42 pages • 1 hour read
Ben MikaelsenGhost Of Spirit Bear
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Transforming One’s Inner and Outer Reality
Content Warning: This section mentions death by suicide, bullying, and gang violence.
Change is the most prominent force in the novel. Ben Mikaelsen shows that it is a complex process that starts with the self, not the external world. For example, Cole learns that by controlling and altering his inner reality, he can influence the world around him. Before Cole can hope to effect change and stop bullying at his school, he must harness the remains of the “monster” that lies dormant inside him. As Garvey explains to Cole: “You’ve changed, but you have to decide what you’re going to do around people who haven’t changed” (34).
Although Cole experienced a major personal transformation on the island, he has to return to a world that has not. He must find new and creative ways to address long-standing, serious issues—issues that not even the school board seems willing to solve. Maintaining his inner peace proved easy on the island, especially now that he’s surrounded by chaos and violence. Ultimately, Cole learns that he cannot control what others do or think. However, he can control how he reacts, which may inspire an alternative response. Garvey tells Cole to fight with his heart rather than his fists or the threat of punishment, and tasks Cole with figuring out what that means.
Cole’s first step is to find his calm. In spite of being outside the frenzied mall, he imagines himself in nature and as a part of the Circle, suggesting that one can access one’s inner self regardless of geography:
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 (63).
Once Cole accesses inner peace, he is in a position to try and influence his outer reality. His mission to change the school mascot to a Spirit Bear, representing understanding and kindness, is a success. This is because of his state of mind, his willingness to seek support from others, and his strong desire to effect change and create a lasting legacy—all of which stem from his internal being. (147). Now, Cole is no longer the only one who is healing and growing. As Ms. Kennedy says, “You and Peter created a new reality for everyone” (147).
Friendship Grown Out of Conflict and Forgiveness
The most important friendship in the Spirt Bear series is between Cole and Peter. In Touching Spirit Bear, their unlikely connection was founded in forgiveness that arose from conflict, and they became the most unlikely friends. Because they shared experiences on the island and overcame adversity, they bonded and developed strong ties. In being isolated from society and having to live and work together, the boys were forced to empathize with and understand one another. It was a long and challenging process, but the result was a lifetime bond.
In Ghost of Spirit Bear, Cole and Peter are always together, and Cole has become a protective force in Peter’s life. He knows that he caused Peter’s disability and in this sense is responsible for the bullying that Peter experiences; he aims to put a halt to bullying at his school to protect his friend and peers. Peter’s forgiveness of Cole speaks to Peter’s strength of character and willingness to see through mistakes to the person inside. This was exactly what Cole needed to continue healing from remorse and regret.
The novel shows how compassion has a domino effect. After Cole is taught forgiveness, he extends his own toward his father and Keith. Even though Cole’s father severely abused him and his mother, Cole tries to see the person underneath, just as Peter did with him. Although Cole’s father is not receptive, Cole’s offering of love seems to plant a seed of change.
In forgiving Keith, Cole experiences self-healing. Cole is able to forgive Keith more easily than Peter is because Cole, like Keith, used to be a bully. He understands why Keith acts out. In offering Keith love, Cole is extending the same love to his past self. He becomes whole.
Communion and friendship grow out of conflict on a larger scale. Cole’s school is ripe with tension. The bulldog symbol emphasizes the clashes and hatred between students. Cole, in starting a movement to change the school mascot, generates transformation. The mascot—and school as a whole—evolves from an angry bulldog to a forgiving and gentle Spirit Bear.
Honoring Ancestors by Honoring the Self
Honoring one’s ancestors is an important value that Cole brings with him from his time on the island and from the lessons he learned from Garvey. In Touching Spirit Bear, Cole was taught that he was squandering his life by becoming involved in crime and bullying, which led to his arrest and near-imprisonment. Cole discovered that he is part of an infinite chain of life that extends back into the ancient past, and that each generation who came before him played a part in his being here today. He discovered, through carrying the ancestor rocks up the hill each day, that the legacy he carries from the people who came before him is a heavy responsibility, one that cannot be taken lightly. In realizing that his life matters, Cole gains wisdom. He learns that by honoring himself—his own life and future—he is also honoring his lineage:
As he climbed, he thought of the generations of ancestors who had gone before him to bring his life to where it was at this moment. He resolved to make his life count for something when he got back to Minneapolis so that the lives of his ancestors would not be wasted by his stupidity (7).
After living in the city again, Cole and Peter long for their island rituals, the connection they felt to their ancestors while living in nature. They try to emulate their experience by carrying bowling balls up a flight of stairs, but it doesn’t have the same effect. However, this leads them to the Spirit Bear man, who becomes a positive change in their lives. Like the ancestor rocks, the at.óow blanket ties to ancestry and the eternal bonds of love and protection that ancestors provide. Over the course of the series, Cole transforms from a person who cared only about himself to someone who considers both past and future, as well as the world around him. What began as personal healing has extended outward into an effort to heal his community.
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