped wood and covered it, he had dry wood for the winter. If not, he didn’t. If he attacked a bear, it mauled him. If he gave it space, it trusted him.”

Cole constantly notes the differences between the island and the city, but often forgets to look for the similarities. All around him are the same problems he dealt with in the wild, just in a different form. He must now translate the skills he learned to a new environment.

“The island taught you where that place was. Now all you have to do is be there.”

Garvey tries to teach Cole that the inner peace he found on the island is still within him—all he needs to do is access it. Creating his own reality is Cole’s next challenge. While he was able to do that in isolation, he has to learn to find peace while surrounded by chaos and people.

“On the island, I figured out that he w-w-wasn’t the monster I thought.”

Peter’s stutter is part of him now and a constant reminder of the damage that Cole inflicted on him. Cole continues to feel weighed down by guilt and remorse. He works to protect Peter while proving to him that he has changed. Peter defends Cole at his Circle hearing, referencing the monster that Cole used to see in himself. Their friendship grew out of the forgiveness that Peter eventually extended toward Cole.

“That’s how the Spirit Bear used to watch us.”

The boys observe the Spirit Bear man on several occasions, watching them from afar and saying nothing. He stares at them with the same cautious curiosity as the Spirit Bear, equally elusive. The man later gifts the boys a carved Spirit Bear as a symbol of their shared reality.

“The wind, the rain, all living things were part of something bigger, part of the Circle. Sitting on the grass, Cole felt important for being a part of something that was so big and so wonderful. At the same time he felt insignificant, smaller than a speck of dust in the universe.”

This quote expresses the dualistic nature of feeling one’s place in the universe. Cole notes that he can feel both vast and infinite while also feeling small. This hints toward Cole’s future actions, which create lasting change in his school. Although Cole is only one person, his suggestion and efforts have a wide- reaching effect and create a new outer reality.

“He focused and imagined the Spirit Bear standing on the shoreline of the island. He imagined a drop of rain landing on its white fur and then slowly running down the side of the big animal until it finally dripped onto the ground.”

The Circle of all things expresses the unification and connection between past, present, and future, as well as between all things living and dead. The cyclical nature of life and of everything within it becomes a comforting force to Cole. The above passage describes a raindrop completing its cycle.

“It reminded Cole of when he had been mauled by the Spirit Bear. He knew the feeling of being helpless. What if Keith was dying? It was weird, but for a moment Cole felt as if he were holding himself.”

Keith is not just a character in the story, but a symbol of the person Cole used to be and the monster that he fears still lurks within him. In order to resolve this fear, Cole extends kindness and forgiveness to Keith despite the fact that Keith has been bullying him and Peter for weeks. Cole knows that when he was in Keith’s position, he needed understanding and trust. He offers the same to Keith in the hopes that he can help.

“Cole took the miniature bear and rolled it in his fingers, tracing his thumb over the delicate body.”

The Spirit Bear is an important symbol in Cole’s life and something he carries with him after he leaves the island. It takes time for Cole to figure out that the Spirit Bear is within and all around him. As Cole looks at the carving, it is clear that what he is holding has the same mystical properties as the Spirit Bear itself.

“Cole realized he had done more than make it hard for Keith to be an enemy. By preserving Keith’s dignity, he had also saved his own.”

Cole sees himself in Keith. He knows that Keith represents the type of person Cole once was, and hopes to never again be. Cole acts with strength and bravery, embodying the Spirit Bea, when he decides to extend forgiveness and support to Keith.

“Suicide hadn’t killed the girl. The kids who tormented her were the real killers.”

Through the girl who dies by suicide, the novel shows the severe impact of bullying, how it is literally a matter of life and death. Cole reflects on the girl and realizes that her death by suicide was the result of severe bullying that took place over a long period of time. The girl felt like she had nowhere to turn and gave up. Her death is one of the many reasons that Cole feels like urgent change is needed at his school.

“When I was on the island in Alaska, I almost died. But a bear called a Spirit Bear came to me like a dream and taught me who I was inside. The Spirit Bear was my inner strength.”

In attempting to convince his community to change the school mascot, Cole explains his experiences on the island and what the Spirit Bear means to him. He hopes to share his wisdom and the lessons he learned on the island so that his fellow students may experience the same changes that he did, and find their inner strength.

“The grizzled old man didn’t notice them at first as he grunted and strained to keep the cart moving.”

The Spirit Bear man is described as “grizzled” in a subtle allusion toward his relationship with and likeness to the Spirit Bear. A Spirit Bear is a black bear, not a grizzly, but the Spirit Bear’s fur takes on a grizzled appearance as it is streaked with brown and red. The man never speaks, only grunts, further solidifying his likeness to a bear.

“It will be up to you personally to work with your team to come up with a concrete plan to try and make your favorite suggestion become a reality.”

Transforming One’s Inner and Outer Reality starts with making a personal decision to act and to feel differently. Ms. Kennedy stresses this as she supports the students in their efforts to improve their school environment.

“Cole knew that many adults looked at change as a threat.”

When Cole suggests changing the mascot, he is faced with countless parents and board members who are attached to tradition and their memories of the bulldog. Cole’s parents stayed together for so long despite being unhappy. Cole knows from this that adults can often fear change, even when it might benefit them.

“You did a lot of gutsy things as a troublemaker, but you’ve done even more daring things to turn your life around.”

Ms. Kennedy surprises Cole as she changes, shifting her priorities from appeasing her superiors to supporting them. She encourages Cole and offers him the same respect and trust that she would any other student, never judging him for his past. Instead, Ms. Kennedy points to Cole’s past as proof of his bravery.

“The students at Minneapolis Central have decided to turn their school around. Changing the mascot is our symbol of that effort.”

The novel shows how a mascot is an important symbol that represents a school’s attitude, values, and pride. It is also connected to the surrounding community, filled with past students and supporters of the school teams. Cole does not realize just how important changing the mascot is until he has to fight against his whole community and the school board.

“Here it was less simple. His opponent wasn’t an injury, hunger, or weather. It was a school board and a whole community of parents and students.”

Cole reflects on the contrast between his life on the island and his life back in the city. Both presented challenges, but in some ways this challenge at school seems scarier than trying to survive the wilderness.